One of the biggest public concerns regarding the Apple Watch seems to be its battery life. While other smartwatches, such as the Pebble, claim life of up to 10 days, the Cupertino wearable is said to last for less than 24 hours.
But John Arrow and ex-Nike staffer Lane Musgrave are looking to change that with the 'Reserve Strap.' It features embedded lithium polymer cells and an inductive charging cradle to keep your Apple Watch going strong.
Heads up gamers, IGN has just named "Sky Gamblers: Cold War" its Free Game of the Month for March. The title has an impressive rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars in the App Store, on thousands of reviews, and it typically retails for $4.99.
Cold War holds true to the popular flight simulator franchise, providing console-quality gameplay on the go. You can choose from over 12 beautiful planes to pilot, and participate in a variety of single-player and multiplayer game modes.
You will find yourself using your iPhone a lot less, once you've purchased an Apple Watch, according to TechCrunch. The publication has spoken with a number of people who have used the new wearable extensively, and one person even said they "nearly stopped" using their iPhone.
This is because the Apple Watch is built to handle alerts and other matters much more efficiently than your smartphone. Notifications are seen right away and acted on quickly, so they don't pile up, and apparently they're auto-disabled when the Watch is removed or reaches 10% battery life.
Apple has managed to improve the battery life of the Apple Watch to support 5 hours of heavy application use, reports 9to5Mac. Ahead of Monday's event, the site has heard this and other previously unknown details from sources who have hands-on experience with the wearable.
The improvement in battery life should ensure that the Watch will last a full day with mixed heavy and passive use. However, the site makes it clear that users will still need to charge the device every night, as the battery is not strong enough to last a full second day without renewal.
Apple is giving select companies early access to the Apple Watch, reports Bloomberg. The outlet says that Facebook, airliner United Continental Holdings Inc. and others have "spent weeks" at Apple's Cupertino campus working hands-on with the smartwatch to test and fine-tune their apps ahead of next month's launch.
Citing people familiar with the process, Bloomberg says software engineers for the companies are being allowed to work with the Apple Watch in a top secret lab at Apple's headquarters. All who enter must sign non-disclosure agreements, and must follow a set of extreme guidelines to keep unknown Watch details from leaking.
There is a mysterious port on the Apple Watch that could be used to connect accessories such as a smart band or battery, reports TechCrunch. The outlet says that multiple sources have confirmed the wearable features a secret 6-dot brass contact used for diagnostics and direct access to the operating system.
Apparently the port is very similar to the Lightning port found on larger iOS devices, and is located inside the groove of the "bottom" strap connector slot. It's believed that this portal is "absolutely necessary" to install the Watch OS during manufacturing, and thus it will be present on shipping versions of the wearable.
Apple on Thursday began sending out emails to Aperture users, reminding them that the software has been discontinued. When the new Photos app for OS X launches this spring, Aperture will be removed from the Mac App Store.
Users will still be able to use the popular photo editor in OS X Yosemite, but when the removal occurs, you will no longer be able to buy additional copies. Apple also notes that Aperture libraries can by migrated into Photos OS X.
Apple's Watch release is still at least a month away, but thanks to 'mix your watch,' you can start building one now. The interactive web tool allows you to create your perfect Apple Watch by customizing the case color, band color and band material.
It uses stock images from Apple's website, and an image-based UI that allows you to customize each element. So if you want to see what a dark aluminum case would look like with a black leather band, simply select them, and watch the colors change.
US District Judge Lucy Koh granted preliminary approval on Wednesday for a settlement between Apple, Google, Adobe, and Intel and their former employees. The payout is said to be worth around $415 million, and would effectively end the long-running anti-poaching lawsuit.
After months of anticipation, we are entering the home stretch in our wait for the Apple Watch launch. But for those of you who are having trouble dealing with the suspense, we believe we may have found something to tide you over.
Newly launched website WatchAware has put together a series of interactive demos, giving users a fairly good idea of how they'll interact with Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and various other popular apps on the upcoming Apple Watch.
Apple has begun decorating the outside of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, ahead of Monday's Apple Watch event. Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin posted the above photo on Twitter this afternoon, showing a banner being hung on the front of the building.
The image on the banner matches the one on the invitations Apple sent out to media members last week for the event, which it has dubbed 'Spring Forward.' The phrase is a reference to Daylight Savings Time, which begins Sunday, and hints that the event will focus on the Apple Watch.
Ahead of next week's Apple Watch event, Apple has begun training its retail employees on how to position the new device to customers. In a new report this afternoon, 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman shares 3 key points from their training including key features, iPhone compatibility and style.
According to selling guidelines provided to Gurman, Apple wants its employees to find out 3 things about their customers when trying to sell the Apple Watch: what do they already know about the device, is their iPhone compatible, and are they looking for a casual or formal watch.