Opinion: The Apple Watch is a fashion device first

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated June 12, 2018

As many of you may know, I’m now on my second Apple Watch. I got in the game on launch day with a 42mm Space Grey Sport, and after a month or so with the device, I quickly realized that it just wasn’t for me.

Not only was the functionality not quite there with watchOS 1, it was heavily lacking in the looks department. You may not agree with me, but I think the aluminum Apple Watch Sport looks pretty bad with anything other than sweatpants or basketball shorts. Don't feel bad if that's what you have or prefer; remember, it's just one person's personal opinion.

If you’re the type that uses your Apple Watch primarily as a fitness device, then fine, I can certainly see the appeal of the Apple Watch Sport, hence its name.

For me personally, however, the Apple Watch is a fashion device first. It’s pretty good on the technical side of the fence in several areas as well, but coming to terms with this reality has made the experience of wearing this watch so much better in my eyes.

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iMovie now supports 4K video editing on the iPad Air 2

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

You know, I was literally just wondering what was preventing the iPad Air 2 from supporting 4K video editing in iMovie, and then bam! Apple releases an update with 4K video support in tow.

The iPhone 6s already supports 4K video editing in iMovie to go along with its 4K shooting capabilities, but no other publicly available device in the iOS lineup supported 4K editing in iMovie until today.

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20+ things you can do with a Force Touch trackpad on Mac

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Apple just released its Force Touch-enabled Magic Trackpad 2, which joins the Force Touch trackpads already built into many of its MacBooks. The significance of the Magic Trackpad 2 sporting Force Touch, is that it essentially brings the feature to everyone without needing to go all out and purchase a brand new machine.

Force Touch is an interesting concept that's been a part of our vernacular for over a year with the unveiling of the Apple Watch. Since then, the pressure sensitive technology has made its way, in some way, shape, or form, to both MacBooks and the iPhone.

I've come to the conclusion that Force Touch is best implemented on the iPhone (as 3D Touch), but it's an interesting feature on the MacBook as well. Now that pretty much anyone can add the ability to Force Touch via a $129 Magic Trackpad 2 purchase, I figured it was time to showcase some of the things that you can do with the nifty pressure sensitive input method.

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iOS 9.1 enables quick-replying from notifications in WhatsApp for iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2015

At long last, iOS is allowing app makers to implement text replies in notifications, a feature Apple used to reserve exclusively for its Messages app.

Twitter was the first App Store app to gain this great time-saver of a feature. On iOS 9.1, WhatsApp for iPhone now supports a handy text field for quickly replying to incoming messages without leaving the app you're currently using.

This feature requires an iPhone with iOS 9.1 or later.

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Runkeeper’s latest update lets you record your runs directly on Apple Watch

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2015

Runkeeper has refreshed its iPhone application with a fully native watchOS 2 app so you can record your runs and heart rates directly on your Apple Watch, without needing to bring your iPhone with you. If you typically go running with an iPhone strapped to your arm, you'll appreciate phone-free jogging with the new Runkeeper.

In other changes, new post-activity music analytics will create a full rundown of your playlist and your pace for each song after you've finished your run.

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Chrome picks up iPad split-screen multitasking support in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2015

Google today pushed a small update to its Chrome mobile browser in the App Store. The new edition, officially bumped to version number 46.0.2490.73, brings support for iOS 9's new Split View multitasking mode on the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro.

Moreover, Slide Over multitasking view and Picture-in-Picture video mode are supported in this Chrome edition as well. These are certainly welcomed additions for those of you who do a lot of research online as you can now browse the web with Chrome and run another app like Notes side-by-side.

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HTC: Apple ripped off our unibody phone design and antenna bands, not the other way round

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

Two days ago, HTC unveiled a new flagship phone, the $399 One A9, with most of the headlines calling the device an iPhone lookalike due to its two-tone design, the antenna bands and a protruding camera lens on the back. The device indeed bears a striking resemblance to Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s smartphone series.

In an effort to set the record straight and maybe get a little more free press, the Taiwanese handset maker said that “it's Apple that copied” its antenna design and unibody construction as HTC first released a smartphone with these features about three years ago.

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Instagram releases Boomerang, a Live Photos-like iPhone app for creating looping clips

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2015

Facebook-owned Instagram is taking on Live Photos, one of Apple's headline iPhone 6s features, with a brand new 1-second video loop app called Boomerang. Available free of charge in the App Store, Boomerang aims to turn everyday moments into “something fun and unexpected.”

The app couldn't be simpler. You just point your iPhone's front or rear camera and press a button to take a burst of ten photos.

Boomerang then stitches the individual images together into a one-second sped-up video that plays forward and backward in a looping manner, similar in appearance and function to Apple's Live Photos feature.

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Brain-racking puzzler ‘Please, Don’t Touch Anything’ makes its App Store debut

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

UK-based iPhone developer and publisher BulkyPix today released a perplexing new game in the App Store, created in partnership with Four Quarters. Please, Don't Touch Anything, as it's aptly named, is a cryptic, brain-racking puzzler about bathroom breaks, screwdrivers and nuclear explosions. Yup, you read that right.

Featuring more than two dozen levels, retro pixel art, atmospheric chip tune soundtrack, touch-optimized gameplay with pinch-to-zoom and support for older devices like the iPhone 4, the iOS edition of the game brings nine exclusive new endings that cannot be found in the Steam version, which released earlier this year.

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Fleksy keyboard introduces custom theme photo builder in new update

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2015

Fleksy Keyboard, one of the most popular software keyboards in the App Store, has received a major update this morning. The update to the freemium app strives to solve the problem of users constantly demanding that developers add an ever-growing collection of new UI themes to the app, so they've added a new custom theme photo builder feature to Fleksy Keyboard 7.0.

The ability to personalize the keyboard has been one of the top requests from users, Fleksy says, and has prompted the company to come up with a system for users to build exactly the keyboard that suits their liking, and even share their creations with friends and other Fleksy users.

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