Apple Watch
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Apple just unveiled an updated Apple Watch. And this year’s new Watch is all about the display. Thanks to thinner bezels and a slightly bigger casing, you’ll see more on your screen.
“Apple Watch isn’t just the number one smart watch, it’s the number one watch in the world period,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said before introducing Apple COO Jeff Williams.
Williams framed the Apple Watch as a communication device, a fitness device and a health monitoring tool. For instance, the Apple Watch can notify you if you have an unusual heart rate. It’s clear that Apple has put aside the idea that the Apple Watch is an app platform.
“Everything about it has been redesigned and reengineered,” Williams said. The design still looks very familiar, but it’s clear that the screen is bigger. You don’t necessarily see it when there’s a dark watch face. But it’s striking in the Breath app for instance.
The small version has a 32 percent larger display, and the bigger version has a 35 percent larger display. Thanks to a brand new watch face, you can place up to eight complications at once. It looks busy but it works.
To allow for a bigger display, the company had to make the Watch slightly larger. The 38mm model is now called the 40mm model, and the 42mm model is now 44mm large.

According to Williams, the total volume of the Series 4 model is still smaller than the volume of the Apple Watch Series 3 thanks to a thinner design. So there you go — a larger Watch in a thinner body.
The display now has rounded edges just like on the iPhone X. The digital crown has been redesigned to give you haptic feedback. The speaker is 50 percent louder. I’m not sure who uses this speaker, but if you need to make a quick phone call or use the new walkie-talkie feature in watchOS 5, it’s now better.
The back of the device is now made of black ceramic and sapphire crystal, which should help when it comes to cellular reception. The new system-on-a-chip (the S4) is supposed to be twice as fast as the one in the Series 3. Thanks to a new gyroscope, the Watch can detect a fall, which could be particularly useful for elderly. If the device senses a fall and you don’t move for a minute, the Apple Watch will automatically call emergency services.
In addition to traditional heart beat data, the device will now track heart rhythm and notify you if you have atrial fibrillation. But you can even take a full ECG from the Watch now. You just have to open the app and hold your finger on the crown for 30 seconds. All your data is then stored in the Health app on your iPhone. You can then share the PDF of your ECG with a doctor.
Apple had already written patents about ECG on the Watch, but the fact that it’s already available is a surprise. You generally can’t buy an ECG device over the counter. And the Apple Watch has received FDA clearance for the Apple Watch’s ECG feature.
AFib detection and ECG will be available later this year in the U.S. The company will then roll them out to other countries around the world.

Williams used this opportunity to remind everyone that the company won’t have access to your medical information. All your health and fitness data is encrypted on your device.
And that’s a wrap for the new Apple Watch. It features brand new heart rate features, a larger display with a refined design, a faster chipset and the same battery life. The Apple Watch Series 4 is available in the same aluminum and stainless steel versions. In addition to grey and black stainless steel, there’s a new gold stainless steel option.
All existing bands will be compatible with the new Watch. You’ll also be able to buy a new Nike band as well as new Hermès bands. The Series 3 is sticking around for $279. The Series 4 starts at $399 for the aluminum version, and $499 for the aluminum version with cellular features. Pre-orders start on Friday and the device will be available on September 21st.

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Gooooood morning, Cupertino. Today’s the big event at Apple HQ. 2018’s been a slow year for Apple hardware (including a complete no-show at WWDC a few months back). As ever, we’ll be on-hand to help make sense of all the news as it breaks, and you can follow along with our handy live blog below. For those who want it straight from the source, you can follow Apple’s live stream or over on Twitter.
As far as what to expect, by all accounts there’s going to be A LOT. New iPhones are basically a given. Likely there will be a sequel to the iPhone X, along with a cheaper version that keeps the design intact, while swapping the OLED for something a bit cheaper. A new version of the Apple Watch also seems like all but a given at this point. Here’s a rundown of the most likely announcements for today’s big show to help you brace for the news.
Things kick off at 10AM PT, 1PM ET.
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Kevin Lynch from the watchOS team introduced the next version of watchOS at Apple’s WWDC keynote. It’s been a slow and steady rise for the Apple Watch. It’s by far the most popular smart watch, and it’s becoming slightly more useful every year.
This year is no different. There’s a new workout type for yoga, another one for hiking. You can now challenge your friends for a 7-day competition.
But I’m even more excited about automatic workout detection. If you grab your bike and your heart start beating more rapidly, your Apple Watch will track your workout automatically. You’ll also get notifications to end a workout.
As rumored, Apple is introducing a new Walkie-Talkie app for Apple Watch users. You press to record a message, release to send it. Your friend will receive a notification. That could open up interesting professional use cases. Cellular Apple Watches make this feature more useful too.
The Siri watch face is getting more integrations thanks to Siri shortcuts. You can receive a Citymapper suggestion for instance.
When it comes to the actual voice assistant, you won’t need to say “Hey Siri” anymore. You can just raise your wrist and start talking.
Apple has ported WebKit to watchOS, which opens up a lot of possibilities. You can view web content from your watch. Apple is adding native podcast support and background audio on the Apple Watch too.
Overall, Apple tackled a lot of low hanging fruits. But it’s a compelling pitch and makes the Apple Watch more essential than ever.
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Apple is holding a keynote today at the San Jose Convention Center, and the company is expected to unveil new updates for iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS and maybe also some new hardware. At 10 AM PT (1 PM in New York, 6 PM in London, 7 PM in Paris), you’ll be able to watch the event as the company is streaming it live.
Apple is likely to talk about some new features for all its software platforms — WWDC is a developer conference after all. Rumor has it that Apple could also unveil some MacBook Pro update with new Intel processors.
If you have the most recent Apple TV, you can download the Apple Events app in the App Store. It lets you stream today’s event and rewatch old events. Users with old Apple TVs can simply turn on their devices. Apple is pushing out the “Apple Events” channel so that you can watch the event.
And if you don’t have an Apple TV, the company also lets you live-stream the event from the Apple Events section on its website. This video feed works in Safari and Microsoft Edge. And for the first time, Apple says that the video should also work in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
So to recap, here’s how you can watch today’s Apple event:
Of course, you also can read TechCrunch’s live blog if you’re stuck at work and really need our entertaining commentary track to help you get through your day. We have a big team in the room this year.
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Apple is preparing a couple of updating models of AirPods, according to Bloomberg. The popular fully wireless earbud-style headphones that Apple introduced last year are currently on track for a refresh in 2018 with the addition of a new version of the “W” line of chips that Apple created specifically to manage and improve Bluetooth-based connections between gadgets. The 2018… Read More
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Fitbit is, again, not having a good day after spending the year in mostly middling status as it looks to prove there’s a market for fitness trackers and its own smartwatch. The culprit today: a Wall Street firm slapped a “sell” rating on the company’s stock, which often results in a rejection of its potential and sparks a sharp drop-off in the company’s share value. Read More
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There are a lot of reports hitting the ‘net this morning in reviews of the Apple Watch Series 3, which indicate that there are some LTE connectivity issues — causing Apple to take a small dip this morning and a speed bump in its march to $1 trillion. Shares of Apple fell around 2.5% this morning, which for Apple is a pretty substantial ding for the company despite the deceptively… Read More
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Apple’s Series 3 smartwatch may look the same on the outside as the previous generation, but what they have inside might help kick the somewhat sleepy wearable category into high gear. To be clear, Apple isn’t the first to put cellular connectivity into a smartwatch — but it is the first to put it into a good smartwatch. Read More
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Apple’s September event is always a big one. And this year is no different. There were new iPhones, a new Apple Watch and even a new Apple TV. Surprisingly, Apple announced not one, not two but three different iPhone models — including a mysterious iPhone X.
In case you missed it, here’s everything Apple announced today. Read More
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