Apple Will Be ‘Lucky’ to Ship Apple Watch by Valentine’s Day

Apple may not be planning to launch the new Apple Watch until February 2015 or later, according to a new report from The Information (via Business Insider). When the Apple Watch was introduced earlier this month, Apple gave a non-specific “early 2015″ timeline for its release, with no additional information on when we might expect to see the device.

One person briefed by the Apple department involved in shipping the watch quipped that Apple would be “lucky to ship it by Valentine’s Day.” Apple has said only that the watch would ship in early 2015, and a spokeswoman did not comment for this article.

According to the report, Apple initially planned to have the watch ready to ship in time for the 2014 holiday season, but had problems finishing software development in time. Hints of a delay on the software side first surfaced shortly after the keynote, as members of the press who were invited to spend some hands-on time with the devices noted that none of the display units were running the actual operating system, Watch OS.

Instead, the devices displayed only screenshots of various functions and while some Apple employees gave demos of functional units, reporters were not able to explore the software themselves. Apple has also opted not to divulge the battery life of the device, possibly because it is continuing to tweak the Watch OS software for the best results. Concrete information on battery life likely can’t be determined until software development is finished.

Apple Watch includes several new cutting edge technologies that have not been incorporated into previous devices, including the pressure-sensitive Force Touch that can determine the difference between a tap and a press, and the Taptic Engine, Apple’s unique haptic feedback vibration engine designed to deliver alerts in a subtle way.

When it goes on sale in early 2015, the Apple Watch will be available in an array of materials and with several different band options, with pricing starting at $349.

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Apple Releases iOS 8.0.1 With Fixes for HealthKit, Keyboards, and More [WARNING: iOS 8.0.1 Causing Issues With Cell Service, Touch ID]

Apple today released iOS 8.0.1, an update that brings several bug fixes to iOS 8, the new operating system released to the public last week. The new version arrives as build 12A402 and can be downloaded via an over-the-air update.

The new update fixes an issue with HealthKit, which prevented apps that support HealthKit from being allowed in the App Store. The problem with HealthKit first came to light shortly before the public launch of iOS 8, and Apple opted to pull all HealthKit-enabled apps from the App Store until a fix was available. Following today’s update, apps that take advantage of the HealthKit API will once again be accepted into the App Store.

As noted in yesterday’s report on iOS 8.0.1, the update also fixes several other issues with third party keyboards, Reachability, Photo Library, and more.

– Fixes a bug so HealthKit apps can now be made available on the App Store
– Addresses an issue where 3rd party keyboards could become deselected when a user enters their passcode
– Fixes an issue that prevented some apps from accessing photos from the Photo Library
– Improves the reliability of the Reachability feature on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
– Fixes an issue that could cause unexpected cellular data usage when receiving SMS/MMS messages
– Better support of Ask To Buy for Family Sharing for In-App Purchases
– Fixes an issue where ringtones were sometimes not restored from iCloud backups
– Fixes a bug that prevented uploading photos and videos from Safari

Apple will likely be releasing a second update to iOS 8 in the coming weeks, in order to enable Apple Pay, its mobile payment service expected to be released to the public in October.

Update: It appears that there is an issue with iOS 8.0.1 causing cellular service to be disabled. Many early installers are reporting “No Service” messages after updating. There are also reports of problems with Touch ID.

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iOS 8.0.1 Causing No Service, Touch ID Issues on iPhone 6/6 Plus, Apple Support Recommends iTunes Restore

Following the release of iOS 8.0.1 this morning, numerous of users found that their cellular service was disabled, reporting “No Service” messages after updating. Affected users also appear to be experiencing problems with Touch ID, which seems to be completely non-functional.

It appears that the issue is limited to users who have an iPhone 6 or an iPhone 6 Plus, but affected devices span several carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint in the United States. Rogers subscribers in Canada have reported issues, as have EE subscribers in the United Kingdom and Vodafone subscribers in Germany.

Restarting an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus does not fix cellular functionality, nor does attempting to use “Reset Network Settings,” but some users have reported that restoring iOS 8.0.1 via iTunes or doing the initial install from iTunes fixes the cellular connection issues. Apple support has also recommended restoring iOS 8.0.1 via iTunes to fix the problem.

Looks like doing a restore of 8.0.1 at least so far has fixed the cell service issue. Not sure about Touch ID yet. Still developing..

— Chris Beiting (@beiting) September 24, 2014

Users with an iPhone 4s, 5, 5s, or 5c have reported no issues, so iOS 8.0.1 is likely safe for those who do not have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. iPad owners have also had no problems with the update.

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