BMW i3 upgrade now delivers a whopping 195 miles on a charge, watch out Tesla

It looks like Tesla has given the established car companies enough of a shock to get them taking electric cars seriously. Now BMW has upgraded its i3 battery to extend the range to a respectable 195 miles on a charge.

Tesla announced its Model 3, the first affordable electric car from the company, which led to it getting millions of pounds worth of pre-orders. The BMW i3 is already placed at an affordable price point but didn’t deliver the range, unless the Range Extender was added. This battery upgrade should make it more appealing.

The new BMW i3 94Ah, as the name suggests, uses a 94Ah battery over the current 60Ah offering. That means fast charging for a full charge in under three hours, 170hp, a 0-62mph time of 7.2 seconds and a 195-mile range when it arrives in July.

All that and it’ll fit inside the same physical space as before thanks to a more densely packed battery for a 33kWh setup. The motor is efficient too and in fact, BMW says, makes this the most economical electric car of its size and class.

The BMW i3 94Ah model, available from July, will be £27,830 while the Range Extender, which tops out at 276 miles and is a little slow off the mark, will be £30,980. Both prices are after deducting the £4,500 OLEV government grant amount.

READ: BMW i8: Driving the supercar of the future

Best tech BBQ kit for a flaming good summer

Summer is finally upon us and with it comes the primal desire to make fire and cook meat. But the barbeque itself doesn’t have to be such an old traditional grill, there’s plenty of new tech to make cooking outdoors even better.

The art of the barbeque has jumped leaps and bounds beyond the simple task of making a fire and heating some charcoal under a grill. Nowadays you can fire up a grill outside without needing to actually make a fire. You can even create a BBQ ready cooking station that goes from cold to hot in mere minutes.

But kit goes beyond the barbeque itself. Now there are ways of making even the most novice fire-starter and chef create a meal on the grill worthy of praise.

We’ve found the best barbeques and the best BBQ gadgets to help make outdoor cooking easier, faster, more fun to end up with the best food possible.

Lotus Grill and Lotus MiniGrill BBQ

Lotus

If you want to make your barbeque as quick, simple and safe as possible you can’t go far wrong with the Lotus Grill and Lotus MiniGrill.

The Lotus Grill is a battery-powered, fan-assisted unit that is ready to cook within 5-minutes of powering on. It’s also totally smokeless so you should be able to use it anywhere. Before you worry about losing that smoky taste, know that the grill uses natural hardwood charcoal that’s infused in the food via invisible gases. So you get the flavour without the carcinogens of flame-grilled food.

The newer Lotus MiniGrill goes from off to ready-to-cook in just 3-minutes. It’s half the size of the Louts Grill at just 2kg and has a grill that prevents sticking so there’s no oil needed, making it even more healthy.

The Lotus Grill starts at £140 while the Lotus MiniGrill is £100 on Cuckooland.

Grillbot

This has been described as the Roomba for your barbeque. It’s a robot that will take care of cleaning your barbeque so you can cook, eat and that’s it.

The Grillbot is armed with brushes on three corners. These spin and drive the bot around your grill, brushing it clean. A simple button touch sets it to go for 10, 20 or 30 minutes. It’s rechargeable and the brushes can be replaced so you never need to clean your grill again.

Grillbot is $130 (about £88) and comes in red, blue, orange and black from Grillbots.

BBQ Dragon

BBQ Dragon

If you’ve already got a barbeque but want to speed up the lighting process the BBQ Dragon can help.

Essentially the kickstarted BBQ Dragon is a glorified hair dryer. But it works far better than even the best stylist’s kit with a BBQ heated to readiness in just 10-minutes. It’s also powered by micro-USB meaning you can use anything that charges your phone, mobile or otherwise, to keep it powered. The BBQ Dragon clips to any barbeque and goes to work automatically so all you need to do is get the food ready to cook.

The BBQ Dragon is $60 (about £40) from BBQDragon.

Caliber Pro Kamado Charcoal Grill

Caliber

If a simple grill isn’t enough and a true smoker is what you want you’d normally need to shell out for more charcoal. The Caliber Pro Kamado aims to change that.

This grill does it all, with slow cook settings to smoke meats or pizza stone addition to fire up a pie fast. There’s even a rotisserie accessory for perfectly cooked birds.

It’s good that you’ll save money on charcoal as you’ll need to shell out $1,800 (£1,220) to get one from BBQguys.

BBQ Grill Light and Fan

Amazon

When night descends it can make cooking on the barbque harder than it needs to be. Then there’s that breeze that will inevitably blow smoke in your face. The BBQ Grill Light and Fan aims to tackle both those issues.

It simply clips onto your BBQ and uses 4 LED lights and dual fans powered by 8 AA batteries to make cooking a well-lit and smoke-free experience.

The BBQ Grill Light and Fan is $80 (around £55) on Amazon.

Uuni 2S wood fired oven

Uuni

This one moves away from the traditional BBQ while keeping the cooking in the garden, to make pizza.

The Uuni 2S is the next generation of this wood fired pizza oven that can make a pizza go from raw to cooked in as little as 90-seconds.

This bad-boy heats up to 500 degrees Celsius and uses a stone base to make sure pizza is cooked to crispy perfection. Simply load with wood chips, get the flames going and once up to speed start loading in your homemade pizzas. The result is a smokey taste and fun alternative to the traditional BBQ outdoor experience. 

The Uuni 2 is £199 and can be bought directly from Uuni here.

READ: Best garden gadgets for your summer 2014 yard upgrade

Start saving now, Nintendo NX likely to be expensive

Nintendo has learnt many lessons from the troubled lifespan of the Wii U and that is likely to be both good and bad news for the Nintendo NX.

It will undoubtedly benefit from the extra time the company wants to put into its development before a March 2017 release. However, it could also turn out to be much more expensive than previous Nintendo consoles.

Speaking during the company’s Q&A session with investors, on the back of its posted financial results, CEO Tatsumi Kimishima revealed that the NX will not be made at a loss. It is thought that the Wii U hardware cost Nintendo more to make than it could recoup in sales alone. Software sales would make up the shortfall.

“We are not thinking of launching the hardware at a loss,” he said.

“When Wii U was launched, the yen was very strong. I am assuming that situation will not repeat itself. Selling at a loss at launch would not support the business, so we are keeping that mind in developing NX.”

READ: Nintendo NX: Release date, specs and everything you need to know

Considering that it is widely speculated that the NX will be a much more powerful machine, on a par with Xbox One and PS4, yet is also described as a “totally new concept”, that is likely to mean it won’t come cheap.

On the up side, Nintendo doesn’t want to repeat the issues that it faced when launching the Wii U. It announced the current console at E3 more than a year before release and clearly felt under pressure to deliver.

Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were released a year later, so it was immediately superseded in hardware terms – resulting in a shortened shelf life.

“We want consumers to continue to play this game system for many years, so we believe that in the beginning it is most important to make sure that everything is in order at launch,” said Kimishima.

“In that sense, our approach is that we should wait until we can provide a fully realised experience rather than rushing to launch in the holiday season, and this approach has not changed.”

Samsung Galaxy A5 and A3 make the mid range feel premium

Samsung has announced its latest Galaxy A series phones in the A5 and A3, both of which deliver impressive specs and build for the mid range.

Samsung has taken everything it’s developed at the flagship level for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge and filtered it down to make it more accessible for everyone. That means better cameras, fast charging and good build quality all for a more affordable price than the flagship phone.

The Galaxy A3 and A5 both use premium glass and metal builds that are just 7.3mm thick. Both feature Android 5.1, 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel f/1.9 cameras and Super AMOLED displays.

The larger Galaxy A5 is also more powerful with a 5.2-inch 1080p display, 1.6Ghz octa-core with 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage and microSD. This uses a 2900mAh battery that’s fast charging compatible and reaches cat 6 LTE speeds.

The Galaxy A3 is smaller with a 4.7-inch display at 1280 x 720 resolution, 1.5GHz octa-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB storage plus microSD expansion. This tops out at cat 4 LTE and uses a 2300mAh battery.

The Samsung Galaxy A3 and A5 handsets are on sale from 5 May and will be available in black, white or gold variants. The A5 is £229 and the A3 is £179.

READ: Samsung Galaxy S7 tips and tricks: Master your new Galaxy

Google and AOL team up to stop tech talent leaving NYC

New York City may be the Big Apple, but it plays second fiddle to Silicon Valley when it comes to technology. That’s why a number of companies located there including (Engadget’s parent company) AOL, Bloomberg and, yes, California-based Google and Facebook have formed an advocate association called Tech:NYC. In a blog post, AOL’s Tim Armstrong and New York venture capitalist Fred Wilson say “we feel that the NYC tech community deserves a more formal organization to represent itself before local and state governments and the business community and civic sector.”

The organization says its main goals are to get tech leaders more involved in the community, support the growth of the sector, and “advocate for policies that will attract tech talent, jobs and opportunity to NYC.” As examples of where it may get involved, Armstrong and Wilson cite debates around the FBI versus Apple encryption base, NYC drone regulation, Uber labor laws and a recent New York crackdown on Airbnb. “We need to ensure that the voice of the NYC technology community is part of each of these vital communications,” they say.

Tech:NYC Executive Director Julie Samuels (Craig Barritt via Getty Images for AOL)

Of course, not all city residents are thrilled with tech companies meddling in local politics. San Francisco residents increasingly complain of ridiculous housing prices, gentrification, tech companies trying to buy elections and endless lobbying by companies like Airbnb to defeat regulations. On the other hand, the tech industry brings dollars and jobs to cities, and a large, concentrated metropolis like New York should easily support a larger tech industry.

The group says it was inspired in part by sf.citi, a similar tech advocacy organization in San Francisco. Tech:NYC is co-chaired by Armstrong and Wilson and headed by Julie Samuels, a former Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) senior attorney (and “The Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents”). Founding members include AOL, Bloomberg, Google, Facebook, Snapchat, Airbnb, Uber and Kickstarter.

Source: Tech:NYC

Uber makes it easier for Chinese tourists to hail a ride

To stay ahead in the ride-hailing race, Uber has teamed up with the Chinese payments service Alipay. A new partnership means passengers can now hail an Uber outside of China using the Alipay app, rather than Uber’s own software. From the home screen, travelers will see an Uber option and have access to the company’s regular perks, including driver information and the vehicle’s estimated time of arrival. Trip fees will be charged directly to the user’s Alipay account in Chinese yuan. Uber’s hope is that Chinese tourists will now use its service all around the world, shunning its rivals in the US and abroad, due to their familiarity with the Alipay app.

The partnership also affects the Uber app. Passengers can now link their Alipay account inside Uber’s own software, negating the need to connect a dual-currency credit card (and have trips charged in US dollars).

The deal is similar to the one Lyft forged last year with Didi Chuxing, known then as Didi Kuaidi. Now, Americans visiting China can use the Lyft app to hail a Didi Chuxing ride; the same integration works in reverse, allowing Didi Chuxing users to hail Lyfts in the US. In both instances, the idea is to tie users to a particular ride-hailing provider, and discourage trips with any competing service. For companies like Uber and Lyft, success depends on scale and mass adoption. Partnerships like these are, therefore, designed to quickly claim new users, mindshare and, ultimately, business.

Source: Uber

HP’s new Pavilion PCs include a 15-inch hybrid laptop

Spring is well underway, and that can only mean one thing for HP: time to unveil a wave of new home PCs. The company has trotted out a host of new Pavilion PCs that pack both obligatory upgrades — thinner, faster and new colors — as well as a few welcome improvements. The highlight by far is the Pavilion x360 line of convertible laptops, which gets a larger 15.6-inch model (above) on top of the existing 11.6- and 13.3-inch versions. Yes, HP’s most affordable hybrid is now big enough to replace larger portables. You’ll also find slimmer designs for the two smaller versions, optional keyboard backlights on the two larger systems and your pick of current Intel chips ranging from a Celeron to a Core i7. When the Pavilion x360 updates arrive from May 15th through May 29th, prices will start at a frugal $380 for the 11.6-inch PC, $480 for a 13.3-inch version and a not-too-shabby $580 for the 15.6-inch model.

There’s more to the refresh than that, of course. The more conventional Pavilion line is slimming down at the 14- and 15.6-inch sizes, and the larger systems (including the 17.3-incher) can carry the latest Intel Core i7 or AMD A12 processors, up to 16GB of RAM and storage that can include both a 128GB SSD and a 2TB hard drive. Systems start showing up as soon as May 18th, with prices starting at $540 for a 14-incher, $580 for the 15.6-inch Pavilion and $900 for the 17.3-inch behemoth.

On the desktop side of things? Some Pavilion All-in-Ones now carry a “micro edge” display that cuts the border thickness by 75 percent, and there’s an optional RealSense camera for both gesture commands and signing in with face detection. A new Pavilion Desktop, meanwhile, is 30 percent smaller than its ancestor while sporting up to a Core i7 or AMD A12, 16GB of RAM, 3TB of storage and budget GeForce GTX 750i or Radeon R7 graphics. The all-in-ones first show up between July 3rd and July 10th with prices starting at $700 for a 23.8-inch display and $1,000 for 27 inches. The Pavillion Desktop hits on June 26th for $450, and it’ll be joined at the same time by a 32-inch quad HD Pavilion Display that sells for $400.

Source: HP

Brazil Blocks WhatsApp for 72 Hours, 100 Million Users Affected

A Brazilian judge has ordered cellphone carriers to block access to WhatsApp for 72 hours throughout the Latin American country, after the Facebook-owned company refused to hand over information requested in a drug trafficking investigation (via Reuters).

As reported last month, the instant messenger service recently enabled full end-to-end encryption, making all forms of communication sent within the app inaccessible to outside parties as well as the service operator.

Yesterday’s decision by the judge applies to the five main wireless operators in Brazil and affects more than 100 million WhatsApp users in the country, where cellphone charges are relatively high.

This is not the first time the service has been the target of a blocking order. In December of last month, mobile providers in Brazil were ordered to block WhatsApp for 48 hours due to the service’s failure to cooperate with criminal court orders in July and August 2015. However, the following morning, an appeal’s court judge ordered that the ban be lifted for being an unreasonable response, recommending that the company be fined instead.

In March of this year, Facebook vice-president for Latin America Diego Dzodan was arrested in Brazil for not cooperating with an investigation in which WhatsApp conversations were requested, but was released the next day after the Court of Appeal held that the arrest was disproportionate. The judge who ordered WhatsApp’s shutdown on Monday is the same one who ordered Dzodan’s arrest.

Elsewhere last month, members of UK prime minister David Cameron’s inner circle campaigning to remain in the European Union were accused of using WhatsApp to discuss tactics and avoid parliamentary referendum decisions from being subject to Freedom of Information requests. Only last year, Cameron proposed to ban online messaging software that offers end-to-end encryption which could allegedly allow suspected terrorists a safe means of communication.

WhatsApp is not the only messaging service that provides end-to-end encryption; Threema, Wickr, Signal, Silent Phone, and Cryptocat also provide encryption by default. Apple’s iMessage also provides encryption, but does not display key fingerprints for verification. Apple’s own legal issues over encryption came when the FBI attempted to compel the company to unlock San Bernardino terror suspect Farook Syed’s iPhone, before the Justice Department announced it had found an alternate method to gain access to the iPhone in question and dropped the lawsuit.

While WhatsApp has been available as a smartphone app since January 2010, users have only been able to access their accounts on a computer since last year when a web browser client for the service was introduced. Last week, screenshots posted by WABetaInfo on Twitter appeared to show translation requests made by the WhatsApp team indicating that a dedicated OS X client is in the works. WhatsApp is also reportedly set to receive a video calling feature in the near future.

Acquired by Facebook in February 2014, WhatsApp is one of the most popular mobile apps worldwide. According to Statista statistics portal, in February the service recorded more than 1 billion active users worldwide, up from over 700 million in January 2015.

WhatsApp Messenger is a free download for iPhone on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Possible iPhone 7 Headphone Jack Depicted in New Image

Amid rumors suggesting Apple is set to ditch the headphone jack in the iPhone 7, an image depicting a spare part that could be used in the device has surfaced – headphone jack included.

This morning, French site Nowhereelse.fr shared an image of a Lightning cable assembly, apparently destined for the iPhone 7, which differs in design from the same part found in the current iPhone 6s.

The assembly part is host to a number of components, including cellular antenna cables and the obligatory Lightning port, but the new design clearly shows a separate white headphone jack on the far left-hand side.

Left: purported iPhone 7 part (Image: Weibo); Right: iPhone 6s part (Image: iFixit)
The image was submitted anonymously via a Weibo account, therefore its validity cannot be confirmed. As Nowhereelse.fr notes, it could just as easily depict a part destined for a Chinese counterfeit manufacturer, rather than coming from Apple’s official supply chain. Nevertheless, the part should provide some relief for those hoping that Apple’s next generation of iPhone does not adopt a one-size-fits-all Lightning solution, which would also make it the sole means of connecting headphones and other audio accessories.

Recent rumors have suggested Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 will feature a thinner body with no headphone jack, with Apple instead planning to rely on the Lightning port and Bluetooth as ways to connect headphones to the device. Apple is also rumored to be working on Lightning-equipped EarPods to sell alongside the iPhone 7, while a more contentious rumor claims Apple may be planning to replace the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 with a second speaker for stereo audio.

Indeed, it remains to be seen if a Lightning-based audio solution would be restricted to Apple’s larger iPhone 7 Plus handset, which could mean the leaked image is genuine without necessarily vouchsafing the inclusion of a headphone jack across Apple’s upcoming line-up of iPhone devices.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Apple Watch review – CNET

The Good Beautifully constructed. Handles messages well. A solid fitness tracker. Hundreds of apps. Can send and receive voice calls via an iPhone. Lots of design choices. Apple Pay-enabled. Stores music for local playback over Bluetooth.

The Bad Battery only lasts a little more than a day. Most models and configurations cost more than they should. Requires an iPhone to work. Interface can be confusing. Many apps load slowly. Lacks built-in GPS.

The Bottom Line A year old and even more affordable, the Apple Watch remains the best designed and most capable smartwatch you can buy — but we’re hoping that the inevitable sequel makes it more of a must-have product.

I’m up early to try to kickstart a habit at the gym, trying to teach myself to like the routine. My phone and wallet and car keys get in the way; I like to come here as minimalist as possible. My watch is the only thing that feels natural and it’s comforting to start recording an elliptical workout from my wrist. I still find it hard to keep glancing at my wrist as I exercise.

But this is the dream: a little world on my wrist.

I look at it for the weather; I look at it to peek at how the Mets are doing. I have it thump me to remind me where the exit is as I’m driving. I think to myself, “At least I’m connected.” But isn’t that why I have my phone? Yes. The Apple Watch is another security blanket. The Apple Watch and the iPhone act as a pair. I can ping and find out where my iPhone is through the watch, and I feel more hooked-in to what I need.

After a year, I don’t look at my phone any less. In fact, I might look at it more.

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Same watch, new bands.

James Martin/CNET

Apple Watch, one year later

All the time people ask me if they need the Apple Watch.

Short answer: I say no — wait for the inevitable sequel.

Longer answer: I say that, in a lot of different ways, the Apple Watch can do things for me that I like. That it represents a taste of a future we’re all rapidly heading toward.

I’ve used the Apple Watch off and on for the last year, mostly on. And it’s become one of my favorite smartwatches. But since its April 2015 release, three things have happened. Apple has released a few round of software updates; a lot of competing smartwatches and watch-like fitness trackers have been released; and — most importantly — Apple dropped the price of the entry-level Sport model. As of this March, the 38mm model now starts at $299, (£259, AU$429), and the 42mm one starts at $349 (£299, AU$499).

With those changes in mind, should you get one? Or should you wait?

I’d lean towards waiting. If you can find a deal on one and are curious (and, have an iPhone), maybe get one. But my year-old thoughts on the Apple Watch largely stand: I think it’s more of a toy than a tool.

That could change…I just don’t know when.

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New nylon bands come standard with Apple Watch Sport — they’re better than those older elastomer ones.

James Martin/CNET

Why you should consider the Apple Watch

Here’s what I like best about the Apple Watch:

Great for quick-glance info. Need weather at a glance, or don’t want to miss a call? Are you working in a place where it isn’t easy to use your phone or even check it? This is for you.

Easy wrist payments. I’m not saying Apple Pay on my wrist always makes sense, but as more terminals get Apple Pay I feel more and more like I’m in a wallet-less world.

Turn-by-turn directions while driving. But you have to use Apple Maps to get the best experience, which doesn’t always pick the most efficient routes.

It’s a pretty good fitness tracker. The Watch tracks steps, heart rate, and little daily achievements. And it works with a lot of third-party apps, even though they’re not all great.

Nice design, for a smartwatch. Lots of finishes and really good-looking bands.

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Black Milanese band…very nice.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Apple’s smartwatch is compact, really nicely built, and packed with features. Too many, probably. It can vibrate when you get messages. It gets phone calls on your wrist, which you can answer in public if you dare. It’s a fitness tracker. It has Apple Pay. It can store a little bit of music from your phone and connect with Bluetooth headphones like a mini-iPod (which I rarely ever do, but runners might). It has hands-free Siri (but you have to raise your wrist and say “hey, Siri.” And it tells the time.

It’s the easiest smartwatch to accessorize; a variety of bands, from Apple-made models to designer labels, cover a broad gamut. And the Apple Watch models themselves come in different metal finishes and colors.

Apple Watch has a lot of apps that cross-load onto the watch from your phone. Many are lackluster, and some load so slowly I’d rather just take out my phone, but they’re mini tools. Far better are the little at-a-glance bits of info you can put on your watch faces called complications, many of which launch apps with a finger-touch.

I check weather; I use the watch faces to add bits of info; I sometimes pay for things in cabs. I keep up on messages that I might have missed, like texts, calendar appointments, Facebook Messenger or tweets. I can see when my home alarm has been deactivated (I monitor it via an Alarm.com app). Like most smartwatches, it’s a pager on your wrist.

And the Apple Watch’s handling of messages and bits of info is better than nearly any other smartwatch. Its microphone for on-wrist calls is great, too (that speaker, not so much).

I also use it while driving, to get directions on my wrist. Basically, it’s my catch-all way to get info without looking at my phone.

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Oscar Gutiérrez/CNET

Why you should hold off on Apple Watch (for now)

There’s a lot that the Apple Watch could be better at. A year into its life, the top annoyances are basically the same as they were on day one:

Short battery life. Keep that charger handy, because you’ll need it. You’ll get a day and a half max.

It still needs an iPhone. You need one to pair it and sync it, and you need one nearby for the Watch to be truly useful for most apps.

Most of its apps run really slowly. And they’re annoying to find, hidden in a grid of tiny icons. That needs improvement.

Its interface still feels too complicated. Pull-down messages, pull-up glances, and lots of pressing and swiping to get to many features.

If you’re looking for something simple and easy on your wrist that you don’t have to deal with much, don’t get an Apple Watch. I find it helpful, but a regular watch would be a lot easier to maintain. It also wouldn’t give me messages.

Other smartwatches like Pebble and Fitbit’s Blaze are less expensive, lower-maintenance, and easier to check messages on thanks to an always-on screen — and the Pebble is waterproof for swimming. Google’s Android Wear watches work best on Android phones, but you could use one for basic functions with an iPhone.

Apple Watch isn’t great at being connected without an iPhone paired to it. It can do some things over Wi-Fi, but it’s hard to guess what will load or work and what won’t. The Apple Watch is water-resistant, but I’d like full waterproofing. Along with that, better battery life. A day and a half isn’t great.

A smaller watch would be great: lighter, sleeker. I’d prefer battery life over a smaller size, though. And really, I’d like the Apple Watch to just be more aware of the world around me. Tell me what to look for when I arrive someplace; give me reminders contextually; show me remote controls for connected gadgets I use as I approach them.

All this will take a more connected world that isn’t here yet — and a more advanced Apple Watch. (Rumors of a next-gen Watch with cellular connectivity are bubbling up, but that seems like it would involve a bad battery tradeoff.) I want a real-world companion, not just something that siphons off the notifications on my phone.

While the Apple Watch has Siri, its voice recognition and speed is nothing like the Amazon Echo. I’d love the watch to be quicker, more attentive and more intuitive at handling voice commands. Usually Siri on the Apple Watch is just too slow to be useful.

And even though the Apple Watch is better at fitness than most smartwatches, it’s lacking quite a bit. No social networks to challenge friends like Fitbit. No predictive life-coaching that can study trends like Jawbone. No sleep-tracking, like most long-battery fitness trackers. The Watch’s nutrition-tracking and weight management flows into third-party solutions, instead of using the built-in Activity app. And a way to back-up my Watch to iCloud so when I switch phones down the road I won’t lose any data.

Most importantly, there isn’t a watch face store yet. Apple Watch is stuck with the dozen or so customizable watch faces it comes with out of the box. I want my New York Jets watch face, or a weird animated magic trick watch face that makes a coin turn into a rabbit. Or a They Might Be Giants watch face. Whatever you want, Android Wear and Pebble have tons of funky options that Apple Watch just doesn’t.

Note, too, that the big 2015 software update (Apple Watch OS 2), wasn’t the big fix we were hoping for. All of the watch’s major issues — slow-loading apps, a limited collection of watch faces, and a functional but not-great battery life — are largely still present. For big changes, we’re stuck waiting for Watch OS 3, and new hardware.

Waiting for Apple Watch 2

So if Apple does release a new Apple Watch, what will it have and when will it arrive? Most likely, it’ll come alongside the iPhone 7 in September. It might be smaller. It might have better battery life. It might have better water resistance. It might have improved speed, and maybe even work without a phone using cellular. Or it could get something crazy, like a front FaceTime camera to talk to friends. We don’t know. But odds are it’ll at least perform better than the first-generation Apple Watch. On the other hand, it might just be a slight upgrade, or even a step-up model.

At this point, if you’re looking to spend $300 on your wrist, you might just want to wait and see what happens. The current version works well enough for what it does. Not good enough to be a must-have; I’m not even sure anymore that the idea of a smartwatch is something that everyone should get onboard with. I like having one, but I don’t like charging it. And I wish it were better.

Smartwatches may one day be the future of phones, or a seamless extension of both them and your home, or any number of connected devices. Right now, they function as phone accessories. And that’s where the Apple Watch lands. It’s helped me stay more connected, but I still use my phone more than I should.

Below is the review of the Apple Watch as I updated it in July 2015, months after my original take at its April 2015 debut. If we were to recommend one now, it would still be the entry-level Sport. Don’t spend a lot. And be forewarned, there could be a new one as soon as September. I prefer having one to not having one. You might feel differently. And unless you’re desperate to try one, I’d say you might as well wait.

This review has been updated several times, most recently on May 3, 2016. The content below is largely how the review originally appeared in April 2015, with some subsequent updates rolled in to reflect software and price changes.

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The original Apple Watch review: What it does, what it is

Much like most other smartwatches, the Apple Watch isn’t a standalone device — it’s a phone accessory. Android Wear, Samsung Gear, Pebble and others work the same way. But here, you must own an iPhone 5 or later to use the Watch. A few Apple Watch functions work away from the phone, but the watch primarily works alongside the phone as an extension, a second screen and basically another part of your iOS experience. It’s a symbiote.

Communication, fitness, information, time: these are the core Apple Watch functions, but the Watch is incredibly ambitious, packed with many, many features and apps. In scope, it reminds me of Samsung’s ambitious Gear smartwatches, but more fully realized.

Apple Watch receives messages from friends, send texts and lets you dictate messages, make speakerphone calls, ping people with animated emoji, give love taps long-distance or send your heartbeat as a sort of long-distance hug. It tracks your steps, logs runs and monitors your heart rate. And yes, you can use Apple Watch to listen to music via wireless Bluetooth headphones. You can play songs like an iPod, get notifications and run apps like a mini iPhone and make payments with Apple Pay. And it has a totally new force-sensitive display that’s never been seen before.

And yes, it tells the time.

But, once again, this watch needs your iPhone to do most of these things. And it either needs to be in Bluetooth range (30 or so feet), or it can connect over Wi-Fi in a home or office to extend that range further.

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Design

Apple wants you to think of the Apple Watch as fine jewelry. Maybe that’s a stretch, but in terms of craftsmanship, there isn’t a more elegantly made piece of wearable tech.

Look at the Apple Watch from a distance, and it might appear unremarkable in its rectangular simplicity compared with bolder, circular Android Wear watches. It’s clearly a revamped sort of iPod Nano. But get closer, and you can see the seamless, excellent construction.

I reviewed the stainless-steel Apple Watch, with a steel link band — a $1,000 configuration. I also wore it with two different Sport Bands, one white and one blue.

The Apple Watch feels a bit chunky compared to Apple’s stable of super-slim gadgets, but it doesn’t look big on the wrist. The larger 42mm version has length, width and thickness similar to the Pebble Steel , one of the smaller smartwatches available. The 38mm version is even smaller. The 42mm version I reviewed felt great on my wrist and didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.

View full gallery Apple Watch next to the Moto 360, the Pebble Steel and the 2011 iPod Nano with wristband.
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Apple Watch’s curved-rectangle form will polarize: some will find it looks great, others will see it like some sort of space-age iPod. Others will be annoyed it’s not circular, or isn’t thinner. Some won’t like the curved glass (or sapphire crystal) that covers the edges and makes it seem like scratch magnet. The steel version I’ve worn for months has gotten a lot of scuffing and scratching all over its polished body, but the display has stayed pretty scuff-free.

The Digital Crown, Apple’s specialized way of interfacing with the watch, sits off to the side, looking just like the part of the watch that used to wind older watches. But in this case, the crown is a mini scroll wheel. You can click it or turn it, and it moves smoothly and beautifully. A second button below brings up favorite contacts, or triggers Apple Pay with a double-click.

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Most navigating happens by swiping and tapping the display, but that crown can be used for some navigation in some apps, or as a pinch-to-zoom replacement. I kept forgetting to use it at first, except to press it to get back to app menu (that grid of apps which I’ll get to in a bit). Over time, I got used to it, but I still tended to use my finger for swipes instead.

Under the hood

All Apple Watches have a new S1 processor made by Apple, that “Taptic” haptic engine and a force-sensitive and very bright OLED display, which is differently sized on the 38mm and 42mm models. The watch has its own accelerometer, gyrometer and heart-rate monitor, but no onboard GPS. It uses Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz Wi-Fi to connect to your phone or your home network. There’s a built-in speaker and microphone, but no headphone jack.

The many-nested worlds of the Apple Watch interface

The old iPod Nano had a grid of apps to swipe through, like an iPhone. Samsung’s Gear watches use a similar approach. Google’s Android Wear uses a blank slate at first, pushing notification cards while hiding its apps behind a scrolling menu.

The Apple Watch has its main watch faces, but also two levels of apps: Glances, which are a lot like the quick-glance app summaries in iOS 8’s pull-down “Today” menu (or the occasional cards that appear in Android Wear), and full-fledged apps. You swipe up for Glances, down for on-watch notifications like texts or Twitter/Facebook alerts and click the Digital Crown button in to get to that “home screen” grid of glowing circular apps you’ve seen in all the ads.

Let’s start from the top.

Watch faces: Things of beauty

Apple has spent a lot of time making its collection of watch faces great, and the effort shows: these are a beautiful bunch. The old iPod Nano had fun watch faces, but many of Apple’s are actually clever and useful: a chronometer becomes a customizable stopwatch; a solar cycle face shows actual sunset and sunrise times, presenting changing arcs depending on the season; a jaw-dropping planetary face shows the Earth and Moon, but properly lit to reflect day, night, and lunar cycles. You can see all the planets in their current alignment, or spin the crown and see their positions change by date. There’s also Mickey Mouse.

Apple Watch faces: A close-up look (pictures)
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The watch faces are customizable, to a point: numbers can be added, colors changed and many “complications” (a watch industry term for extra information on a watch) altered. You can see battery life, calendar appointments, daily fitness and more at a glance. Tap, and those zones open the full app.

Apple’s clock collection won’t currently allow third-party extensions or watch faces to join in the fun, but that will change in the fall with WatchOS 2. Apple will also add more watch faces then, including a few that can add customized photos or photo albums. But, still, the watch face assortment feels limited compared to Android Wear. It’s also odd how many of the 10 watch faces opt for round analog designs even though the watch is rectangular. I would have preferred more digital-style options like those on the Pebble Steel.

View full gallery Notifications pop up as they do on the iPhone, and can be managed individually.
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Glances and notifications, taps and pings: How you get information

There are a lot of ways to look at little bits of info surfaced by the Apple Watch. Notifications pop onto the screen as on most smartwatches. You can swipe down and look at them all, if you want, or delete them. There are also Glances, permanent little slides of mini-info that basically work like Widgets on iOS 8 and Mac OS X Yosemite. Swipe up, and you can swipe back and forth through little interactive tiles. Most apps work with Glances, but not all. Battery life, weather, music control, basic airplane mode and find-your-watch pings, quick news headlines — you get the picture.

View full gallery What a Glance looks like on the Apple Watch.
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As I wore the watch on the first day, I felt a rippling buzz and a metallic ping: one of my credit card payments showed up as a message. Apple’s “Taptic Engine” and a built-in speaker convey both a range of advanced taps and vibrations, plus sounds. Unlike the buzz in a phone or most wearables, these haptics feel sharper: a single tap, or a ripple of them, or thumps.

Sometimes the feelings are too subtle: I don’t know if I felt them or imagined them. My wrists might be numbed from too many smart devices. I set my alerts to “prominent” and got sharper nudges on my wrist.