Apple Releases watchOS 2.2.1 Update for Apple Watch With Multiple Bug Fixes
Apple today released a new software update for the Apple Watch, upgrading watchOS 2 to version 2.2.1. The update comes nearly two months after the public release of watchOS 2.2, a major update to the watchOS 2 operating system that introduced multi-watch support for iPhone, Maps improvements, and other features. In testing since April 6, Apple seeded two betas of watchOS 2.2.1 to developers prior to releasing it to the public.
The 2.2.1 update can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General –-> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 2.2.1 is a minor update, and during the beta testing period, no outward-facing changes or obvious bug fixes were discovered. According to Apple’s release notes, watchOS 2.2.1 fixes the following problems:
Since releasing watchOS 2 in September of 2015, Apple has provided Apple Watch owners with four updates in total, including watchOS 2.0.1, watchOS 2.1, watchOS 2.2, and today’s watchOS 2.2.1 update.
Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 2
Tag: watchOS 2.2.1
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
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Apple: Steve Jobs’ Healthcare Prompted Apple Watch Development
TIME published an article yesterday that offers an interesting take on Apple’s long-term plans for the Apple Watch, noting that Steve Jobs’ desire to improve the healthcare system indirectly inspired its development.
The article is written by technology consultant Tim Bajarin, who recently spent time at the company’s headquarters and met with Apple executives involved with the Apple Watch. He asked them to explain their motivation for creating the wearable device, which was released just over a year ago.
According to Bajarin, the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs tasked his R&D teams with developing technology that would create a bridge between patients and healthcare providers, after his own experiences within the healthcare system in his battle with pancreatic cancer, which began in 2004. Jobs died from the disease in 2011.
During the intervening years, Jobs had become concerned with what he saw as a lack of connection between patients, their data, and healthcare providers, and sought to bring greater order to the system by developing a mobile platform and an ecosystem of devices that would make patient-doctor relationships more efficient and less frustrating.
During Bajarin’s time at Cupertino, he was invited into Apple’s dedicated health labs, where Apple has seven full-time nurses monitoring employee volunteers using advanced medical equipment as they perform various exercises in controlled conditions. Bajarin came away from his visit with the take-home message that while Apple has marketed the Watch as a fashionable timepiece, the company is committed to Jobs’ original vision for the device as an enhanced health monitoring system.
The last few years has seen the company increase its focus on health and medical technology that integrates with its mobile devices. HealthKit framework debuted in 2014, allowing developers to build health monitoring software that integrates with Apple’s Health app. Apple’s open source framework ResearchKit was made available to developers in April 2015, enabling them to create their own iPhone apps for medical research purposes.
Just last month, Apple released CareKit iOS, another health-related framework allowing app developers to create integrated software that helps patients and doctors to better track and manage medical conditions.
You can read the TIME article here.
Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 2
Tags: HealthKit, Steve Jobs, ResearchKit
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
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Third Party App ‘Littlebook’ Brings Facebook to the Apple Watch for $2.99
Although a number of social networks have introduced scaled-down apps for the Apple Watch, the biggest holdout thus far has been Facebook. Thanks to a third party app called “Littlebook,” Facebook users will now be able to browse their news feeds right from Apple’s wearable device (via The Next Web).
In addition to basic browsing, Littlebook lets users interact with posts by tapping to like things, and even includes full in-line photos and videos in the news feed. An offline mode lets users save articles to read later, and the app allows for transferring over to the iPhone with Handoff support, if the small size of the Apple Watch isn’t enough for lengthy reads. There’s also a voice dictation feature that can be used to post full status updates to your friends and family.
Reto Stuber, Littlebook’s developer, does remind potential users that the app has its limitations due to the platform, including the fact that posts on the feed are limited to preview samples with no “read more” option, sharing and reactions are not yet supported, and YouTube videos won’t work since playback is only supported by embedded Facebook videos at launch. Still, the developer promised that he tried his “best to recreate the Facebook-App experience,” and Littlebook will continue to be supported with updates in the future.
Littlebook can be downloaded from the App Store for $2.99. [Direct Link]
Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 2
Tag: Facebook
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Tesla improves Summon feature with more safety
Tesla’s slow but steady progression towards fully autonomous driving continues. Last month, the company announced beta testing of its “Summon” remote parking feature.The California-based electric vehicle maker is updating the feature to increase the safety factor.
Of course, while Tesla might want to make it more safe, at least one Tesla driver wants to make it cooler, in a very Silicon Valley sort of way. He’s using an Apple Watch app to summon his Tesla Model S out of the garage, as you can see in the one-minute video above.
In a February 8 blog post, the Tesla team detailed how Summon can improve safety because the feature engages the vehicle’s sensors to stop the car if it’s about to hit an object. Additionally, Tesla’s adding a feature that stops the car from moving when the car owner’s finger is disconnected from either the smartphone or fob (i.e. the car won’t keep rolling if the owner drops his or her keys).
“While these additional layers of security will not completely eliminate accidents when using semi-autonomous features like Summon, when used correctly, they can reduce their occurrence relative to conventional driving,” Tesla wrote.
As it is, Tesla’s already touting Summon as a convenience perk. Not only can the feature engage the vehicle to move itself out of a garage, but the car can park itself when there’s a tight parking space that wouldn’t otherwise allow for those Model S or falcon-winged Model X doors to open without dinging the adjacent vehicle.
Tesla first announced Summon on January 10 as part of a suite of improvements to the 7.1 software suite that included a number of autonomous-driving features. The feature allows the cars to drive as far as 33 feet on its own at a speed of about one mile per hour.
Via: Hybrid Cars
Source: Tesla Motors Blog
Future Apple Watch Could Adjust iPhone Volume Based on Ambient Noise
The United States Patent and Trademark Office today published a patent filed by Apple in March 2014, which depicts an Apple Watch automatically adjusting an iPhone’s audio volume or other alert characteristics based on ambient sound samples (via AppleInsider).
The invention would be most useful in noisy environments where alerts might otherwise go unnoticed or unheard. The system could also serve to automatically lower iPhone ringtone or notification volume in quieter situations.
The patent details an Apple Watch using its microphone to listen to ambient sound at regular intervals or when triggered to do so by a host device. Using the data collected, the Watch analyses the difference between the background noise and the alert audio level, and makes a volume adjustment accordingly.
The system is also able to work out the iPhone’s orientation and location in relation to the user’s body, including whether the handset is tucked in a pocket or stowed away in a bag, in order to account for physical sound barriers.
In one example, an iPhone sends a notification audio signal to the Watch before playing an audible alert. The receiving timepiece analyses the wave signal and compares it against a stored reference signal based on ambient noise samples. Through a combination of sound threshold analyses, the Apple Watch then sends the appropriate command to raise or lower the iPhone’s output volume.
The invention could also be used to filter audio signals received by voice-activated control functions — for example, by increasing the physical distance that a user can successfully activate Siri using the “Hey, Siri” spoken command.
Apple has researched the use of sound sensors before as a possible accompaniment to existing light sensors in its devices. However, ambient sound monitoring is now an established technology in the consumer space, for instance in several auto-adaptive noise cancelling headphones, suggesting implementation of the feature in Apple products could happen sooner rather than later.
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Apple Recruiting Specialized Engineer to Focus on Apple Watch Clock Faces
A job description for a software engineer on Apple’s “Clock Face Team” discovered yesterday points to the possibility of more robust Clock Face and Complications options in a future watchOS update. As discovered by iPhoneHacks, the listing is specifically seeking a software engineer with 3+ years of software development experience to join the Apple Watch team.
Responsible for planning and implementing new Clock Faces and Complications for Apple Watch users, the software engineer will work in close proximity to the UI design, iOS Frameworks, and QA teams. Besides the expected timeliness and attention to detail stipulations, the rest of the description for the position at Apple includes the following:
Description
As a member of the team you will have many responsibilities relating to the design, development, and testing of the device software.
- Collaborating closely with the design team to push the envelope on human-computer interactions.
- Creating solutions tailored to the constraints of the software and the hardware of a small, low power device.
- Working closely with the iOS Apps, iOS Frameworks and Hardware teams to create robust and maintainable systems that will stand the test of time.
- Coordinating with the quality assurance teams to ensure full test coverage as well as to initiate focused testing on critical components.
New Apple Watch Clock Faces and Complications have been assumed to be in the cards for future watchOS updates, but what we still don’t know is when they will be released. Last September, Apple released the first major public update for Apple Watch in watchOS 2, which introduced three new Clock Faces: two variations on Photo Album (one that shuffles through a set album, and one that sticks to a specific image) and Time-Lapse.
Currently on watchOS 2.1, the next update to the Apple Watch software (watchOS 2.2) is predicted to debut at a rumored March media event. Recent beta tests of 2.2 don’t hint at the inclusion of new Clock Faces and Complications, so there’s a possibility users will have to wait a little longer for these additions. The specific details for the event remain nebulous, but so far the “iPhone 5se,” iPad Air 3, and new Apple Watch bands are all rumored to be included in next month’s yet-to-be-announced Apple event.
Tag: Apple job listings
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Apple Seeds Third WatchOS 2.2 Beta to Developers
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 2.2 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the second watchOS 2.2 beta and two months after releasing watchOS 2.1, the first major update to the watchOS 2 operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 2.2 has been in testing since January 11.
The third watchOS 2.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on an iPhone running the iOS 9.3 beta by going to General –> Software update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the Apple Watch charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 2.2, along with iOS 9.3, introduces support for pairing multiple Apple Watches with a single iPhone. Both updates are required, with each watch running watchOS 2.2 and each iPhone running iOS 9.3. watchOS 2.2 also includes a revamped look for the built-in Maps app on the Apple Watch with access to the Nearby feature first introduced with iOS 9 and new buttons for quickly accessing directions to home and work.
There are were no other obvious outward-facing changes introduced in the first two watchOS 2.2 betas aside from the changes to the Maps app, but the update undoubtedly includes under-the-hood performance updates and bug fixes to address issues that have been discovered since the release of watchOS 2.1.
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Apple’s iPad Air 3 and ‘iPhone 5se’ Event May Take Place March 15
Apple’s next media event, where it is rumored to announce updates across three product categories, is tentatively planned for Tuesday, March 15, according to 9to5Mac. The date could change over the next six weeks.
As the scheduled event is still a month-and-a-half away, the date could conceivably still shift or turn into an online announcement. The media event would be Apple’s first since September, and much like the fall event, is planned to touch on three major product categories for the company.
At the media event, its first since September, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives are expected to introduce the new 4-inch “iPhone 5se” and iPad Air 3, alongside minor Apple Watch updates, including new bands.
Apple’s new 4-inch iPhone is rumored to feature an A9 chip with M9 motion coprocessor, 1,624 mAh battery, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.2, Apple Pay, VoLTE, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and 16GB and 64GB storage models, but 3D Touch appears unlikely.
The so-called “iPhone 5se” will reportedly ship in late March or early April, and will likely replace the iPhone 5s. Apple’s smartphone lineup come September is expected to be the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone 5se.
Details surrounding the iPad Air 3 are less clear, but leaked design drawings and aftermarket cases suggest the new 9.7-inch tablet could have a rear-facing LED camera flash, Smart Connector, and four speakers like the iPad Pro.
Taiwanese website DigiTimes also said the iPad Air 3 will have a high-resolution 4K display and up to 4GB of RAM, but the report is questionable due to the publication’s mixed track record at reporting on Apple’s upcoming product plans.
Last, earlier rumors suggested an “Apple Watch 2” could debut around March, but the wrist-worn device will likely only receive minor updates, including new bands and possibly a FaceTime camera, at next month’s purported media event.
Buyer’s Guide: iPad Air (Don’t Buy), Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Apple Watch and Apple TV See Record Quarterly Sales
Both the Apple Watch and the Apple TV set new quarterly sales records in 1Q 2016, according to information shared by Tim Cook during today’s earnings call. The Apple Watch saw especially strong sales in December as people purchased the device during the holiday season, something that’s perhaps not a surprise given the significant discounts offered by some third-party retailers.
While Apple did not offer discounts itself, Best Buy cut prices on the Apple Watch by $100, and Target offered a $100 gift card with the purchase of an Apple Watch. These price drops likely boosted Apple Watch sales by a good amount during the quarter. Apple also expanded Apple Watch availability to more than 48 countries ahead of the holiday season.
As for the Apple TV, Apple says it saw its best quarter ever following the launch of the fourth-generation device. The Apple TV 4, priced at $149 to $199 depending on capacity, includes features like a full App Store, a touch-based remote control and Siri voice control. Available apps on the Apple TV have expanded, with 3,600 total apps now downloadable on the device.
Apple does not break out sales of the Apple Watch and the Apple TV, choosing instead to lump them into an “Other” category that also includes iPods and Beats headphones, so exact sales numbers for the two devices are not known. Revenue for the Other category did see a big increase, jumping more than 40 percent from $2.7 billion in 1Q2015 to $4.35 billion in 1Q2016. Sales were also up quarter over quarter, as revenue in 4Q2015 was at $3 billion.
Overall, it was a record quarter for Apple with $18.4 billion in profit on $75.9 billion in revenue. During the quarter, the company sold 74.8 million iPhones, 16.1 million iPads, and 5.3 million Macs.
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now), Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Apple Watch 2 Said to Enter Mass Production in Mid 2016
Quanta will be the sole manufacturer of the second-generation Apple Watch, according to a few sources out of the China supply chain (via DigiTimes). The same sources believe that the manufacturing company will ramp up mass production on the “Apple Watch 2” sometime in the second quarter of 2016, following reports that it began a trial production on the smartwatch this month.
The reason for Quanta’s status as the only Apple Watch 2 manufacturer stems from rumors surrounding Apple’s predicted low-volume production output for the second-generation wearable device. Citing “weaker than expected shipments” of the first Apple Watch, the supply chain sources point to the company’s tempered production forecast for its next version of the wrist-worn device.
Apple originally considered shifting some second-generation Apple Watch orders to Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), but decided to keep all the orders with Quanta as volumes will not be high, the sources noted. Because of Apple Watch’s weaker than expected shipments, Apple recently reduced the device’s shipment forecast for 2016 down further from its estimate in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Although Apple has remained quiet on specific sales numbers for the Apple Watch, estimates put the wearable as a consistent rival to similar products, including Fitbit, with numbers only growing in the lead-up to the holiday season last year. Recent rumors point to the possibility of an interim update for the Apple Watch in March, including only one or two new features (like a FaceTime camera), and with a proper full 2.0 model released later in the year.
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