iFixit Posts Apple Watch Repair Manuals for Battery, Screen and More

iFixit has released Apple Watch repair manuals for various components of the device, including the battery, screen, adhesive, and NFC antenna. The guides provide step-by-step instructions on how to replace the Apple Watch’s OLED display and battery, alongside additional steps for repairing the adhesive and NFC antenna that can be damaged as a result of opening the casing.

The steps required to replace the OLED display and fused glass digitizer, in simplified terms, include separating the screen from the watch body with a sharp, curved knife and opening pick, prying and removing the internal battery, disconnecting the display data and digitizer cables, and removing the screen. The steps to replace the battery are nearly identical.

Replacing the Apple Watch’s adhesive involves laying the backed adhesive tape down on the NFC antenna, around the edge of the case where the screen rests, using a plastic opening tool to reconnect the display data and digitizer cable connectors, reinstalling the metal bracket, pressing the battery back into its position, and pressing the casing down firmly on the new adhesive.

While many of the tools used in the repair guides are available for purchase, iFixit has not yet stocked the necessary Apple Watch replacement parts needed to make these repairs. Given that the Apple Watch has only been available for one week, it could be some time before the website makes replacement batteries, screens, adhesive and NFC antennas available through it online store.

How to Choose and Customize Your Watch Face on Apple Watch [iOS Blog]

With all of the amazing features Apple Watch has to offer, it’s almost easy to forget that it’s also a watch. Apple has made it possible for you to change watch faces like you change your socks. Not only that, but you can customize each face with a variety of features, called “complications,” for a fully personalized experience. We’ve got a tutorial for you today that explains how to change from one watch face to another, the complications available for each face, and how to customize each face with your favorite ones.

Changing the Watch Face

Currently, there are 10 different watch faces available on Apple Watch, but Apple has hinted that additional watch faces will be released in the future. For now, switching between the 10 watch faces is simple.

1. Press firmly on the screen that displays the time (what Apple calls a Force Touch).
2. Swipe left or right to browse watch face options.
3. Tap “Customize to see available complications and other options for each face.
4. Tap the face you want to use.

Watch Faces and Customizable Complications

Astronomy
The astronomy face displays the solar system, day, date, and current time. There are no complications to customize, but you can move the planets forward and backward in time by turning the Digital Crown. You can also tap the moon icon to see its current phase and tap the solar system icon to see the position of the planets.

Chronograph
The chronograph face is perfect for precision timing down to the millisecond. You can change the face color and dial details. You can also add the following complications: date, calendar, moon phase, sunrise and sunset, weather, stocks, activity summary, alarm, timer, battery life, and world clock.

Color
Colors is a basic analog watch face with multiple bright color options for the face. You can add the following complications: date, moon phase, sunrise and sunset, weather, activity summary, alarm, timer, stopwatch, battery life, world clock, and your personal monogram (your initials, taken from your contacts list, displayed above the center).

Mickey Mouse
If you are headed out for some fun, the Mickey Mouse face offers an animated ticker similar to classic Mickey watches, only this one taps his toe as he points to the time. You can add the following complications: date, calendar, moon phase, sunrise and sunset, weather, activity summary, alarm, timer, stopwatch, battery life, world clock, and stocks.

Modular
If you want the most features available on your watch, then the Modular face is right for you. It comes in a variety of colors and you can add the following complications: date, calendar, moon phase, sunrise and sunset, weather, stocks, activity summary, alarm, timer, stopwatch, battery life, and world clock. Plus, you can see expanded views of calendar, weather stocks, activity, alarm, timer, stopwatch, and world clock.

Motion
If you really want to impress people with a great looking Apple Watch, show them an animated face. This includes animations of butterflies, flowers, or jellyfish, all of which display slight movement. Each time you raise your wrist, you’ll see a different butterfly, flower, or jellyfish in a variety of colors and shapes. The only complication available to add to the time is the date (with or without the day).

Simple
Of course, if you own an Apple product, there is probably a minimalist hiding inside you somewhere. If you aren’t ashamed of it, this face is a real eye-catcher. You can change the color of the second hand and adjust the details and numbering of the dial. You can also add the following complications: date, calendar, moon phase, sunrise and sunset, weather, activity summary, alarm, timer, stopwatch, battery life, and world clock.

Solar
If you are a bit of a sun worshiper, you might prefer a simple no-frills watch face that displays the sun’s current position in the sky on a curved line. You can’t add any complications, but you can move the sun across the curve to see it at dusk, dawn, zenith, sunset, and darkness by turning the Digital Crown. The face’s colors change over the course of the day to match the time.

Utility
If you are a no-nonsense kind of person, this watch face will suit your needs. You can change the color of the second hand and details of the dial and numbers. You can also add the following complications: date, calendar, moon phase, sunrise and sunset, weather, activity summary, alarm, timer, stopwatch, battery life, and world clock, and stocks. You can also expand the views of these features.

X-Large
Worried that you won’t be able to see everything on that tiny screen? The “X-Large” watch face displays the time in digital form in large numbers that take up the entirety of the screen. It’s a clean look and useful for those who might have eyesight problems. You can’t add any complications, but you can change the color. There are eight choices ranging from purple to red to white.

Customizing Complications

Now that you know what each face can do and what it looks like, you’ll need to learn how to make the changes you want.

1. With the watch face showing, firmly press the display.
2. Tap Customize.
3. Tap to select a feature and turn the Digital Crown to adjust it.
4. When finished, press the Digital Crown to save the changes.
5. Tap the face to switch to it.

Adding Faces to Your Collection

You can add any number of customized faces, even ones with the same face but different complications, to your collection for quick access. It’s a good way to save a variety of different configurations for use in any situation.

1. With the watch face showing, firmly press the display.
2. Swipe all the way to the right and tap the plus (+) icon.
3. Swipe up and down to browse the faces and tap the one you wish to add.
4. Customize the face to your preferences.
5. To delete a face from your collection: with the face showing, firmly press the display, swipe to the face you don’t want, then swipe it up and tap delete.

Setting Your Watch Ahead

If you are the type of person that sets their watch five minutes ahead in order to make it on time, you won’t be restricted to real-time with Apple Watch. You can set it ahead, just like a traditional watch.

1. Open the Settings app on the Apple Watch.
2. Tap “Time,” and then tap +0 min.
3. Turn the Digital Crown to set the watch ahead as much as 59 minutes. This only changes the time on the watch face. It does not affect notifications and alarms.

With all of the highly customizable features available for each of the ten Apple Watch faces, you’ll be able to change them with every different mood you have throughout the day.

MacRumors 2015 Blood Drive

MacRumors is pleased to announce the Sixth Annual MacRumors Blood Drive, throughout the month of May 2015. Our goal every year is to increase the number of life-saving donations in real-world communities by encouraging everyone in our online community to step forward. While most blood drives are specific to a geographic location or collection center, our blood drive is online and worldwide. Our past blood drives have collectively recorded donations of over 250 units of blood and platelets.

Apple often supports health, relief, and charity efforts, including facilitating cash donations after the recent earthquake in Nepal, but this drive is run by the staff and volunteers of MacRumors.

We ask that you:

1. Donate blood or platelets at any donation center or hospital near you. Join the bone marrow registry in your country. Sign up for the organ donor registry in your state, province, or country.

2. Post in the MacRumors 2015 Blood Drive! forum thread. Tell us about your donation or registration experience. We’d like to thank you.

3. Share the news and our message with other people you know, online and in person. Convince one other person to donate blood in the month of May. Help us thank the donors who post about their experiences.

For details see the MacRumors 2015 Blood Drive! thread and our traditional Honor Roll of recognized donors.

Recent donation by a MacRumors forum member
Why donate blood or platelets? Why join the bone marrow registry? Why join the organ donor registry?

– Donated blood and platelets save the lives of people recovering from accidents, undergoing surgery, or struck by illness. These are people in your own neighborhoods who need your help. Donated blood and platelets are needed every 2 seconds, not just when hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters occur. An hour of your time could save up to 3 lives.

– With a simple cheek swab you are volunteering to donate stem cells or bone marrow if you match someone dying from a disease like leukemia. There are many thousands of people each year searching for donors to save their lives. You might be the one and only person who can save a particular patient’s life.

– Thousands of people die every year while waiting for organ transplants. Your donation of organs when your own life ends could save the lives of as many as 8 people.

The lives you save may belong to your friends, neighbors, relatives, or complete strangers. Someday you may receive the same generosity from others. There’s no gift more precious than the gift of life.

Do this today

1. If you are eligible to donate blood: Schedule a blood or platelet donation, in May if possible. Register for the bone marrow registry. Register as an organ donor. Find the details in our knowledge base articles: Blood and Platelet Donation and Organ, Tissue, and Bone Marrow Donation. We’ve added over 20 countries to these articles.

2. If you aren’t eligible to donate blood: Check if you can still register for the bone marrow registry and register as an organ donor. You’re welcome to discuss donor eligibility in our Blood donor eligibility forum thread.

3. Help our drive by thanking donors and convincing a friend or relative to donate blood.

Rumored ‘iPad Pro’ Dimensions and Features Again Seen in Renderings

Following a lull in rumors and news circulating Apple’s so-called “iPad Pro”, most likely due to the launch of the Apple Watch and reported delays in Apple’s internal production timeline, a newly shared industrial rendering (via nowhereelse.fr) [Google Translate] of the device once again provides some claims of dimensions for the large-screened iPad.

The industrial rendering, dated December 2014, points to a 12.9-inch screen iPad Pro with dimensions measuring exactly 305.70mm x 222.60mm x 7.20mm, or 12 inches x 8.7 inches x 0.28 inches. These numbers line up closely with those seen in a previously purported design drawings for the device, although they are slightly larger than the earlier ones.

The latest rumor also supports the majority of sources so far pointing to a 12.9-inch display for the iPad Pro. A few sources have suggested it could carry a smaller 12.2-inch display, but they are a small minority at this point.

Beyond dimensions, the industrial rendering does appear to support the four top- and bottom-based speakers mentioned in previous rumors, as well as the typical locations for the power button, headphone jack, Lightning port, and volume buttons. As with the iPad Air 2, this iPad Pro design appear to omit a mute switch in favor of a tiny microphone hole near the volume buttons.

Notably, the rendering does not include a port or other feature around the center of the left edge as has been seen in some previous case and mockup leaks. The exact identity of that feature is not clear, with suggestions it could be a SIM tray for cellular models, a second Lightning port for docking accessories in landscape orientation, or even a USB-C port.

Cases for the iPad Pro have begun increasing in quality recently, going from simple plastic molds to complex trifold designs with higher-quality materials, perhaps suggesting more confidence from manufacturers in these rumored designs and schematics.

Regarding its specs, the most recent rumors state the iPad Pro could have a triple-core A8X processor, 2 GB of RAM, and Touch ID, and possibly ship alongside a first-party stylus accessory of some sort. The latest rumblings suggest a production build-up in September with a launch perhaps coming in October alongside Apple’s usual iPad lineup refresh.

Gold Plating Your Apple Watch is Possible Without Spending a Fortune [iOS Blog]

While the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition is a gorgeous wristwatch, its starting price of $10,000 in the United States is simply out of reach for many customers. But if you have a stainless steel Apple Watch, it is possible to gold plate your device without breaking the bank. Take a look at the comparatively inexpensive services and methods for turning your Apple Watch gold below.

WatchPlate

MacRumors forum member RianFlynn has shared photos of a stainless steel Apple Watch with Milanese Loop with what he says is a thin coating of 24-karat gold that costs just $6. The finished product looks quite impressive, and the user has since launched a website called WatchPlate where he plans to accept Apple Watch gold plating orders for $399 with an estimated three-day turnaround. Most of the price is based on the time and labor involved. While we have not confirmed the authenticity of this service, gold plating the stainless steel Apple Watch is technically feasible.

The Time Preserve

Watch restoration specialist The Time Preserve recently announced that it is accepting gold plating orders for the stainless steel Apple Watch. The company, which has been restoring watches since 1995, uses custom-formulated gold electroplating for durability, and ensures that the 5 to 6 microns thick plating will not peel from daily wear. Prices range from $550 to $650, with cheaper prices for bands only, and the service has an estimated one-week turnaround.

Gold Spray Paint

YouTube creator Casey Neistat shared a video last week where he applied gold spray paint to his space gray aluminum Apple Watch Sport. Beyond the obvious fact that spray painting your Apple Watch probably isn’t the wisest idea, given that the paint could easily chip or get stuck in the Digital Crown or other parts of the watch, the end result actually looks much like the Apple Watch Edition.

Of course, the thin gold plating is not the same as the 18-karat solid gold used on the Apple Watch Edition, but the difference is hard to tell visually and these services are available at a fraction of the price. Before placing an order, keep in mind that modifying your Apple Watch with gold plating may void your standard warranty or AppleCare protection plan for the device.

Most 42mm Apple Watches Now Estimated to Ship in July

While many customers have been receiving their Apple Watch pre-orders earlier than expected, all 42mm Apple Watch Sport and stainless steel Apple Watch models now have shipping estimates of July on the Apple Online Store in the United States for new orders. Apple Watch Edition shipping times have not changed.

Now that the calendar has turned to May, it is likely that Apple has simply bumped forward its original June estimate for 42mm models to July to remain conservative. Many pre-orders with initial shipping estimates of 4-6 weeks or later have already been shipped or delivered, as Apple appears to be making up ground on most models.

The only two Apple Watches that remain virtually nowhere to be seen are the 38mm and 42mm Space Black with Link Bracelet models, both of which remain available to ship in 4-6 weeks or later for most customers. Earlier this week, it was reported that a Taptic Engine defect may have contributed to Apple Watch supply constraints, but the issue was caught before any units were shipped to customers and has since been resolved.

Apple Confirms Tattoos Can Interfere With Apple Watch [iOS Blog]

Apple has confirmed on a support page on its website that dark wrist tattoos have the potential of interfering with the Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor (via Trusted Reviews). It was reported earlier this week that some tattoos, particularly dark or saturated ones, can affect the Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor and ability to register contact with the wearer’s skin.

“Permanent or temporary changes to your skin, such as some tattoos, can also impact heart rate sensor performance. The ink, pattern, and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings.”

Apple does not offer a useful solution beyond connecting the Apple Watch wirelessly to external heart rate monitors such as Bluetooth chest straps, suggesting that users with tattoos covering the wrist may be forced to deal with this issue. Apple outlines skin perfusion and rhythmic movements as two other factors that can affect the performance of the Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor.