Apple Watch Battery Designed to Last 1000 Complete Charge Cycles [iOS Blog]

Apple has outlined that the Apple Watch battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 1000 complete charge cycles, which gives the watch’s battery a lifespan of about two-and-a-half to three years based on fully charging the wrist-worn device once per day.

Comparatively, the MacBook and iPad can receive up to 1000 complete charge cycles while retaining up to 80% of original battery capacity. iPhones receive up to 500 complete charge cycles, and iPods receive up to 400 complete charge cycles.

A teardown of the Apple Watch earlier today revealed a small 205 mAh battery inside the device, which lasts up to 18 hours based on mixed usage and up to 72 hours in Power Reserve mode. The battery is covered under Apple’s limited 1-year hardware warranty, while out-of-warranty battery service is also available for $79 plus an applicable $6.95 shipping charge if required for the Sport, Watch and Edition models.

Here’s the Apple Watch torn apart for your pleasure

You likely won’t be able to repair the Apple Watch on your own — shocking, we know. The gadget eviscerators over at iFixit put the Apple Watch under the knife today, just as people who’ve preordered the Watch have begun receiving their shipments. After a complete dissection, iFixit ended up giving the Apple Watch a repairability score of five out of 10 — making it something you likely wouldn’t want to mess with. Removing the screen was “difficult, but not impossible,” iFixit said, and once you’ve dealt with that the battery is “quite easy to remove.” But anything beyond the battery, including the Taptic Engine and Apple’s S1 chip, is pretty much out of bounds. Basically, if you’re getting an Apple Watch, consider an Apple Care plan, or be ready to pay hefty fees in case anything goes wrong.

The teardown also makes it clear you won’t be able to easily upgrade the Apple Watch over time. That’s something people who invest in the more expensive Steel and gold Edition models might want to take into account. Then again, if you’ve got enough bank for the Apple Watch edition, you probably won’t care about dropping tens of thousands of dollars for a new model. Our guess? Apple could offer a trade-in program for existing Watch owners which would give them significant discounts on newer units.

iFixit also points out that the Apple Watch’s photoplethysmographic heart rate monitor looks like it might be able to measure your blood oxygen levels, which isn’t something that Apple currently advertises. That could be one of the features Apple reportedly dropped before the Watch’s release due to erratic sensors. There’s some speculation that Apple might be able to turn on the blood oxygen measuring capability eventually, but that’s not likely since it involves measurement using red light — so far we’ve only seen green light and infra-red sensors on the Apple Watch.

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Apple Introduces New 5W Charger With Folding Pins in United Kingdom

Apple has introduced a new 5W USB power charger with folding pins for use in a handful of countries in Europe and Asia. The new adapter is available now for £25 on the Apple Online Store in the United Kingdom, and is designed for use in Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia as well. The charger is also included in the box with the Apple Watch in those countries.

British former professional rugby player Will Carling shared photos of the new folding charger on Twitter earlier this month after claiming to have received the adapter from Apple design chief Jony Ive, who grew up in England and is known to be a rugby fan, but it was unknown at the time if Apple would ever release the product.

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The travel adapter, which can also be used to charge an iPhone, iPod touch and several other iPod models, is currently available to ship within 1-2 business days on the Apple Online Store in the United Kingdom. The original non-folding 5W charger remains available in the United Kingdom for £15 as of now.

Android Mascot Discovered Urinating on Apple Logo in Google Maps [iOS Blog]

Amid the fanfare of the Apple Watch launch, a few eagle eyed employees at Team Android today discovered an unusual easter egg within Google Maps. Visiting these specific coordinates on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Team Android found an image of the Google Android mascot urinating over the Apple logo to be imbedded within the map itself.

It’s yet to be made clear who exactly created the image and placed it within Google Maps and, as Engadget points out, whether Google is even aware it exists at all at this time. While the two companies have been known to be rivals in the past, especially concerning their own individual Apple Maps and Google Maps services, today’s development is an interesting new addition to their long history.

Apple Watch Proves ‘More Waterproof Than Anticipated’ in New Test

Thanks to the time difference, a few Australian Apple Watch customers began receiving their orders as early as yesterday afternoon here in the United States. Because of this, smartphone website FoneFox decided to put the Apple Watch through a variety of waterproof tests to measure just how much moisture the Watch could take before failing to function.

The first test is a basic splash test followed by a five minute simulated shower complete with shampoo and soap, at the end of which the Apple Watch comes out noticeably unscathed and completely responsive to FoneFox‘s inputs on both its touch interface and digital crown. It should be pointed out that all of FoneFox‘s tests were completed with a 38mm Apple Watch Sport. Although it’s hard to tell how different models of the Watch will size up to similar testing, it’s clear after today’s tests that most models in the Sport range should see similar results as FoneFox‘s.

After finding “absolutely no issues whatsoever” with the Watch after the shower test, FoneFox decided to place the Apple Watch Sport completely submerged in a bucket for another five minutes. After the Watch produced similarly impressive results, the website took the device for a swim in a pool. Despite obvious responsive issues when placed underwater, after a 15 minute swim the wearable remained as functional for FoneFox as it was when taken out of the box.

Apple’s estimation of the waterproof rating for Apple Watch has most likely been underplayed, as most technology is, due to certain legal and business reasons. The company gave the wrist-worn device a water resistance rating of IPX7, suggesting it to be splash and water resistant but not completely waterproof. Tim Cook even claimed he wore his own personal Apple Watch in the shower back in February, pointing at a better-than-expected waterproof rating for the device ahead of its launch.

Apple Offers Virtual ‘Personal Setup’ to Soon-to-Be Apple Watch Owners [iOS Blog]

As many users in the United States slept Thursday night, Apple began slowly emailing Apple Watch pre-order customers with a confirmed April 24 delivery date about a “Personal Setup” program designed around the Watch.

Aimed to visually guide new users through the Apple Watch’s setup process and beyond, the Personal Setup program is a video session with an Apple employee where the company does its best to answer every question a user has about the wrist-worn device.

As with in-store try-on appointments, the Personal Setup video session requires a scheduled appointment, with dates as of writing ranging from early Friday morning all the way through the evening on May 7.

Your Apple Watch will be in your hands shortly. Once it is, we can help you get started right in the comfort of your own home with online Personal Setup. It’s a video session* where we show you how to set up Apple Watch with your iPhone, walk you through some key features, and answer your questions. We’ll also point out some great apps, and help you personalize your device.

Of course, you can always visit an Apple Store and request a Personal Setup session with a Specialist.

Thank you for choosing Apple.

Interestingly, the times of each appointment fluctuate everywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, so it appears Apple may be letting customers choose a time they think is best for their own personal setup and knowledge of the Apple Watch, although the company has yet to confirm the max length a session can go.

While the email from Apple does make mention of visiting a retail location, the move does fall in line with retail chief Angela Ahrendt’s recent move of keeping the Apple Watch launch as brick-and-mortar free as possible.

The first Apple Watch deliveries should begin making the rounds in just a few short hours in the United States, with worldwide deliveries already resulting in some positive first impressions and teardowns of the wearable.

Apple Debuts Three Apple Watch Ads: ‘Rise’, ‘Up’ and ‘Us’

Hours before the Apple Watch is set to officially launch, Apple has debuted three new ads called “Rise”, “Up” and “Us”. The three ads focus on the three aspects of the device CEO Tim Cook highlighted when the Apple Watch was first introduced: a device that helps you with time, a comprehensive health and fitness device and an intimate communication device.

The first ad, “Rise”, shows people using the Apple Watch to help them spend their time. People are seen using the Apple Watch as an alarm clock, seeing incoming messages, using it on their commute, using it as a ticket at an airport, getting around with the Maps app and more.

The second ad, “Up”, features users using the Apple Watch’s health and fitness features. People can be seen setting up their fitness goals on the Watch in addition to using it while both exercising and doing various activities, both intensive and casual. It also features moments where users are alerted to stand while working or commuting.

The final ad, “Us”, has people using the Watches’ communication features, including the ability to draw pictures, send animated emojis, and send heart beats and taps to the wrists of other Apple Watch users. Interestingly, the ad also features people spending time with each other and paying attention to the world around them, illustrating how the Watch could free some users from their phones.

All three ads end similarly, declaring that “the Watch is here”. Thus far, Apple’s marketing campaign for the Apple Watch has focused on getting the device on the wrists of athletes, models and other celebrities for maximum exposure. Moving forward, it appears Apple will begin making a case for how the Apple Watch will be used by most people.