‘Reserve Strap’ Plans to Charge the Apple Watch on the Wrist [iOS Blog]

Following an afternoon of discussion on the recharge rate and battery life of the Apple Watch, third-party developers Lane Musgrave and John Arrow today revealed the “Reserve Strap“, which will allow users to charge their Apple Watch while wearing it on their wrist.

The device consists of a silicone band with embedded lithium polymer cells and an inductive charging cradle that will hold the Apple Watch, resulting in a 125 percent battery life increase over the basic life of the Apple Watch, according to the company.

The Reserve Band will charge the Watch “similar to the new MagSafe wall charger for the Apple Watch”, thanks to a few batteries embedded within the device using magnetic inductive charging. Musgrave notes that while they “don’t have hard numbers yet”, their current testing leaves them to believe their claim to a 125 percent increase in battery is close to the mark.

The case looks slickly designed, especially considering the amount of power the two are saying hides within the silicone band, but perhaps the biggest cause for concern lies in the possibility for obstruction of the Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor.

Recent news only underlines the sensor’s extreme importance in making contact with a user’s skin, but Musgrave remains optimistic that their product will meet all the standard expectations when using the Apple Watch in conjunction with their new device.

Since we haven’t been able to test anything on the actual device, it’s really hard to say whether we’ll be able to prevent interference with the sensors on the back. We won’t be able to know for sure until we’re able to test on the real thing but it’s certainly a priority for our product.

Although it’s not yet up and running, a Kickstarter is planned for the Reserve Strap. Those interested in pre-ordering the accessory now can do so for $249.99 from Reserve Strap’s official website, though no official release date has been set. Musgrave and Arrow reiterate on their website that the first shipment of bands will be “extremely limited” due to the funding of the nascent project coming entirely out of their own pockets.

Jony Ive Discusses Design of Apple Watch in Latest Interview

Apple design chief Jonathan Ive recently discussed the meticulous process that went into creating the Apple Watch in a new profile with Financial Times. Ive describes the Apple Watch as “the most personal product” that Apple has ever made, with “thousands and thousands of hours of evaluation and testing” invested into the device.

“Even now, when the design of the Apple Watch is incredibly mature and has gone through thousands and thousands of hours of evaluation and testing, we’re still working and improving. You are trying to keep everything fluid for as long as possible because everything is so interconnected. The best products are those where you have optimized each attribute while being very conscious of other parts of the product’s performance.”

The iconic designer adds that he appreciates the convenience afforded by the Apple Watch, describing the wrist as the perfect place for the technology. The device, for example, will have a Glances feature on the watch face that delivers real-time information such as weather, stock quotes and upcoming calendar events without needing to take your iPhone out of your pocket.

“One of the things that struck me,” says Ive, “was how often I’d look at my watch and have to look again quite soon afterwards, because I hadn’t actually comprehended what the time was. If I had looked at something on my phone, because of the investment involved in taking it out of my pocket or my bag, I would certainly pay attention. I quite like this sense of almost being careless and just glancing. I think for certain things the wrist is the perfect place for this technology.”

In what could be amounted to a mistake, the profile claims that both the anodized aluminum Apple Watch Sport and stainless steel Apple Watch will start at $349. It has been widely speculated that the stainless steel Apple Watch would have a starting price of at least $499, especially given that the mid-tier model is equipped with a sapphire crystal display. The report speculates the Apple Watch Edition will start at around $4,500.

“He runs through the three ranges of Apple Watch with their different materials – the stainless-steel Apple Watch, the anodised-aluminium Apple Watch Sport (both from $349) and the Apple Watch Edition in 18ct yellow or rose gold (with an as yet unconfirmed price of around $4,500).”

Ive’s so-called “fanatical” attention to detail extends beyond the Apple Watch to the packaging of the wrist-worn device. The box for the Apple Watch Edition in particular will be crafted from premium materials, including aniline-dyed leather on the outside and an ultra-suede material on the inside. The small box is capable of charging the Apple Watch and its bottom half slides out based on friction, similar to past iPhone, iPad and iPod packaging.

“We didn’t want the packaging to be a sort of shorthand for value, where the box needs to be big and we have to include expensive materials. We’ve always liked the idea that if we are heavy in our thinking, we can be much lighter in the implementation. So there’s huge virtue, I think, in keeping the packaging small: at least, it is the right choice environmentally, it’s easier to move things around and you don’t end up with your wardrobes full of large watch boxes that you don’t use.”

Apple is expected to provide more details about the Apple Watch at its highly-anticipated “Spring Forward” media event on March 9th in San Francisco. Ahead of time, the company has been working closely with developers in a top-secret lab to create what will be some of the first apps for the wrist-worn device. Apple Watch will be available in April starting at $349 for the entry-level model.

Update: Apple has confirmed to MacRumors that FT‘s statement regarding both aluminum and stainless steel versions starting at $349 is incorrect.

MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Pad & Quill Messenger Bag [Mac Blog]

For our second giveaway here at MacRumors, we’ve partnered with Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases along with other accessories. Pad & Quill is graciously offering The Messenger Bag as our prize for this giveaway.

The Messenger Bag is made of leather and waxed canvas and features a padded laptop pocket that will fit a 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina and a 25-year leather warranty. The Messenger Bag retails for $369.

To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below. You can also earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, following MacRumors on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. You must be age 18 or older and located in the United States to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest will run from today (March 6) at 12:00 pm Pacific time through 12:00 pm Pacific time on March 13. The winner will be chosen randomly on March 13 and will be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address. The Messenger Bag will be shipped to the winner for free.

Pad & Quill is also offering a coupon code to MacRumors readers that will take 10% off all orders through Pad & Quill’s site for a limited time. MacRumors readers should enter coupon code MRM15 at checkout to get the discount.

Apple Overhauling iPad for Education Program to Simplify Sharing Devices and Apps

Apple will be making significant changes to iPad deployment for education during the upcoming school year that should eliminate some of the hurdles that school districts face when adopting iPads for use in the classroom. In an email obtained by MacRumors, the company outlines plans to make app distribution easier by eliminating the need for an Apple ID to load apps, tweaking the Apple ID for Students program and unifying several deployment programs into one.

Apple plans to simplify app distribution by allowing schools to assign and distribute apps to a device without an Apple ID this fall, reducing the number of steps needed to set up an iPad. Schools will no longer be required to create generic Apple IDs solely to load content on the tablet, and teachers and administrators will have the option to block students from making personal purchases without approval.

“To simplify large deployments, including one-to-one and shared use, we want to make app distribution even easier. Today, Apple IDs are required in order to deliver apps and books to students. We are working to change this in the fall by allowing schools to assign and distribute apps to a device without an Apple ID. As currently planned, this will greatly reduce the number of steps needed to setup a device. This change should eliminate the need to create generic Apple IDs solely for the purposes of getting content onto iPad. Schools will also have the option to prevent students from making personal purchases without approval.”

The email also outlines changes to the Apple ID for Students program to roll out during 2016, including schools gaining the ability to create and manage Apple IDs for students that can be used to access iCloud. System administrators will also be able to reset student passwords. The new approach will continue to meet COPPA requirements for children’s online privacy in the United States.

Apple will also be improving its Apple Deployment Programs by unifying several programs into one for a simplified administrative experience, making it easier for school districts to enroll, manage, and support large iPad deployments. Apple hopes the changes will continue to result in increased student engagement, better attendance and higher test results at all grades and levels of education.

Upcoming Revamped Apple Music Streaming Service Won’t Offer Free Ad-Supported Tier [iOS Blog]

As rumors gear up surrounding the revamped Apple iTunes/Beats music service, a new report claims that the company will opt out of offering a free advertising-supported base tier for its upcoming streaming service (via Re/code).

The company will allow customers an initial trial period of some kind, but following that users will have to pay to continue listening to music, the cost of which most recent rumors agree will be around $7.99.

With the slow decline of digital downloads and the steady rise of streaming services, sources close to Apple media head Eddy Cue and Beats Music founder Jimmy Iovine state that the two agree the music industry, and streaming specifically, “needs to get behind a paywall.”

Apple executives have been telling the music industry it can help them roll back the tide of free digital music by relaunching its own subscription streaming service this year. Unlike Spotify and YouTube, Apple’s service won’t offer a free “tier” of music interspersed with ads — after an initial trial period, you’ll need to pay to play.

Now Apple is negotiating with the music labels for licenses for a revamped version of Beats. Sources say Apple would like to make a splash by getting high-profile artists to distribute their music with Apple before it makes its way to other services.

If made official by Apple, the move would be a direct contrast to a service like Spotify, which allows its 60 million worldwide users (15 million of which are paid subscribers) to listen to anything they want for free, with ads interspersed within the music.

Jonathan Prince, head of communications and public policy for Spotify, said that the company’s research found that 12 percent of iTunes users have migrated to Spotify, with 40 percent of that group paying for the premium Spotify service. Prince uses this statistic to claim that, despite the service’s immense popularity, they aren’t single-highhandedly the culprit behind the declining digital download sales of recent years.

Despite these new reports, similar sources say that the company plans to keep the iTunes Radio service intact, claiming web-based radio won’t directly impede music sales. The most recent news regarding the long-rumored Apple music service suggests an official unveiling by the company at WWDC this year, with Apple tweaking aspects of the current state of iTunes all the way up to the launch of the revamped service.

Apple Watch Takes Two Hours to Charge, Only Delivers Notifications While on the Wrist

Apple Watch will take approximately two hours to fully charge and deliver all-day battery life with normal on-and-off usage, according to TechCrunch. Those estimates corroborate a previous report that also claimed the Apple Watch will deliver all-day battery life and support up to five hours of heavy usage per charge.

The report also claims that the Apple Watch will only deliver notifications while worn on the wrist. The smartwatch will not ping you for notifications without being in contact with skin so that the device is not disruptive at unnecessary times. Apple Watch will also stop delivering notifications when the battery reaches 10% or lower in an effort to conserve the remaining power.

“Here’s a tidbit you might not know — in order to receive notifications from apps, the Watch must be on your wrist and locked. They require contact with your skin. There will be no in-app dropdown notifications or constant pinging while it’s off your wrist. Push notifications also cease when the battery reaches 10 percent. Those decisions speak to the care with which Apple is handling notifications.”

Apple continues to tweak Digital Crown on the Apple Watch, giving the button a “weightier, higher-end feel.” Pressing and holding down the Digital Crown activates Siri, which the report claims works well and can be used for labeling, directions and commands using a paired iPhone. The goal of the Apple Watch, the report describes, is to return some of your attention away from your smartphone by allowing you to communicate from your wrist on the go.

While both reports this afternoon have provided a closer look at the Apple Watch, there are still several question marks surrounding the wrist-worn device. That will change in less than three days, when Apple provides more details about the Apple Watch at its highly-anticipated “Spring Forward” media event in San Francisco. The keynote begins on Monday at 10 AM Pacific and MacRumors will be providing live coverage of the event.

Apple Watch Battery to Support Five Hours of Heavy Usage, Will Last All Day With Mixed Use

With just over two days to go until Apple’s big March 9 “Spring Forward” event that’s said to be heavily focused on the Apple Watch, information on the device is leaking out at a rapid pace. Apple’s been relatively quiet about battery life, stating only that the Apple Watch will need to be charged on a daily basis, but 9to5Mac has a few more details on how long we can expect the Apple Watch to last between charges.

According to the site’s sources, final software tweaks and optimizations to the device have led to a battery life of approximately five hours of heavy application usage. The device reportedly will not run out of battery life “during a typical day of mixed and passive use,” but it will need to be charged on a nightly basis as Apple has previously said. There’s also been little said about how the Apple Watch will affect the battery of the iPhone, but 9to5Mac‘s sources say that there is no “meaningful” observed battery drain while using the device.

A Power Reserve Mode can be activated within the watch when the battery in the device becomes critically low, ensuring that it’s primary function — telling the time — is always available. Power Reserve Mode can be activated at any time via a Battery Life Glance screen.

Power Reserve Mode can even be accessed when the Watch has a full 100% charge, and it is not solely activated when the Watch’s battery life is low. The mode noticeably dims the display, slows down communication with the iPhone to an on-demand level, and puts the display to sleep after roughly two seconds of inactivity. One unit tested allowed access to all Apple Watch functions while in Power Reserve mode, while another unit was limited to the Clock face.

The Apple Watch is also said to have an interesting method of displaying remaining battery life. At 20 percent, the Battery Life Glance (which is just one of many default glances on the watch) will turn an orange/amber color to let users know that battery life is running low, and at 10 percent, it will turn from amber to red.

Along with battery life, there are also some new details on onboard storage. We’ve known for awhile that the device will have dedicated storage for features like music storage, but the exact amount of storage has not yet been shared. It appears that prototype devices have 8GB of storage, suggesting at least some devices will ship with that amount of storage space. Like with the iPhone, there may be several storage options that are available at an additional cost.

In just a few short days, we’ll have a wealth of information on the Apple Watch. Apple is expected to share more details on battery life, storage space, pricing tiers, and accessory options at its upcoming March 9 event. Apple is planning to live stream the event, and MacRumors will also provide live coverage, both on MacRumors.com and through the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

Questionable Rumor Claims iPad Mini 4 With A8 Processor and 802.11ac Wi-Fi May Launch Soon [iOS Blog]

A new report out of Japanese Apple blog Mac Otakara [Google Translate] suggests that a refresh of the iPad Mini line could be hitting mid-cycle, bringing a beefier processor and faster Wi-Fi to a fourth-generation iPad mini.

Considering that the iPad Mini 3 was only a slight refresh on its predecessor, packing the same processing speed and power and essentially adding only Touch ID and a gold color option into the mix, many have hoped the fourth generation version of the device would be a more substantial update than last year’s. Mac Otakara‘s report states that the update would replace the iPad Mini 3’s current A7 processor and 802.11n Wi-Fi with an A8 CPU and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Mac Otakara tells MacRumors, however, that there is some uncertainty with this rumor, and Mac Otakara is not convinced it is accurate.

A short product cycle for an iPad would not be unprecedented, as the 9.7-inch iPad saw a seven-month interval in its third-generation, with the fourth-generation model shifting the iPad update cycle from the early part of the year to the late part and allowing Apple to quickly make the transition to the Lightning connector across its iOS device lineup.

Timing on a potential mid-cycle refresh for the iPad mini is not entirely clear, but the obvious candidate in the near-term is Apple’s “Spring Forward” event this coming Monday, March 9. Mac Otakara also says Apple has been pushing out iPad and notebook shipping estimates for resellers to 2-3 weeks, perhaps hinting at some imminent lineup changes.

Apple reportedly has a MacBook Air refresh in the works and shipping estimates for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro have also slipped today, fueling rumors of updates at Monday’s event. The company will, however, most likely dedicate much of the show to details on the Apple Watch, so it is unclear how many other updates Apple will want to include in the event.

MacBook Air and 13″ MacBook Pro Shipping Times Slip Ahead of Monday’s Media Event

MacBook Air and 13″ Retina MacBook Pro shipping times have slipped on the Apple Online Store from “in stock” to “1 business day” ahead of Apple’s upcoming “Spring Forward” media event on Monday. Earlier this week, we reported that a MacBook Air refresh with the latest Intel Broadwell processors and Intel HD 6000 graphics appears imminent, and it is plausible that Apple also updates the MacBook Pro with similar hardware.

The shipping dates have slipped across North America, with the Apple Online Store in the United States, Canada and Mexico showing the longer “1 business day” estimate. A spot check of the United Kingdom and Australia online storefronts still shows regular shipping times. In-store availability of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro in the also appears unaffected in the United States based on Apple Stores in New York and California.

Intel’s Broadwell processors are available for all MacBook Air models and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, although more powerful chips for the 15-inch MacBook Pro are not expected until later this year. Nevertheless, Apple may choose to focus its March 9 media event solely on the Apple Watch and could hold off on refreshing its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lineups until a later date.