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Apple Watch - page 84

Pulse-driven update will make snap Tinder judgments even snappier

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Tinder-screens
Swiping with your thumbs in Tinder is so quaint.
Photo: Tinder

Tinder is going hands-free, but not how you’re thinking, sicko.

Developer T-3 has looked at dating app Tinder, which has people swiping left or right to choose potential connections, and thought, “That seems like a lot of work.”

Its solution: Let your involuntary physical functions swipe for you. You can see the idea in action in the video below.

Domino’s Pizza app update lets you keep your eyes on your pies

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Dominos-Apple-Watch
Domino's has added a couple cool features to its iOS app.
Photo: Domino's Pizza/iTunes

You know that feature when you order online from Domino’s that keeps you posted on the process of your order and even tells you which employee has put your pizza in the oven, and who just left the store to bring it to you?

I love that feature, for some reason. I don’t think it makes me some kind of creepy pizza stalker, if that’s even a thing.

But my main issue is that I had to keep my laptop open to stay on top of the whole process. Luckily, however, Domino’s has addressed that one, strangely specific gripe with the latest update to its mobile app.

Apple Watch sales plummet by 90% since launch week

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Is Apple Watch demand waning?
Is Apple Watch demand waning?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The Apple Watch went on sale just over two months ago, but it appears that consumer interest in Apple’s wearable has taken a huge dive since launch week.

Apple kicked off launch week in April selling an average of 200,000 watches a day, however a new report from Slice Intelligence claims sales have dropped to fewer than 20,000 a day in the U.S., marking a 90% drop off since the week of April 10th.

You can see how interest has slowly dropped in the chart below:

Hey, Siri: Play a fart sound

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Farts are funny, alright?
Farts are funny, alright?
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

If you’ve got the future strapped to your wrist and an iPhone paired with said Apple Watch, you can prank your friends with the lowest form of humor imaginable: the fart sound.

You’ll also need Apple Music, as this trick relies on the sound effect albums therein.

Here’s how to fart at your friends without actually soiling your own shorts.

Safety-minded Kiwis want Apple Watch off the road

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Apple Watch while driving
This is a really bad idea.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

The Apple Watch may not be available in New Zealand yet, but that isn’t stopping some safety-minded organizations from seeking to ban it, and other smartwatches, from use while driving.

“A second’s inattention at the wheel can result in tragedy,” said advocate Caroline Perry of road-safety charity Brake. “Smartwatches and other wearable technology are extremely distracting if used while driving.”

Apple Watch swim app works — but it will void your warranty

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Apple Watch swimming app
Shhh ... don't tell Apple.
Photo: Ted Bradley

The Apple Watch isn’t completely waterproof, so it makes sense that you won’t find a swimming option in the Workouts app. But that hasn’t stopped one development team from building their own way to track aquatic exercises on the wearable.

Active in Time has ported its own Pebble swimming app over to Apple’s smartwatch, and it tested its functionality (and the Apple Watch’s water resistance) with four lengths in an Olympic swimming pool. You can see the results in the video below.

Running with Apple Watch, a beginner’s guide

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For your first run, select an “open” goal
For your first run, select an “open” goal
Photo: Graham Bower / Cult of Mac

If you bought an Apple Watch hoping it would help you get fit, but you haven’t been on your first run yet, maybe you need of a little more encouragement. So here’s some advice from a reformed couch potato.

The first workout is the hardest. It gets progressively easier and more rewarding from there. You just need to know how to get started.

Swiss custom Apple Watch offers Edition style at (relatively) low price

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Golden Dreams Apple Watch
Golden Dreams will take your standard Apple Watch to new levels of class.
Photo: Golden Dreams

If you like the look of the high-end Apple Watch Edition, but the $10,000+ price point makes your heart and wallet hurt, a Swiss company might have a nice alternative for you.

Golden Dreams of Geneva specializes in classing up iPhones, cases, and bags, and it’s turned its monocle-rimmed gaze to Apple’s new smartwatch. The company can take a standard version of the wearable and make it fancy at a fraction of the cost of its more precious sibling.

Innovation isn’t dead; people are just slow to catch it

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Setting up
Humans react to innovative things like the Apple Watch fairly predictably.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you’re one of the people out there who haven’t taken the plunge on an Apple Watch, you’re not alone. While Apple’s latest wearable has gotten a ton of press and sold really well, a lot of the rank and file out there might think it’s a toy, or only for rich folks.

In fact, says journalist Morgan Housel over at Time, most people throughout history have pretty predictable responses to new things.

He has a list of reactions to new innovative inventions, each of which are reactions we’ve all heard (or had) when the Apple Watch (or the iPad, or the iPhone) was launched.

Apple Watch now compatible with select Hyundai cars

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Hyundai Apple Watch
Now Hyundai owners can start their cars while sitting in their cars but using an Apple Watch.
Photo: Hyundai

Hyundai has good news for Apple Watch owners who also drive late-model Sonatas: You can now use your wearable to control parts of your car.

The auto manufacturer has rolled out an update to its Blue Link app, which already creates an interface with an iPhone, to expand the connected-car functionality to Apple’s new smartwatch.

How to reset and re-pair your Apple Watch

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Apple Watch reset
Apple Watch reset
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If your Apple Watch stops responding to your iPhone, you can reboot it or you can turn the Bluetooth connection off and on. If that doesn’t work to reconnect your Watch, you might need to reset it, and then you’ll need to re-pair it.

Here’s how.

Apple means culture: Taylor Swift, hot new patents, and Siri’s response to 9/11

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Taylor powers into Apple like no one else.
Taylor powers into Apple like no one else.
Cover: Stephen Smith

Another week flying by here at Cult of Mac headquarters, and we’ve got a ton of great stories to share with you in the latest issue of Cult of Mac Magazine.

Taylor Swift made waves with her calling out the Cupertino company’s plans to not pay artists for music streamed during upcoming Apple Music free trial period, and we’ve got all the details within. Plus, we take a look at Amazon’s new home hub, the Echo, spend some time trawling the patent office for new Apple gear coming our way, and take a quick tour of the latest iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan betas for developers.

All that and more in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine. Be sure to download and subscribe to check it all out on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Hideous Apple Watch power strap will almost triple battery life

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Reserve Strap
Extend your Apple Watch's life with the power of ugly.
Photo: Reserve Strap

One of the main complaints Apple Watch naysayers have is that the advertised 18-hour battery life of the wearable is kind of crappy. An expensive, upcoming accessory aims to address that issue, but we’re not sure that the look appeals to us much.

The new band is called the Reserve Strap, and while it definitely sounds useful, its price and appearance leave our pointers well clear of the pre-order button.

The anti-Apple Watch is made of marble, and it’s killing it on Kickstarter

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The Mason Watch already blew past its Kickstarter goal.
The Mason Watch already blew past its Kickstarter goal.
Photo: Analog Watch Co.

The Apple Watch is the best watch I’ve ever owned. It’s also the first watch I’ve owned in over a decade but amazing features like the heart rate monitor, responding to texts from my wrist, and being able to see what time it is without pulling out my iPhone have totally won me over.

Not everyone is keen on the future of smartwatches though, and if you need any further proof, just look at the Kickstarter page for The Mason Watch. It’s dumb, ugly, and lacks all the features you could want for in a modern watch, but the project is absolutely killing it on Kickstarter, and passed its funding goal in the first week.

Check out how huge this thing looks on your wrist:

Apple Watch headed to 16 more countries by the end of the year

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Upcoming Apple Watch countries
Here are the next three countries that will get the Apple Watch.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

As Apple fans in seven countries line up today to grab their new Apple Watches as the new wearable becomes available, we’re looking ahead to see which other nations will be sporting the smartwatches by the end of the year.

We don’t have dates for all of them just yet, but Apple has confirmed that they’re on the way.

Apple vs. Google: Which has the upper hand in innovation?

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fnf_1024

To succeed in tech, you must be a master of innovation. No two companies understand this better than Apple and Google, which have become kings of the industry thanks to a string of incredible ideas that have shaped the technology we rely on today.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2But which company is continuing to innovate in 2015? Is it Apple, with its fitness-focused Apple Watch, Apple Pay, and a new streaming service that hopes to save the music industry? Or is it Google, with Google Glass, self-driving cars, and secret robots?

Join us as we take it to a debate in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac.

Apple Watch makers expecting ‘surge in orders’ for second half of 2015

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Is Apple Watch demand waning?
Apple Watch supply has finally caught up with demand.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

People working on the Apple Watch supply chain are said to be expecting a “possible surge in orders” for the second half of 2015, as Apple’s debut wearable device continues to gain momentum in the marketplace.

According to a new report, this growth is linked to the fact that Apple Watch yield rates have significantly improved since manufacturing began, meaning that Apple is finally able to get hold of units of the device in the kind of quantities it would hope for.

Your next Apple Watch could save you from carpal tunnel syndrome

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Your
Your "other" workout had better be cardio.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has been working on the Apple Watch’s heart-rate monitor ever since the wearable launched in April. First, it was taking your pulse every 10 minutes. Then, it was doing it every 10 minutes unless you were moving around because the company said that a resting heart rate is a better health indicator than a “doing whatever” heart rate.

And that’s correct, but a newly released patent hints at some future improvements for the function that could also spare you some wrist pain and warn you about stress.

Apple Watch band is filled with cool tech, patent reveals

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You can swap out bands within 14 days if you regret your choice. Source: Apple
It's not just a hunk of plastic.

Your Apple Watch band contains some cutting-edge fabrication technology that could extend into other fashion accessories, according to a patent filing released today.

The patent describes an ingenious method for molding “woven fibers” into any desired shape and securing them without stitching.

Will.i.am thinks the Apple Watch is weird

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Ahrendts
Will.i.am cheesin' with Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts at the Apple Watch unveiling.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Black Eyed Peas founder Will.i.Am has been an Apple fanboy for years, but when it comes to supporting Jony Ive’s new wearable, the singer thinks it’s just weird.

During a panel discussion at the Cannes Lions festival, Mr I.Am said he recently saw a man at the gym with an iPhone 6 strapped to his arm even though he was wearing an Apple Watch, and it just didn’t look right he told SaleForce CEO Marc Benioff.

Apple Watch is more popular now than orginal iPhone

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post-327198-image-a9f97ef415fcdb2b900c684e26a91057-jpg
Apple Stores finally have Apple Watch in stock

The launch of the original iPhone and the first Apple Watch have been polar opposites. While the iPhone was available at Apple Stores and third-parties on launch day, getting your hands on an Apple Watch on April 24th was almost impossible.

According to researchers at Morgan Stanley, that’s because the Apple Watch is in even more demand than the original iPhone weeks after it launched in 2007.