Just as any new Apple product begets an accessories market, the Apple Watch is birthing a market in watchbands. Apple has announced a "Made for Apple Watch" program for third-party bands, and promises that the lugs -- the tiny hardware pieces that snap into the watches' band grooves -- will be available soon. What the guidelines did not say was anything about the mystery … [Read more...]
Accessory Maker to Tap Into Undocumented Apple Watch Port
What could possibly go wrong? Adding battery life to the Apple Watch is probably a great business opportunity, and the Reserve Strap accessory was building a wrist strap with an included battery that would attach to the watch's charger. Bulky, but if you've gotta have a battery, you've gotta have a battery. But it turns out that there's this little hidden port on the … [Read more...]
Flawed Haptics Slowed Apple Watch Debut: WSJ
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that one of the makers of the taptic engine -- the component that makes the Apple Watch vibrate -- was shipping flawed product, leading to the short supply of product at launch. AAC Technologies Holdings, of Shenzen, China, was the supplier of the troublesome part, the WSJ reported. Apple moved manufacturing to the other supplier, Nidec … [Read more...]
Apple’s Sport Watch Has A Better, More Scratchable, Screen Than More Expensive Versions
Who doesn't like some good old-fashioned geekery? Displaymate goes unbelievably deep on the subject of the screen on the Apple Watch, and comes up with some fascinating details that will have an impact on any other smart watch maker: Displaymate found that the watch's screen is OLED, probably from LG, and is Apple's first OLED screen. Power management is rigorous, sometimes … [Read more...]
22 Percent of Pre-Ordered Apple Watches Have Shipped: Slice
Slice Intelligence, which used its panel of online shoppers to estimate first-day orders for the Apple Watch, now says that Apple shipped about 375,000 of the 1.7 million preorders in the first weekend. Whether that's a big number of not depends on your expectation; many buyers who were initially given extended shipping dates wound up getting their watches on Friday, the first … [Read more...]
Gaming is Hard on the Apple Watch, and For Good Reason
Ars Technica has an interesting piece about how gaming companies are trying to figure out how to use the Apple Watch as a platform. There are lots of impediments, not the least of which is that Apple's developers' kit is pretty hostile to the idea. To us, gaming on the watch seems like a Bad Idea; there's limited interaction space, battery life is severely constrained, and … [Read more...]
iFixit Posts Apple Watch Teardown
We love iFixit, and we're not disappointed this morning: it has a teardown of the Apple Watch the morning it's first supposed to get into people's hands. The core findings: it's really really really small, the battery takes most of the space, and (with the possible exception of battery replacement) it's not at all serviceable: Despite rumors (and hopes) of an upgradable … [Read more...]
Apple Watch App Store Opens With 3,000 Apps
No big surprise with the first deliveries slated for tomorrow, but Apple has taken the wraps off the Watch App Store, which is part of the Watch iOS app. The Wall Street Journal reports that there are about 3,000 apps available. Ars Technica points out that there's no apparent way to search for a watch app, which is a bit odd. And Buzzfeed has a list of Apple's own app … [Read more...]
First-Day US Apple Watch Sales Estimated At About 1 Million
Someone tell Tim Cook that he can start the production line. The e-commerce consulting company Slice Intelligence estimates that 957.000 Apple Watches were pre-ordered on Friday, the first day of "availability." The average customer bought 1.3 watches, and spend $504 per watch. Sales were skewed to the less-expensive Sport watch -- 62 percent of those buying -- at $383.83 … [Read more...]
The Apple Store Try-On Experience Tried Out
We stopped by an Apple Store this morning -- the one in Soho, Manhattan -- to try on a Watch and see how smooth the try-on experience is. The short version: it's a very nice piece of hardware, and the experience is a little bumpy. In fairness, a lot of the experience is new for everyone involved; one of the sales associates reminded a customer that they themselves have only … [Read more...]