So Apple didn’t let me down as much as I thought they would. The second Apple Watch order I placed with them after they cancelled my first one arrived on Monday, rather than in mid-November as they first predicted. Not too bad I guess, especially since I did get a free sport loop for my trouble. Time for the Watch from BestBuy to head back to the store.
After Apple cancelled my first order and my second initially had a delivery estimate in mid November, I decided to start looking elsewhere. Fortunately, while they only offered two stock band options with the Stainless Steel Series 6 in Gold, BestBuy came through for me. They had a quoted delivery time of October 1 for the one with a green Sport Band, so I jumped on it.
If you get a text or an email from Apple saying that your Apple Watch Series 6 order cannot be processed and to call them, you had better pay close attention to what the person on the phone is saying.
I just packaged up my Series 5 to ship out after selling it a couple of days ago, so it will be a long two weeks waiting for my new Series 6 to arrive. That said, I’m happy I got what I was able to out of it. Stainless Apple Watches aren’t cheap, so every bit helps.
Speaking of selling, if you are looking to make a few bucks to raise funds for a new Series 6, take a look at Swappa. It’s about as safe and straightforward of a place as you will find to sell your used gear. You might make a little more elsewhere, but I really appreciate an online marketplace that prioritizes the security of both parties.
Anyway, enough about the past. Now it’s time to look to the near future.
There has been a lot of talk about Apple adding a blood oxygen sensor to the Apple Watch Series 6 this year. However, beyond that, we haven’t heard much else before this weekend about Apple’s newest wearable, which should be announced during their event on Tuesday. So what else can we expect to see?
I’ve had every Apple Watch that’s been released except for the Series 2, and in each case, I’ve bought the aluminum model. They were less expensive, looked attractive enough and never broke down on me. However, I decided to change things up a bit last fall when the Series 5 was released. I went with the Stainless Steel model to see if the differences justified the extra cost. Continue reading
No, as good as Jon Prosser is, he has not ascended to oracle status yet. According to @ApplTrack, he hasn’t even passed up Mark Gurman at this point. No, if you want a source of release information that is pretty much 100% reliable, then you should be paying attention to the Eurasian Economic Commission’s filings. They are open and Apple major devices always hit there within a month or so of release.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about coverage of a study at Stanford that included an app for the Apple Watch and other smartwatches. This app takes blood oxygen and skin temperature readings, along with heart rate, to help identify the onset of COVID-19 ahead of noticeable symptoms. So far, that study has met with great success. In that article, I wondered if Apple would seize on this opportunity and include blood oxygen readings as a built-in feature of the next Watch.
I had my own little COVID-19 scare a couple of months ago. I got a stomach virus, but evidence had already emerged that some who get sick with the disease have gastrointestinal symptoms like what I was experiencing. I read up while I was laid up and discovered that a reliable leading indicator of COVID-19 symptoms is your resting heart rate. That just happens to be something that the Apple Watch already has covered.
I’ve always appreciated the overall capabilities and features of the Apple Watch. It’s easily my second-favorite Apple device of all time and I love using it. I’ve always been impressed by all of the information that it tracks for you in the Health app and I know it can be invaluable. I’ve linked to several stories here about lives that were saved by the Watch over the last three years. I’ve even used this data, myself.
At at the same time, it’s so easy to take what this device can do for you for granted. I appreciate what it brings to the table a lot more after this weekend.
I got my first Apple Watch on launch day in April of 2015 and there has only been one month since that I haven’t owned and worn one. That first one was a Sport model in silver with a blue Sport Band. I remember how excited I was on launch day to hold what felt like a piece of the future. I remember wearing out the battery trying out every app and feature that first week. However, like the new shine on many gadgets, that faded over time. In fact, my time and experience with the Series 0 was much the same as many others- mixed.