With the new Series 4, Apple finally has its act together when it comes to the Watch running apps. The Series 3 brought the speed up to par, and the latest evolution brings even more in that department and pairs it with a dynamite screen. Unfortunately, the situation for developers was so poor in the Watch’s infancy that many of them bailed before things got interesting.
One of the standout features of the new Apple Watch Series 4 is its gorgeous screen. I have owned the Series 0, Series 1, and Series 3 Watches, and I would call their screens adequate, with each a little better than its predecessor. This isn’t an insult, as an adequate screen on a smartwatch that got a full day or better battery life was nothing to sneeze at a couple of years ago when this category was in its infancy.
However, the Series 4 is a completely different story. There is really no comparison between it and what came before. If you look at it next to any previous version, the difference is immediately noticeable. The Series 4 screen isn’t only larger, but it is also brighter and has a much higher resolution. Text, colors, and images just pop in a way that they couldn’t on previous Watch hardware. As much as the coming EKG capability grabbed the headlines after Apple’s release event, the screen is the real star of this show in my book.
Launch days rarely work out for anymore. I thought I had it all set up today, and that I would be able to come home a little early to start playing with the new toys. Well, real life and work both intervened and that didn’t happen. In fact, I didn’t get home until after 8 PM, so my phone is still restoring, and I’ve only had a little while to play around with my new 44 mm Apple Watch.
Some of the usual suspects have started to weigh in on Apple’s Watch and iPhone XS and XS Max preorders. Leading off, Ming-Chi Kuo says that sales are following the pattern that I suggested yesterday (I make no claims of genius or inside knowledge, just common sense). He reports that sales of the iPhone XS Max are meeting expectations, which I don’t think is a surprise. It has a novelty factor that the XS no longer holds. Speaking of the XS, Kuo says that pre-orders are “lower than expected.” I don’t find this surprising in the least, either, as the majority of people who wanted this design got an X last year.
Photo Source: 9to5Mac
Over the last week, 9to5Mac has let us know that the coming Apple Watch Series 4 will have both a little larger screen and a higher resolution. The new model’s screen is expected to be edge to edge and the resolution will jump significantly from 312 x 390 to 384 x 480. Both of these improvements will allow users to see more information at a glance (the watch face above is an excellent example), and should give developers more flexibility to create more useful apps for the platform.
The Apple Watch has quickly become one of the big stars in Apple’s hardware lineup. In three years, it has basically taken over the wearables market and become the world’s de facto smartwatch. A big reason for this is Apple’s investment in the platform and consistent innovation. They have already released one major re-write of watchOS (watchOS 3), have delivered four total updates to watchOS in three years, and have released one major hardware upgrade. That’s a lot of change in a short amount of time, especially for Apple.
When you refer to a product as a lifesaver, it’s usually an exaggeration referring to something makes makes simple tasks a little easier. However, that isn’t the case anymore when it comes to the Apple Watch. We are now seeing multiples stories per month talking about how an Apple Watch notified its wearer of a dangerously elevated heart rate, leading to a diagnosis of a critical condition or illness. In fact, there was a new report of just such an event from Hong Kong just a couple of days ago.
On the first day of Spring, Apple again brings us a new selection of fun and bright Apple Watch band designs for the season. There are four different models to choose from:
• Sport Band in Denim Blue, Lemonade and Red Raspberry
• Woven Nylon in Black Stripe, Blue Stripe, Gray Stripe and Pink Stripe
• Sport Loop in Flash Light, Hot Pink, Marine Green and Tahoe Blue
• Classic Buckle in Spring Yellow, Electric Blue and Soft Pink
Photo Source: Crunchy Bagel
The situation with Apple Watch apps got some unexpected attention this week thanks to articles from noted Apple enthusiasts Marco Arment and John Gruber. In my opinion, it is good to get people thinking and talking about this again, because apps often seem to be the forgotten aspect of Apple’s sleeper-hit wearable platform. However, while I am glad to see attention being paid to this subject, I disagree with both of these articles, especially Mr Gruber’s.
This prediction is me going out on a limb. We all know that Apple is working on this screen technology, as the rumors and related patents are old news at this point. They even acquired LuxVue, a manufacturer that specializes in microLED, back in 2014. Just as with OLED, Apple will put this new technology (at least for them, in the case of OLED) on the Watch first, as the smaller screen device with less sales pressure than the iPhone makes a perfect device for an initial rollout. It’s just a matter of time as to when it shows up. Just a hunch on my part, but I think 2018 could be the year.
Apple has made it clear that they now see the Watch as primarily being a fitness tracker and health monitoring device. While it runs apps and fills several other roles, these are now its primary functions and we can see that most of their development and new features are focused on these areas. There have been a few reports that have come to light over the last few months that show both how other companies are building on the Watch as a platform and where Apple may be going next.