Here’s What A Web Browser Running On The Apple Watch Looks Like (Spoiler: Not Great)

“Wouldn’t it be neat to have a web browser on my Apple Watch?”

No, no it wouldn’t. It’s a thought most smartwatch owners have had at one time or another — but in the end, we probably don’t want that.

Comex, a well-known jailbreak developer who went off to spend some time as an Apple intern before moving on to other projects, has whipped up a fleeting but seemingly functional example of what a browser might look like running on the Apple Watch — and… well, again: you probably don’t want this.

The web just wasn’t built for screens this small. It took years for smartphone browsers to become more usable than frustrating, and a lot of the usability gains there came from massive screen spec jumps. A 1.5″ smartwatch screen never becomes particularly web-friendly, no matter how many pixels you cram in that screen.

Alas, Comex makes no mention of how he got this up and running. Out of the box, running arbitrary code like this shouldn’t be possible — while a native SDK is inbound, only stuff built with Apple’s somewhat limited WatchKit framework is supposed to run on the device for now. Is this a subtle demonstration of the world’s first jailbroken Apple Watch?

Here’s the vid, as tweeted by Comex and spotted by 9to5mac (Speaking of usability: pardon the wonky tallness of the video; it was shot vertically, so there’s no easy way to embed it in a pretty way. For best viewing, consider fullscreening it):

Apple Confirms Tattoos Can Affect Apple Watch’s Heart Rate Sensor Readings

Apple has updated its Apple Watch support documentation, confirming that the device may have issues when worn by users who have wrist tattoos. The changes were added following a series of reports from new Apple Watch owners who found that their tattoos seemed to interfere with the smartwatch’s ability to track their pulse or cause other problems. Apple now says that permanent and temporary changes to your skin, including the ink used in tattoos, can impact the heart rate sensor’s performance.

In addition, the document clarifies, the ink, pattern and saturation of the tattoo can block the light from the sensor, making it difficult for Apple Watch wearers to get reliable readings. That is to say, those with darker tattoos that cover more of the skin’s surface may have more issues than those with lighter tattoos that are smaller in size.

The paragraph on tattoos was added to a page detailing how the Apple Watch heart rate sensor works, in a section that explains what sorts of factors could affect the sensor’s performance and a wearer’s ability to get a good reading. The Internet Archive, which keeps historical copies of websites, shows that an earlier version of this same page didn’t include the note about tattoos, ahead of the Apple Watch’s launch in April.

That implies that Apple learned of the issues from user feedback, as Watch owners began to call in to report problems with their device. Some users even posted videos to YouTube demonstrating the problem first-hand, which were picked up by the media.
It’s not all that surprising that a wrist tattoo could impact the effectiveness of the Apple Watch’s light sensor. The sensor allows an Apple Watch owner to wear the device looser on the wrist – “snug but comfortable,” says Apple – and still get a good reading. Explains Apple:

Apple Watch uses green LED lights paired with light‑sensitive photodiodes to detect the amount of blood flowing through your wrist at any given moment. When your heart beats, the blood flow in your wrist — and the green light absorption — is greater. Between beats, it’s less. By flashing its LED lights hundreds of times per second, Apple Watch can calculate the number of times the heart beats each minute — your heart rate.

This type of technology has been known to cause problems in the past. For example, a reddit user several months ago noted that they had a problem getting a good reading using the Fitbit HR heart monitor. (A CNet report from 2014 also found that some of the then-current heart rate monitors on the market could also be thrown off by skin pigmentation.)

Apple Watch’s sensor is actually more advanced than the company has claimed, according to the teardown from iFixit posted in late April. The site said that Apple’s heart rate monitor is “actually a plethysmograph—it looks and acts like a pulse oximeter, but Apple isn’t claiming it can measure your blood oxygen level,” iFixit’s analysis noted. It suggested also that Apple wasn’t advertising the functionality due to FDA regulations.

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Despite having this better sensor, it doesn’t solve the problems associated with inks on the skin blocking readings.

Apple recommends a workaround for those who experience these sorts of issues, saying that you can connect your Apple Watch wirelessly to external heart rate monitors, like Bluetooth chest straps. Of course, that’s not quite as elegant a solution as simply wearing a watch, but at least it will give more serious athletes and other quantified self enthusiasts an alternative means of gathering this data.

Would You Buy A Rugged Case Kit For The Apple Watch?

(GNN) - Of all the complications that will worry the outer rim of Apple Watch buyers’ minds, the question of whether they need to purchase a case to protectively encase their expensive wrist-wear is perhaps the most frivolous.

On the surface it sounds ludicrous.

Who keeps a watch inside a case when it’s attached to their person? And yet the Apple Watch is really a very small wrist computer, with a price-tag that ranges right up to the luxury end of the market. To $10,000, or even $17,000.

It’s also intended as a multipurpose device, with fitness tracking functionality rubbing up against notifications and comms, with some ostentatious bling thrown in (at least if you’re shelling out for 18-karat gold). So it’s supposed to track you when you sweat through a half marathon and then remain on your wrist during that fancy dinner. Same device, different aspects.

Add to that, given that keeping your smartphone in a protective case is well-established behavior, the notion of similarly encasing a smartwatch is only really a small step away.

And so enter device case-maker, Lunatik, with a plan to build and sell ruggedized cases for the Apple Watch. It’s been working on this accessory since Apple officially unveiled its smartwatch last fall, using a mechanism previously patented for encasing the iPod Nano when worn on the wrist. The metal case is being designed to protect without limiting access to the various controls and sensors on the watch.

The forthcoming Epik Apple Watch Kit is only in prototype form at this point (with the latest samples pictured pictured below) — the team is aiming for a shipping timeframe of three months after the Apple Watch itself comes to market at the end of April, so circa summer.

Lunatik founder Scott Wilson says the intention is to test the market for this Apple Watch accessory, via a crowdfunding campaign. So it’s ready to admit it might have misjudged the madness of the moment.

And quite possibly it has.

But if someone is crazy enough to spend $15,000 on a smartwatch, what’s another $99 to $149 on a ruggedized case-plus-strap combo which promises to keep a few scratches off your investment?

“Wearable technology is most relevant in situations where a phone interaction is not accessible or ideal. Sport, fitness and extreme conditions are a few of these occasions,” argues Wilson. “They also require more physically enhanced and purpose-built design to endure these extreme conditions.”

The aluminum Epik face case will apparently include hydrophobic vents for “an added layer of dust and water ingress protection”. It will also come with a custom plastic band strap, so you can leave your fancy leather/linked Apple Watch band at home when you hit the trail.

Wilson also talks up the personalization angle as a selling point for third party Apple Watch cases — given that wearable tech can’t help but elbow into the fashion space. So this is also about offering choice to appeal to personal taste, identity and style.

Which is another way of saying that a naked Cupertino-made Apple Watch might not look brawny enough for some folk. And those guys might actually prefer to put a rugged rim on it.

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Amazon’s Apple Watch App Will Let You Shop From Your Wrist

(GNN) - Though online retailer Amazon wasn’t among one of the many applications Apple introduced this week as coming soon to its new wearable device, the Apple Watch, the company does have an Apple Watch version of its mobile shopping app in the works, we understand.

The shopping app will allow consumers to search for products and even buy them from their wrist using Amazon’s 1-Click ordering system.

Of course, it’s not surprising that Amazon will

address the forthcoming mobile platform – after all, the company tends to release a version of its shopping app on almost any viable mobile or connected platform, not just its own Kindle hardware. And it already has an Android Wear (i.e., smartwatch) version of its shopping app in the wild, so it makes sense that it would build the Apple Watch counterpart, too.

In fact, our understanding is that the Apple Watch version of the Amazon shopping app will operate just like the current Amazon app for Android Wear. That means it will support the ability to search for items using your voice, save products to your Amazon Wishlist, and even the ability to check out quickly using Amazon’s 1-Click ordering. (Oh, this could be dangerous, I think.)

The retailer, however, is not officially confirming the details around its new Apple Watch app at this time, but instead is only hinting that such a thing is in the works. A company spokesperson told us the only statement they’re offering for now is as follows:

“Amazon is constantly innovating on behalf of our customers. We are committed to being anywhere customers want to shop. That includes watches. We have an Amazon shopping app for Android Wear and will look to expand to other devices.”

“Other devices” essentially confirms Amazon’s plans to release an Apple Watch app, if you read between the lines, of course.

(Note: Above image is a mock-up.)

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Developers wrestle with making 'killer app' for Apple Watch

(GNN) - Software developers say it will not be easy to come up with a "killer app" for Apple Inc's Watch - few have seen the product and the software is still in test mode.

While app makers are passionate about developing for the Apple Watch, some are skeptical about the prospects of coming up with a big idea for the little computer on a wrist that hits stores on April 24, said Markiyan Matsekh, product manager at software engineering firm Eleks.

A killer app that grabs consumers' attention will be key to the success of the Apple Watch and could spawn new companies, as the iPhone did. The photo-sharing app Instagram grew into a $1 billion business bought by Facebook Inc, and Snapchat has gone from a mobile messaging app to a company valued at $19 billion.

Apple has blocked some features, such as the gyroscope and accelerometer, on the development kit, and the watch simulator cannot test all functions, developers said. Apple declined to comment on why developers cannot access certain features.

"The limitations are discouraging," said Matsekh, who helped develop a Watch app to control a Tesla Model S without involvement from the electric carmaker.

App designer Mark Rabo believes Apple is spurring creativity though restraint.

The challenge he believes is "not trying to take a phone app and cram it into a Watch."

Rabo is developing an app called "Revere," that ties notes to calendars. The Watch will recognize the wearer is walking into a meeting and pull up previously dictated notes about the attendees, for instance.

Apple listed about 40 apps on its website as it unveiled its smartwatch on Monday with "thousands" more in the works, it said.

Watch apps showcased by Apple so far are mostly extensions of services like Uber, American Airlines and Twitter.

"People are playing it pretty safe and right now just extending their application," Ryan Taylor, design director at Normative Design, the software firm hired by Rabo. Once the Watch is released, it will be easier to develop, he said.

Taylor points out that there has been no "killer app" so far on Android smartwatches that have been on the market for two to three years.

What Apple is "trying to do is get people to think of apps differently than an iPhone app. That cultural shift is taking a little bit more time and that's OK," he said. (Reuters)(Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

PSA: iOS 8.2 Comes With An Apple Watch App You Can’t Delete

iOS 8.2 is here! Hurray!

It’s got bug fixes! It’s got stability enhancements! It’s got… an app that you can’t delete that currently does nothing but play promotional Apple Watch videos!

Joining the dozen or so perma-apps that Apple includes on the iPhone is “Apple Watch”, an app that doesn’t actually do anything yet.

Come April 24th when the Apple Watch actually ships, the app will allow you to customize your watch settings, sync up your data, etc. For now, however, it just plays videos about the Apple Watch. Yep.

Have you already seen plenty of stuff about the Apple Watch? Don’t intend to buy one? Too bad! You can’t delete it.

(Once you pair up a Watch, a second “Activity” app will appear. So that functionality is there.)

Holding the icon allows you to move it around and toss it into a folder to be forgotten, but for now, deleting it is a no go.

At this point, the list of undeletable apps is getting a bit silly. Weather! Clock! Maps! Notes! Remindes! Stocks! Passbook! Newsstand! iBooks! The settings screen is already messy, Apple — just add one more screen to the pile and give us a way to toggle these things off our homescreens.

Don’t want the app? For now, your only option is to just not install iOS 8.2, or just grumble and tuck yet another app in your “Things I Don’t Use” folder.

Apple Watch’s Battery Life Could Be Its Achilles Heel

(GNN) Apple proudly proclaims that the Apple Watch has an all-day battery life. But what does that mean? Well, hopefully your workout doesn’t last longer than 30 minutes.

Apple defines the Apple Watch battery life here. According to the page, the “all-day battery life is based on 18 hours with the following use: 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 30-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth, over the course of 18 hours.”

The page is buried deep in the Apple Watch product page. Apple clearly does not foresee selling the Watch based on its battery life.

For specific usage, the life varies. Apple states that the Watch’s battery can last up to seven hours during a workout when heart rate sensor is turned on. When playing back music, the battery will last up to 6.5 hours and up to 3 hours when the Watch is used for phone calls. However, if the Watch is used as a watch, the battery can last up to 48 hours.

When the Apple Watch’s battery drops to a determined level, it automatically switches into Power Reserve mode, allowing the device to tell the time for up to an additional 72 hours.

Apple also states that it takes 1.5 hours to charge the Watch to 80% and 2.5 hours for a full charge.

According to Apple, these stats were gathered during a March 2015 test using a preproduction Apple watch paired to an iPhone using preproduction software. Apple warns that actual results may vary due to use and configuration.

Battery life could be the Achilles heel for the Apple Watch. It’s unquestionably a beautiful and capable device, but if the battery life falls short even a touch from these advertised claims, it will leave many users wearing a device that can just tell the time and not call an Uber.

You Can Keep Your iPhone In Your Pocket. Don’t Believe Me? Just Watch

(GNN) - This is no sidekick. It’s not merely a companion. The #Apple Watch completely eliminates the need to pull out your phone in many situations. That was the theme of today’s launch event.

This isn’t just another screen for your notifications. Yes, Apple Watch is time, saved. But Apple Watch is also things done. Hail and find your Uber. Browse and Like Instagram photos. Reply to WeChat messages. Take phone calls with its mic and speaker.

Until now, the perception of smartwatches was that they were merely companions to phones. You might get lightweight alerts and take basic actions from a wearable, but would have to pull out your phone to do anything substantial.

But Apple wants what’s on your arm to do the heavy lifting. That could defeat the top criticism I’ve heard of smartwatches: Our lives are complicated enough.

Many people already feel completely overwhelmed by technology. Ever-present screens, mountains of email, tablets and smart TVs crowding our view, and most annoyingly, the non-stop barrage of notifications and other reasons to pull out your phone.

Some tech enthusiasts were eager for a faster way to parse notifications, hence the rise of the Pebble. But having to bobble functionality between a phone and smartwatch made the issue sound worse, not better.

With the Watch apps shown on stage today, Apple made it clear that you won’t have to learn to juggle.

Your iPhone is still the brain, the transmitter, and the App Store portal for your Watch. You can’t ditch it completely. But when the Watch is doing its job right, your phone is firmly lodged in your pants or purse, not your hand. Seconds wasted opening it are now spent experiencing real life. With the help of the Apple Watch, we can wrestle control of our lives back from our phones.

And that aligns this new device with the philosophy Steve Jobs set forth for Apple years ago when he said “Man is the creator of change in this world. As such he should be above systems and structures, and not subordinate to them.”