As we're all aware, no tiny computer-like device is official until you can play Solitaire on it. So by unwritten law, the Apple Watch is now 100% official.
A couple of months ago I ruminated on what the Apple Watch could and couldn’t do (as indicated by Apple’s own descriptions, since the watch itself wasn’t out yet). I also ruminated on what it seemed to be doing right and what it was doing wrong. Now that I’ve actually had one for a bit and have been using it daily, some of my thoughts have changed. Some for the better, and some for the worse.
So it’s time to take a look back at what I got right (ha-ha!) and what I got wrong (boo!).
So you’ve just unboxed your very own Apple Watch and have been playing around with some of its features. Neat, huh?
Well if you’re like me, you probably want to get to customizing its face before you really start to show it off to people. And if you’re also like me, chances are you've completely ignored the little info pamphlet that came with everything. It’s okay, unboxing a new piece of Apple tech usually leads to discarded instructions. That’s just the nature of the beast.
And that’s exactly why we’ve put together this short guide on how to go about customizing the face of your Apple Watch.
Whether you’ve been playing Real Racing 3 for a while or are just getting started, chances are all you Apple Watch users are wondering what’s up with its watch functionality. Well, rather than acting as some weird sort of remote or letting you race directly on your wrist, it actually functions as a companion app. It’s not unlike a bizarre car-racing virtual pet now that I think about it...
Now that the Apple Watch is publically available (kind of), even more apps and games have been popping up for it. Some of them are updates to existing software, others are brand new. The main thing is that they're all for the Apple Watch, and if you're looking to expand the wearable's library then we've got a list for you. Our previous list is also available for perusal right here.
By SHAPE GmbH
App Store Description:
"8 is made for a fast and intuitive Watch-centric chat.Invite your friends to chat by email or user name.Drag and drop your free stickers with 8.And if stickers are not enough, add some text.Endless communication, infinite as 8's shape.
We made 8 with love, stay tuned for new stickers and features!"
The Apple Watch is less than a month from hitting store shelves, and once you get your hands on it you're probably going to want some apps and games to install. Fear not! We've compiled a list of all the Apple Watch apps and games we've been able to find so far.
By TheCodingMonkeys
App Store Description:
RULES! is a cute puzzle game that's challenging, fast-paced and fun.
• Choose your preferred type of game: Beginner, Expert or Timeless •
Follow RULES! into a hundred level-deep maze of cuteness and order:
• Multi-touch interface at its finest
• Color perception assistance mode
• Whales, Unicorns, Robots and Squirrels!
• A plethora of surprising new game mechanics
• Includes a daily brain workout mini-game for Apple Watch •
It’s not here yet but there’s that developing sneaky feeling that the Apple Watch, despite its price tag and low battery life, might yet change quite a lot about how we conduct our lives. While I don’t think it’s going to be an overnight transformation, I can see it being a slow but steady process. One such area where the Apple Watch could make all the difference is when it comes to convenience while traveling. Here are a few ways in which it could simplify our traveling life.
I’ve had an iPhone since they first launched back in 2008. When the original first came out, it had a ton of potential but very little had been realised at that point. Heck, it didn’t even have the App Store! So excuse me while I mutter about how the Apple Watch will be great one day, but probably not until its second hardware revision has been released. Following that logic, here are a few ideas of exactly what we’d love to see the second time around.
The end of this month will see the release of the Apple Watch, a product that was officially announced late last year that has many people speculating about how having an extension to your phone that you actually wear will change how we operate. As someone that tries to withhold judgement about products until we know what they are - rather than what they promise to be - I have held off on figuring out how the Apple Watch could or should fit into my lifestyle.
Recently though, early reviews of the watch have come out and - upon reading them - I've been pretty disappointed. As a runner that enjoys the outdoors, I was hoping the Apple Watch would incorporate all of the things I would need to abandon all of my current running tech (namely an iPod and Garmin GPS watch) but the Apple Watch's current form just doesn't seem up to the task. Here's why.
Just in case you missed all the hubub, Everywear Games (a studio created specifically for smartwatch development) has announced the upcoming release of Runeblade - a "fantasy adventure" that's been designed from the ground up for the Apple Watch.
Loot, upgradable weapons, monster smashing; it's all there and it's looking pretty good. It's also been designed with bite-sized play sessions in mind, which should work well on a device you'll most likely be tossing quick glances at rather than staring at a screen for extended periods of time.
Runeblade will be available as a free download later this month, and once the Apple Watch launches we can expect plenty more content down the line.
Yesterday 9to5Mac got their hands on an employee memo from Apple CEO Tim Cook, which mentioned that the new wearable has already had over one thousand apps submitted for it - in only four days. You can check out the original story, along with a full copy of the memo, right here.
"More than one thousand apps were submitted in just four days last week when the App Store started accepting them," Cook said, "and the rate of submissions has only been climbing since then."
That's kind of ridiculous when you stop and think about it. I mean, the App Store has only been accepting Apple Watch app submissions since last week. Of course this doesn't mean that over 1,000 apps are going to be accepted right away - Apple does have an approval process to go through and it could result in many of these submissions getting bounced back - but you can be sure the Apple Watch will still have a fairly robust selection of software at launch.
Seriously though, those are some incredible numbers. Bravo iOS developers. Give yourselves a hand.
I know I’ve already theorized on how the Apple Watch could change mobile, but this time I’d like to talk about how it could affect our day-to-day lives. And make no mistake, there’s a good chance it’s going to change a few things around here.
One of the biggest changes we’re going to see because of the Apple Watch is company policies for retailers, restaurants, and pretty much any other place that caters to the public. Most places already prohibit their employees from bringing phones onto the floor since, for example, it usually doesn’t look good if a cashier is fiddling with their iPhone when they should be ringing people out. Now that people are going to start wearing the Apple Watch, you can bet a lot of places are going to ask workers to keep their timepieces in their lockers or otherwise off the floor. I don’t imagine having a theater usher ceaselessly messing around with their watch would go over much better than if it were a phone, do you?
By extension, the Apple Watch could end up affecting employee productivity to the point where businesses that don’t directly interact with the public might still have to institute some kind of limit. Granted I imagine most offices discourage using one’s iPhone while on the clock, but it’s going to be a lot easier to sneak a peek at your wrist and jump back to work once the boss shows up than it is to hastily tuck a phone back into your pocket or desk drawer. Conversely, the potential functionality of the Apple Watch could end up becoming such a boon that some offices encourage their use or even issue one to their employees. It really depends on the business.
Reminders will also be far more useful, since it’s much easier to accidentally (or purposely) miss a notification if your phone is silenced or in another room. When your watch is tied into your itinerary it’s going to be a lot harder to ignore the blaring alarms coming off your wrist. Whether or not this leads to an era of never forgetting to pick up milk on the way home ever again remains to be seen, since it still relies on people making the effort to set up reminders in the first place, but the potential is definitely there.
I also touched upon the unfortunate side of things last time when I contemplated the idea of thievery a bit, and despite it being a depressing topic I think the Apple Watch will affect things here as well. For better and for worse. What I mean by “worse” is that you can’t really hide an Apple Watch like you can an iPhone. Telltale earbuds aside, if you’ve got an iPhone in your pocket it won’t really be attracting the attention of potential thieves. An Apple Watch though, that’s going to be on your wrist for all to see. Of course it is more difficult to remove a watch than it is to yank a phone out of someone’s hand. On the “better” side of things, the near-constant health monitoring could be used to automatically call for help if you’re in trouble (medically or otherwise), as I’ve mentioned before.
Then there’s the issue of how we physically move through a space. Yeah, I know, it’s weird to think about but anyone who’s ever worn a wristwatch can tell you that you’ll need to start paying attention to where you swing your arm. Banging your watch against things is an extremely common occurrence even if you’re used to wearing one, and people are going to want to be extra careful not to whack their Apple Watch against the corner of a desk or something. It’s not going to lead to a country-wide baby-proofing (padded table edges, etc) or anything like that, but Apple Watch owners are going to want to be a lot more conscious of their movements once they’ve strapped their wrist-phone-thing on. And they’ll want to make sure not to forget to take it off when they take a shower or otherwise have to douse their hands in liquids.
:: DECEPTIVELY FIENDISH :: Read Review »Rules! is a pretty neat, insideous little game about, well, following rules. We've already had a blast with it on the iPhone and iPad, but now TheCodingMonkeys are bringing it to the Apple Watch as well.
It's not exactly a port or a new version, however. Instead, it's an update that adds a new mode meant to be played specifically on the Apple Watch. The new mode focuses on brain "fitness" by providing shorter brain teasing puzzles rather than the longer, memory-heavy normal game. Game Center support and social media sharing options are still there if you want to show off your scores, of course.
You can grab Rules! now (if you haven't already) for $2.99. The Apple Watch update is already live, but chances are you won't be getting your hands on one until April 24 so you'll need to be patient.
Sure the Apple Watch is about as much of an extravagance as an iPhone or iPad, but it sports a fair number of cool features. Many of which may in fact become a requisite for future smart devices (tablets, phones, and now wearables) once we get used to them.
Let's face it: most of this stuff you'll forget about within a week or two.
