When the Apple Watch was launched it supported third-party apps however, those could only work as long as you were connected to your iPhone. watchOS 2 will now bring native apps to the Apple Watch along with many other refinements, performance improvements and features.

watchOS 2 includes 3 new types of watch faces: Photo, Photo Album and Time-lapse. With the new update even App Store developers will be able to add support for complications.

Time Travel allows you to turn the Digital Crown to view complications (events, weather, car charge etc.) as it would change in future or see how it was in the past.

All new Nightstand mode is a very handy feature which is activated when you charge your Apple Watch. The display comes illuminates when you touch the screen, digital crown or the side button. You can even turn off the alarm by pressing the side button or press the Digital Crown to snooze.

Native apps on Apple Watch will bring better performance and even more capabilities. Third-party developers will now be able to use the taptic engine, digital crown, accelerometer, heart rate sensor, speaker and microphone to create unique experiences.

Apple’s built-in apps have also been updated in watchOS 2. Mail app can now be used to reply to emails by either dictating, sending an emoji or selecting relevant preset replies.

With the new update adding more friends has become easier. The Apple Watch now allows you to add multiple Friends screens, each of which can hold upto 12 contacts.

Sending hand-drawn messages to friends who also have an Apple Watch has become more colourful. The new update makes it possible to use different colors to sketch your message.

Just like in iOS 9 Maps app received new transit feature, watchOS 2 also includes Transit navigation. Apple Pay on Apple Watch has gained support for loyalty and reward cards.

Lastly, Apple has brought activation lock to the Apple Watch. In order to activate your watch in case it gets lost or stolen the watch will prompt you to enter your iCloud Apple ID and password.

watchOS 2 brings many new features to the Apple Watch. Some of the biggest enhancements include native apps, third-party complications, and activation lock. The update will be available for free for all Apple Watch users this fall.

With all the attention Apple Watch is getting even Siri didn’t want to feel left behind. Apple has updated Siri’s quirky responses to show that even Siri is involved with Apple Watch preparations.

If you ask Siri “what are you doing right now?” you’ll get various responses related to Apple Watch. Some of the responses we got:

I was just chatting with the Apple metallurgists about Apple Watch. Those guys get the gist of metals.

Oh, you know, just helping to gather Zn-Mg “eta prime” precipitates for the 7000 series aluminium Apple Watch. The usual.

I’m helping to round up jellyfish for the Apple Watch. Ouch!

Since the introduction of Siri as a personal assistant in iOS, it has always been projected as an assistant with a certain “personality”. Sometimes you get moody responses and at other times Siri doesn’t hesitate to show disapproval of something negative you might say.

It’s always fun to discover new responses Siri comes up as it continues to make itself appear as a very intelligent personal assistant who is well aware of what is happening around you.

Siri even poked fun at Google Glass which used the catch phrase “Ok Glass” to get tasks done. If you said “OK Glass” to Siri it would respond with:

Glass? I think you’ve got the wrong assistant,

Siri is certainly excited about Apple Watch pre-orders going live today. Did you pre-order your watch? Let us know if you encountered any other unique Siri responses in the comments section below.

Apple has been meticulously planning the launch of Apple Watch, with advertising in full swing, getting print ads in top magazines, integrating fitness blog page by top model Christy Turlington Burns and also giving third-party app developers access to the hardware much before the launch.

Unlike the iPhone that launched without the App Store, the Apple Watch just like the iPad will launch with many third-party apps available on launch day. Apple has been showcasing apps like Target, American Airlines, Instagram, Twitter, ESPN and many more.

YouVersion the developers of The Bible app for iOS earlier today announced the availability of The Bible app for the Apple Watch. The app will be available when the Apple Watch ships.

The Bible app for Apple Watch includes features from its iOS app specifically reimagined for the watch. The app will bring Verse of the Day, Friends Notifications, Trending Verses and Your Verse Images, Bookmarks, and Highlights.

The developers state that their mission with the app is to simply, “help you engage with the Bible.”

Because we’re convinced that when you spend time with the Bible, either reading or listening, and then carefully reflect on what it’s saying to you, God’s Spirit will do something inside of you. His words will change you, make you into a new person. Ultimately, His words will draw you closer to Him.

Seven years ago when the App Store for the iPhone was launched YouVersion’s Bible app was amongst the first 200 apps approved for the launch day. Just like the iPhone version, the Apple Watch version will also be available on launch day.

Have you pre-ordered the Apple Watch yet? Share the model you’ve ordered in the comments section below.

‘Spring forward’ banners have been put up at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts ahead of todays media event. The banners show the same Apple logo that was sent in the invite. Some onlookers also noticed an additional temporary building being constructed which is believed to be Apple Watch demo area. The temporary structure was seen guarded by security staff at all times.

Apple is expected to announce Apple Watch launch date for the U.S. alongside a few other chosen countries. We know that the Sport model will cost $349 however, the price for the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition has been unknown all this while. According to John Gruber of Daring Fireball here’s what the Apple Watch pricing could be:

Apple Watch Sport (all colors, with Sport Band): $349/399
Apple Watch, steel, Sport Band: $749/799
Apple Watch, steel, Classic Buckle: $849/899
Apple Watch, steel, Milanese Loop: $949/999
Apple Watch, steel, Modern Buckle (38mm only): $1199
Apple Watch, steel, Leather Loop (42mm only): $1299
Apple Watch, steel, Link Bracelet: $1499/1599
Apple Watch, space black steel, Link Bracelet: $1899/1999
Apple Watch Edition, Sport Band: $7499/7999
Apple Watch Edition, Modern Buckle (38mm only): $9999
Apple Watch Edition, Classic Buckle (42mm only): $10,999

According to another rumour Apple’s new SVP of Retail and Online sales Angela Ahrendts and SVP of Design Jony Ive collaborated to transform Apple retail stores to create new shopping experience for customers coming in to buy the company’s first wearable device. It is possible that Ahrendts makes her first appearance on stage to talk about the state of Apple retail.

Visit Apple’s website to live stream the media event. What are your expectations from today’s event? Do you think Apple will announce the Retina MacBook Air or new Apple TV? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

A photo posted by Dieter Bohn (@backlon) on Mar 9, 2015 at 7:46am PDT

Using force touch Apple Watch can provide the user with new user interactions and offers an unobtrusive way to access menu within an app or even change watch faces. According to AppleInsider’s report which cites people familiar with the matter, Apple could be looking at including the same ‘force touch’ technology in the upcoming ‘iPhone 6s’.

While describing the technology Apple refers to force touch as the “most significant new sensing capability since Multi‑Touch”. Apple introduced multi-touch technology first on the iPhone, then on the iPad and it was also extended to its trackpad. The company is known to offer unified user interface across all its devices so it is possible that after Apple Watch iPhone 6s could be the next device featuring the new technology.

It is interesting to note that the report mentions that Apple was working on including the technology even on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus however, due to technical reasons it was scheduled for inclusion in the next iPhone. It is possible that with phone screens getting bigger, sensing force could be a great way to add contextual menu’s in the middle of the screen to avoid stretching your thumb all the way to the top.

Apple is holding ‘spring forward’ special media event on March 9 where the company is widely expected to announce Apple Watch apps, availability and pricing. As the watch becomes available sometime in April we will have to wait and see how ‘force touch’ can change the way we interact with touch based interfaces.

Apple is providing a live stream of the special event. The event will go live at 10 a.m. PDT on March 9. Live streaming video requires Safari on OS X or iOS. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV.

It is widely expected that Apple will announce the release date of Apple Watch and share more details about the upcoming wearable device. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has already hinted at April launch of the device however, we will get to know the exact launch date during the event.

Apple is also expected to showcase third-party apps developed for the Apple Watch, provide information on battery life and other features which weren’t showcased during the iPhone 6 event last year. Most importantly the event will finally end the suspense over Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition pricing. So far all we know is that Apple Watch Sport will be priced at $349.

Apple Watch has been a topic of much discussion since its official announcement last year. Apple has worked closely with high-fashion media outlets such as the Vogue magazine to feature the upcoming Apple wearable device.

Are you excited about the Apple Watch event? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

During the launch event the watch was showcased to the conference attendees however, it was programmed to play a looping video. Over the last five months Apple has strategically partnered with premium media outlets to talk about the upcoming Apple Watch.

Apple Watch will be available in three collections, Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition. The company  over the past few months has focused on high fashion media outlets and events to promote its upcoming watch. In September,  Apple teamed up with Parisian fashion boutique Colette to showcase the watch at the retailer’s gallery at Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. Popular fashion and lifestyle magazine Vogue, featured model Liu Wen wearing the Apple Watch for the cover page of Vogue China.

Aside from the I-want-to-be-Candice quality of our new March cover, notice anything else about the photo? The Apple Watch is getting a star moment, too, as Candice is the first woman to wear one on a magazine cover in the US. With the device starting at around $349 available next month, it’s on our wishlist.

Apple now wants to turn focus to fitness capabilities of its watch as Self Magazine features model Candice Swanepoel wearing the Apple Watch Sport on the cover page of the magazine. The magazine also covers details about the devices’ ability to track heart rate and use GPS & WiFi sensors to offer a whole range of fitness and health features.

Apple Watch released date is expected to be sometime in April. Are you excited about the new device from Apple? What do you think about Apple’s marketing strategies for the watch? Let us know in the comments below.

According to a new report published by WSJ, it is believed that almost half of the 5 million units will be the entry-level Apple Watch Sports model and one-third of production will account for the mid-tier Apple Watch model.

The high-end Apple Watch Edition model that features 18-karat gold casing will be available in very limited supply initially however, the company is expected to ramp up production to about one million units every month in the second quarter.

Apple Watch Sports model will be priced at $349 however, price of other two models hasn’t been revealed yet. Apple Watch Edition is expected to be priced around $5000 or more. There have been rumours about Jony Ive and Angela Ahrendts working together to redesign Apple retail stores to showcase the Edition model.

I believe it is unprecedented in the watch industry for a luxury model to be assembled in China.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball earlier today published his thoughts on Apple Watch Edition model being assembled in China and said, “I have wondered, idly, whether Apple might assemble the Edition models in the U.S., like they do with Mac Pros, to further their prestige.” However, in order to manage the scale of one million units China may be the only option Apple has.

Apple Watch will be the first new product category that the company launched since the iPad in 2010. Apple sold about 7.5 million iPads in the first six months of its availability and it will be interesting to see if Apple Watch launch will be a blockbuster of Apple.

While this news may appear to be crazy for some however, the company’s entry into smartphones may give you hint at why Apple branded electric car isn’t that crazy after all. Much before the launch of the original iPhone in 2007 Apple actually entered into the phone market by forming a partnership with Motorola to bring iTunes to Motorola ROKR E1 in the year 2005. During the iPhone launch when Steve Jobs called Jony Ive to demo iPhone’s feature, the design chief was seen using a Motorola phone at that time. After the launch of iPhone and its success, Motorola slowly seeped into the forgotten lanes. The rest is history.

According to a new report published by WSJ, Apple may be working on an electric car. Just like the phones Apple isn’t entirely new to automobiles. The company has a long history of working with automobile manufacturers to integrate iPod and more recently they launched CarPlay and partnered with over a dozen automobile manufactures to integrate CarPlay. If the report turns out to be true then what we saw with iTunes and phones in year 2005, could very soon be repeated as CarPlay leads Apple into actually manufacturing an electric car.

The publications’ sources suggest that Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, approved the project codenamed “Titan” last year. It is worth remembering that during the trail between Samsung and Apple, Phil Schiller’s testimony in court confirmed that at the time when the company was thinking about what should be the next product Apple didn’t rule out cars as being an option.

“We were searching for what to do after iPod that would make sense. If we can make the iPod, what else can we do?” Apple employees tossed around ideas like making a camera, a car, and other “crazy stuff,” Schiller said.

Apple’s senior executives Jony Ive, Phil Schiller and Eddy Cue and are known to be car lovers. Jony Ive owns Aston Martin Vanquish, White Bentley Brooklands, and Land Rover LR3 to name a few. Eddy Cue joined Ferrari board of directors in 2012. Phill Schiller’s twitter bio mentions cars as one of his many interests.

The report goes on to mention that Apple met up with contract manufacturers for high-end cars including the Magna Steyr unit of Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc.

Recent hires by Apple may also suggest that the company is serious about the automobile industry. Marc Newson is a friend of Jony Ive and played a role in designing the Apple Watch. Mr. Newson was also involved in creating a concept car for Ford Motor Co. Apple has also hired Johann Jungwirth, former president and chief executive of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development.

According to WSJ, product design Vice President Steve Zadesky is leading the secret project. Mr. Zadesky, former Ford engineer, played a key role in leading the team at Apple to create the iPod and iPhone.

There have been rumours about talks between Tesla, the electric car manufacturer, and Apple. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk during a press conference said that the company could be worth $700 billion in a decade. For comparison, Apple recently became the first ever U.S. company to cross $700 billion in market capitalisation.

While it is certainly possible that Apple could be simply researching on advanced battery and studying different car components to better understand how they can incorporate CarPlay and enhance it. However, given the recent hires and a good track record of WSJ in learning about Apple’s plan ahead of their announcement, an electric car from Apple could be coming very soon.

When rumours about Apple’s upcoming watch started hitting the web, it was revealed that the company had hired many notable people involved in improving or miniaturising medical sensors for wearable products. Apple Watch had long been rumoured to feature advanced sensors to measure blood pressure, activity level, heart beat and more.

During the product demo Apple showcased the capabilities of its watch and highlighted its use in health and fitness. The company talked about the devices’ ability to track activity, heart rate, remind you to stand up and even share your heart beat with your loved ones. Now, a new report published by WSJ reveals that Apple had initially  planned more health related features however, due to technical reasons the plans were dropped.

Apple began developing the watch about four years ago, with a focus on health and fitness. It’s not unusual for Apple to experiment with many technologies or shift focus during product development, but the watch was especially challenging, people familiar with the matter said. Internally, the project became known as a “black hole” sucking in resources, one of these people said.

The report suggests that Apple Watch was to feature sensors to measure conductivity of skin to detect stress levels and track blood pressure. However, the plans were dropped due to inconsistency in results and it varied depending on how hairy the persons’ arms were, how dry the skin was or how tight the watch was worn.

Apple Watch has been in development since over four years and its possible that company saw 2015 as the perfect opportunity to launch the product with limited set of health features and then follow-up with more elaborate set of features in the second-gen model.

Beta software updates are available only to registered developers. The build number of the beta update released today is 12D5480a. Xcode 6.2 beta 5 with Watchkit was also made available today.

iOS 8.2 enables Watchkit features for developers. During its Q1 2015 earnings report Apple’s CEO Tim Cook announced that the company is on track to ship Apple Watch in April. Developers are busy developing apps for Apple’s upcoming smart watch, adding glances and notifications for their existing iPhone apps.

Apple Watch will work only with an iPhone as it relies on its bluetooth connection to process information. Developers  are beginning to showcase some examples of AppleWatch apps they are working on. The smart watch could be a great way to unlock your car, check To-Do lists or even collect gold and elixir resources from Clash of Clans.

Apple hasn’t revealed battery life of the upcoming device however, it is obvious that it will vary depending on how often you use the device. Apple has hinted that it is possible to get a full days worth of use without charging in some use case scenarios.

According to a rumour Apple has asked one of its Apple Pay partners to have their app ready by mid-February. The company will be looking for a successful launch of its smart watch with major apps available for its new product category on launch day.

Are you excited about Apple Watch? Which apps would you like to see on launch day? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

A larger iPad with a screen size of about 12.2 inches could potentially compete with the MacBook Air. While Apple has never shown any interest in developing a touch compatible version of OS X, it remains unclear if the iPad Pro will run iOS or a modified version of OS X. Apple has been known to be working on screen splitting on iOS and it’s possible that iPad Pro may introduce this feature if it runs iOS.

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple could also be working on a stylus for the iPad Pro which would probably be an optional accessory as opposed to being a required accessory to use the device.

The photo of the purported third-party case of the iPad Pro certainly appears to be significantly larger than the cases of iPad Air 2 and also shows four cut-outs for the rumoured stereo speakers.

Apple’s current line-up of tablets offer both 7.9 inch and 9.7 inch screen options. Making the iPad Pro just larger probably won’t be the only differentiating factor that Apple is looking at. For the “Pro” moniker the company could be looking at offering significant differences to the features of the existing line-up. At this time not much is known about the rumoured device. The new device could feature a more powerful A9 processor and more RAM.

Release date of iPad Pro is being speculated to be sometime this year. Apple is on schedule to release Apple Watch in April. So we can expect an Apple media event in September / October.

What do you think about the possibility of the iPad Pro. Will you buy one based on the features being rumoured? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

iOS 8.2 includes support for the WatchKit SDK, paving the way for developers to create and test apps for Apple’s upcoming Apple Watch. The exact release date for iOS 8.2 is still unknown however, it may be made available publicly few weeks ahead of the Apple Watch launch.

Apple’s new wearable device will work in sync with the iPhone. Using WatchKit SDK app developers can add support to their apps to enable notifications and glances on the Apple Watch.

iOS 8 upgrades haven’t gone very well for users recently as after upgrading users complained about WiFi, battery life and bluetooth issues. With increased use of devices’ storage capacity many users were unable to install over-the-air update and had to resort to installing the update by connecting to iTunes. All these problems combined resulted in slower adoption rate initially when compared with last years release of iOS 7.

Apple touted iOS 8 as the “biggest iOS release ever”. It brought many new features for users and new possibilities for iOS app developers. Notable enhancements included all new Messages app, continuity, added features to camera app, third party keyboards, iCloud Drive, Health app and much more.

Over the past several weeks, rumors have been circulating that Apple is working on a smart watch, dubbed the “iWatch”. Although it is purely speculation at this point, a number of credible sources have backed claims from multiple sources. After Nick Bilton of the NYTimes reported that Apple was working on a curved glass smart watch, a report from Bloomberg suggests that Apple has a team of 100 product designers working on the “iWatch”.

The rumor reportedly stems from “two people familiar with the company’s plans”, who also suggest that the smartwatch is past its experimental stage. This means that the device is likely in its naming, final design, and production plan stage, which is a similar process to the Cupertino company’s other products.

The team, which has grown in the past year, includes managers, members of the marketing group and software and hardware engineers who previously worked on the iPhone and iPad, said the people, who asked not to be named because the plans are private. The team’s size suggests Apple is beyond the experimentation phase in its development, said the people.

It is unclear exactly what features Apple would include in its smartwatch, although it would likely resemble the company’s popular iPad, iPhone or perhaps even the current generation iPod Nano. Apple’s senior director of engineering, James Foster is reportedly also working on the project, which would justify the company’s plans to keep its products consistent.

With an “iWatch”, Apple would likely be competing with other devices such as Pebble’s e-paper display Smart Watch. Apple could also be competing with wearable fitness “smart watches” such as the Jawbone UP, and the Nike FuelBand. Apple currently includes built in Nike+ support in a number of its products, so it would naturally make sense for the company to make this a part of a smartwatch project.

Apple rarely ever introduces a new product unless others fail to make a substantial impact on the market with their own devices. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is currently a Nike Board member and mentioned that wearable devices are an “an interesting area” and that “the book hasn’t been written on that yet.” If Apple is working on a smartwatch, and if it is past the experimental phase as Bloomberg suggests, leaked images and parts will surface in the coming weeks.

{Via MacRumors}