In total, Apple has released four new colors for the Apple Watch Sport Band: linen blue, seafoam, vitamin C, and coastal gray. All four of the new colors are available to order from Apple’s Online Store today in 40mm and 44mm sizes for $49:
It’s common for Apple to introduce new Apple Watch band colors near the start of a new season. As of right now, the Sport Band is the only option to be updated for summer 2020. There have been rumors of a new Leather Loop for Apple Watch, but that was not included with today’s updates.
But in addition to the new Apple Watch accessories, Apple has also released new silicone cases for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The new cases are available in three new colors: seafoam, vitamin C, and linen blue.
You can buy the new iPhone 11 silicone cases for $39 from Apple’s Online Store at the links below:
We also expect the new iPhone cases to be available on Apple’s official Amazon storefront soon, alongside the new Apple Watch bands. They will likely also be available in physical Apple Stores that are open sometime this week.
What do you think of Apple’s new iPhone 11 cases and Apple Watch Sport Bands? Are you planning to order anything new? Let us know down in the comments!
like most high school seniors, Elle Smith hasn’t had the year they imagined. Prom was cancelled. A graduation ceremony is up in the air. But one thing Elle hasn’t compromised on is weekly virtual meetings of their Austin, Texas, high school’s Genders and Sexualities Alliance, a club for LGBTQ students and allies to come together and find community. Elle restarted the club their freshman year and has led it ever since.
“Not everyone has a safe and supportive family situation,” Elle explained. “We’re all missing out on a lot of different life events. It’s about honoring the changes in people’s lives, and marking the milestones we want to mark, while still being safe. We’re trying to make sure that students have access to fun and relaxation, too.”
Elle Smith was honored as GLSEN’s Student Advocate of the Year last fall.
It’s this commitment to community and advocacy that led to Elle’s being named Student Advocate of the Year by GLSEN, a US-based LGBTQ organization that has inspired and helps lead a global movement to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying in schools. GLSEN supports student advocates like Elle and provides the resources that help them change their communities, one conversation at a time.
“Pride season is a time where it feels safer to be authentic. It’s the ideal world where you’re able to be safe, you’re able to be yourself, and you’re able to be loud.”
That work is particularly important during Pride month, observed every June. Normally a time of parades and protests, organizing and advocacy, festivals and community, Pride gatherings in many places have been cancelled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But the work done by advocates like Elle hasn’t disappeared — it’s adapted to meet an urgent need.
“Pride season is a time where it feels safer to be authentic. It’s the ideal world where you’re able to be safe, you’re able to be yourself, and you’re able to be loud,” Elle said. “I think everyone who’s involved with LGBTQ organizations has done a great job shifting our programs and outreach to a virtual format. We want to keep our momentum going and make sure everyone has access to resources just as they would have pre-COVID.”
GLSEN is just one of the organizations whose work on behalf of LGBTQ people Apple directly supports with its annual Apple Watch Pride Edition band and face collection. Apple not only aims to help users celebrate Pride in their own lives, but it also directly supports the work of organizations like GLSEN and advocates like Elle.
The Apple Watch Nike Sport Band is reimagined with the colors of the rainbow.
This year’s artfully unique Pride Edition Sport Band is joined for the first time by the new Apple Watch Nike Pride Edition Sport Band. Both are available today from apple.com, the Apple Store app, and Apple stores, and pair beautifully with new matching Pride Watch faces that are coming soon as a part of watchOS 6.2.5.
Through this effort, Apple and Nike are proud to support LGBTQ organizations doing vital advocacy and community-building worldwide, including GLSEN, PFLAG, The Trevor Project, Gender Spectrum, The National Center for Transgender Equality, and ILGA World, which brings together more than 1,500 member organizations in more than 150 countries and regions.
The new bands are available to order today from the Apple Store. The bands match new watch faces coming in watchOS 6.2.5, which we reported over the weekend.
Apple announced the new watch bands as part of a press release that highlights how this year’s LGBTQ Pride month has had to change in the light of the global coronavirus pandemic.
In normal years, communities celebrate Pride with festivals and parades. In fact, the first Apple Watch Pride band was gifted to Apple employees in 2016 as part of Apple’s official Pride March. At least for this year, events are instead taking place over the Internet.
Apple and Nike are supporting LGBTQ organizations including GLSEN, PFLAG, The Trevor Project, Gender Spectrum, The National Center for Transgender Equality, and ILGA World.
New Pride watch faces in watchOS 6.2.5
The new bands will look great when paired with the new software watch faces which will be released as part of watchOS 6.2.5. Apple is adding a 2020 variant of the Pride face to continue the design of the Pride Sport Band onto the Watch’s display. There are also new rainbow color options for several faces, including the exclusive Nike faces.
With the introduction of the 2020 Pride Edition Sport bands, Apple has discontinued the 2019 Pride Edition Sport Loop band. As for the new entry, Apple describes the process of creating the new multicolored version from multiple strips:
The Pride Edition Sport Band is assembled by hand from individual strips of colored fluoroelastomer. The strips are then machine die-cut and compression molded together. This process results in subtle variations in the wavy rainbow design, making each band artfully unique.
Find the new $49 Pride Edition bands exclusively from Apple:
Apple is moving quickly to release new software features that improve lives during the COVID-19 health pandemic. One new feature that’s aimed to help first responders will be useful for iPhone and Apple Watch users even after we reach the other side of the coronavirus outbreak. The change is coming in iOS 13.5 and watchOS 6.2.5 later this month.
Medical ID
Apple Watch and iPhone have supported a feature called Medical ID that lets you collect critical health data in one place. Medical ID can include your contact information, date of birth, medical conditions, blood type, and more.
Medical ID can be accessed from the Lock Screen on the iPhone without a passcode, or by holding the Side Button on an Apple Watch even if it’s locked. The idea is that anyone can see important health information about you in a time of need even if you’re not responsive.
Emergency SOS
iPhone and Apple Watch offer a separate feature called Emergency SOS. When you hold down the Side Button on an iPhone and Apple Watch for several seconds, the device can call local emergency services for you.
Emergency SOS also alerts your emergency contact when activated. This feature has been critical in saving lives by notifying first responders when an iPhone or Apple Watch user has an accident.
Medical ID in Emergency Calls
What’s new in iOS 13.5 and watchOS 6.2.5 is a new capability that connects Medical ID and Emergency SOS together. Starting later this month, customers can opt into a new Emergency SOS feature that automatically shares Medical ID information with emergency services.
This helps first responders by reducing the need to ask about allergies, medications, and medical conditions. First responders will automatically receive this vital information from Medical ID when Emergency SOS is activated.
Medical ID data is encrypted to ensure the data is stored privately on-device. This privacy is maintained with the new capability by relying on Enhanced Emergency Data to securely share the data with first responders.
Apple WatchSeries 4 and later also feature Fall Detection which automatically calls emergency services when a fall is detected and a user is unresponsive. The new Medical ID sharing feature will be used for Fall Detection as well.
The new feature is currently available in the beta versions of iOS and watchOS. Update to iOS 13.5 and watchOS 6.2.5 when the software updates are available later this month.
Wondering how to tell what Apple Watch model you have? You’re probably not alone, since a lot of Apple Watch models look the same. Not to worry though, you can determine which is which with a little help.
Apart from Apple Watch Series 4, each and every year Apple has refreshed its wearable it hasn’t made any large changes to the way it looks. That’s great for design consistency and making your older Apple Watch seem current, but it’s a challenge if you’re trying to identify one model from another. Is it Apple Watch Series 3 or Apple Watch Series 1? What about Apple Watch Series 4 or Series 5? They both look the same, after all. Luckily there are ways and means to tell which Apple Watch you’re looking at, though.
The best and easiest way is to look at the Watch app on your iPhone. You’ll need to have your Apple Watch paired with your device for that to work, but don’t worry. We’re going to tell you how to check which Apple Watch you have if it isn’t paired as well.
How to Identify Which Apple Watch Model You Have
Let’s start with the easiest way first.
Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
Tap the “My Watch” tab and then tap your Apple Watch.
Tap “General,” then “About” and look for the line that says “Model.”
Tap the number that begins with “M” and a new number that begins with “A” will be revealed. That’s your Apple Watch’s model number.
That’s the easiest way to determine what Apple Watch model you have with the paired iPhone, but what if you don’t have that handy? You can still determine which Apple Watch model is which.
How to Tell What Apple Watch You Have via the Case
If you have an Apple Watch that isn’t paired with an iPhone, fear not.
The model number is engraved on the back of your Apple Watch. You just need to find it by looking at the physical back of the Apple Watch.
Once you’ve located it, compare it with the model numbers listed again via Apple’s support website.
Apple’s support website will always be up-to-date with every Apple Watch model available. Contact Apple Support if the model number you have doesn’t match any listed, something isn’t quite right somewhere in that situation.
If you’re lucky enough to have an Apple Watch with an always-on display, consider disabling it for a battery life boost.
And remember, Apple continues to add new features to Apple Watch via software updates so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for those. It’s a good idea to speed up those updates, too. Otherwise, you could be waiting quite a while for them to complete. Not all Apple Watch models can run the latest watchOS releases, but updating watchOS to what your device can run is almost always a good idea for performance, features, and security purposes.
The latest Apple Watch models have a fantastic ‘always on’ display that lets you easily see the time without waking the devices screen with a lift or tap. The Apple Watch always-on display is excellent, but some users may notice that having the screen on all the time can lead to a reduction in battery performance of Apple Watch. Additionally, some users may prefer their Apple Watch screen not be on all the time for other reasons. Like many features, the Always On display can be enabled or disabled, depending on Apple Watch user preference.
This article will show you how to disable the Always On display of Apple Watch, and also how to enable the always on Apple Watch display if you had it turned off.
How to Disable Always On Apple Watch Display
You can turn off the Always On Apple Watch display feature easily through the device settings:
On Apple Watch, open the “Settings” app (it looks like a gear)
Scroll down in settings and tap on “Display & Brightness”
Tap the toggle for “Always On” so the switch is in the OFF position to disable Always On Apple Watch display
Exit Settings and use Apple Watch as usual
Disabling the Always On display on Apple Watch may lead to improved battery performance of the device for some users, depending on their Apple Watch usage, how often they charge the device, amongst other factors.
You can also change Apple Watch screen brightness while you’re in the watch settings.
Some users may wish to turn off the always on screen for other reasons too, perhaps for privacy, or perhaps because they don’t want other people looking at their Apple Watch to tell the time or find any other information on it. Note if you’re aiming to turn off the Always On display for privacy purposes, you might also simply want to toggle the setting for “Hide Sensitive Complications” in the same Apple Watch settings screen, which will hide personal data from the watch face when the Always On mode is enabled.
And of course some Apple Watch users may just prefer the traditional approach of raising their wrist or tapping the screen to show the Apple Watch display. Or perhaps you wear the watch to bed and use Apple Watch as an alarm clock but your bedmate doesn’t appreciate the screen always being on. There are many possible reasons why you might want to turn this feature off, or on.
How to Enable the Always On Apple Watch Display
You can also turn on the always on display for compatible Apple Watch models as well, here’s how to do that:
On Apple Watch, open the “Settings” app
Scroll down in settings and choose “Display & Brightness”
Tap “Always On” setting so that the switch is in the ON position to enable the Always On Apple Watch screen
Exit Settings
With the Apple Watch screen set to always be on, the devices screen will always be lit up but notably dimmer when not lifted or tapped. This makes it look and behave more like a traditional watch where the face of the watch is always visible for telling the time.
If you’re concerned about personal data being visible on Apple Watch screen with the Always On setting, consider enabling the “Hide Sensitive Complications” feature at the same settings screen.
As mentioned before, having the always on display enabled may lead to reduced battery performance since the screen must be lit. Whether or not that is noticeable to you likely depends on what else you’re doing with Apple Watch, how often you use it, and how often you charge the device.
What setting you use for Apple Watch is going to be your own personal preference. Remember that this feature is limited to newer model Apple Watches only, and if you don’t have the setting available on your device then it likely means the feature is not supported on your particular Apple Watch model.
You can adjust the screen brightness on Apple Watch using two different methods. One approach to increasing or decreasing Apple Watch screen brightness uses the device settings directly, while the other approach to changing screen brightness on the Apple Watch relies on using the paired iPhone. You can use either approach, and we’ll show you how to use both methods to change the screen brightness of an Apple Watch.
How to Adjust Screen Brightness on Apple Watch
This method will adjust screen brightness directly from the Apple Watch:
Open the “Settings” app on the Apple Watch, it looks like a gear icon
Tap on “Brightness & Text”
Tap the lower or higher Brightness buttons to lower or increase Apple Watch screen brightness
Alternatively, you can also tap on the brightness slider and use the hardware Digital Crown hardware dial to adjust screen brightness up or down
While in the “Brightness & Text” settings of Apple Watch, you might also want to increase the text size on shown on the Apple Watch display, or turn on the Bold Text option for text, both of which can make screen text on the device easier to read.
How to Change Apple Watch Screen Brightness from iPhone
This approach to changing the Apple Watch display brightness relies on using the paired iPhone instead:
Open the “Apple Watch” app on iPhone
Choose “My Watch”
Choose “Brightness & Text Size”
Adjust the brightness of the Apple Watch as desired
You can use either the direct method to change screen brightness from the Apple Watch itself, or you can use the method of changing screen brightness indirectly through the paired iPhone. Both approaches will achieve the same effect of either increasing or decreasing the Apple Watch display brightness.
Increasing the brightness is often desirable if you’re using the Apple Watch in bright settings like the outdoors in direct sunlight, but some users may also just prefer the brighter setting in general. Note that using the brightest setting on Apple Watch can result in reduced battery life, just like any other device.
Setting the brightness lower can be helpful if you use Apple Watch as an alarm clock or have it placed in Nightstand mode and want it to be dimmer too. And just like how setting brightness higher can reduce battery life, setting the screen brightness lower can help to prolong battery life of Apple Watch by reducing its power consumption.
Want to use your Apple Watch as an alarm clock? Whether you wear your Apple Watch to bed, or use it in nightstand clock mode, you can set your Apple Watch to function as an alarm clock.
There are a few different ways to add alarms to Apple Watch, we’ll show you various methods to setting an alarm using Siri for both repeating alarms and one-off alarms, as well as using the Apple Watch Alarms app to set an alarm.
How to Add Alarm on Apple Watch with Siri
The easiest way to add an alarm to the Apple Watch is by using Siri. To set a one-time alarm on Apple Watch with Siri:
Summon Siri on the Apple Watch (by using Hey Siri, raise-to-Siri, or holding the rotating dial button), then say “Set an alarm for (time)”
For example, to set an alarm for 5:30 am, you’d say “set an alarm for five thirty A M”.
How to Set Repeating Alarm on Apple Watch with Siri
To set a repeating alarm that goes off every day at the same time, use the following syntax:
Summon Siri on the Apple Watch, then say “Set a repeating alarm for six thirty A M”
A repeating alarm will repeat every day at the same time, so if you want a consistent alarm this is a good way to have one.
How to Set Alarm Clock on Apple Watch with Alarms app
You can also set an alarm clock on Apple Watch by using the Alarms app, this requires multiple steps performed on the watch itself:
Open the Alarms app on Apple Watch then tap on “Add Alarm”
Choose whether you want the alarm to be AM or PM
Next tap on the hour and use the rotating dial button on the Apple Watch to select the hour you want the alarm to go off on
Then tap on the minutes and again use the rotating dial to set the minutes
Tap on the “Set” button to set the alarm
To set the alarm to repeat, tap the alarm time to edit the alarm, then tap the “Repeat” option and adjust accordingly
You can set other customizations to the alarm as well, including changing the name, changing the alarm clock time, and whether or not to allow snoozing of the alarm.
How to Snooze & Stop Alarms on Apple Watch
You can snooze the alarm clock on Apple Watch by pressing the rotating dial button.
You can stop and turn off the Apple Watch alarm by pressing the other flat button on the Apple Watch.
How to Easily Check What Alarm is Actively Set on Apple Watch
Aside from going into the Alarms app and looking at which alarms are active there, there’s another convenient way to easily see what alarms are set on Apple Watch.
When the Apple Watch is placed into Nightstand Mode (sideways on a charger), tap on the screen to see the clock and look for the “Alarm (time)” text directly under the main clock. Optionally you can use a knock on the nightstand to wake the Apple Watch screen and see the alarm that way too.
How to Delete Alarms on Apple Watch
Open the Alarms app on Apple Watch
Tap the alarm you want to delete
Scroll to the bottom of the edit alarm list and tap on “Delete” to remove the alarm
You can delete alarms that were set by Siri or alarms that were added manually, removing the alarm is the same regardless of how it was added and set in the first place.
Apple has released an update to Apple Watch that adds significant new health features to the Apple Watch Series 4, including an ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notifications.
The WatchOS 5.1.2 update arrives along with iOS 12.1.1 for iPhone and iPad and MacOS Mojave 10.14.2 for Mac.
Of course watchOS 5.1.2 also includes bug fixes, refinements, and some other capabilities for Apple Watch, but the biggest new feature is the inclusion of the health functions, including the ECG app. The release notes for watchOS 5.1.2 are further below.
Updating to WatchOS 5.1.2
Updating watchOS is done through the paired iPhone:
Open the Apple Watch app on iPhone, then go to “My Watch”
Go to “General” and then to “Software Update”
Install watchOS 5.1.2 when it shows as available
A quick side note; you can use this trick to speed up slow Apple Watch software updates.
Remember, only the Apple Watch Series 4 (or later) will support the ECG and irregular heart rhythm features, so if you have an earlier model then you will not have those features available even if you update to the latest watchOS release. Additionally, the ECG feature is currently limited to the USA, but is likely to roll out to other countries and regions as Apple gets the necessary local approvals to do so.
Setting Up & Using the Apple Watch ECG
After you have updated to watchOS 5.1.2 on an Apple Watch Series 4, then you can use the ECG:
Open the Watch app on iPhone
Go to Health Data, then to “Heart” and choose to setup the ECG app
You can learn more about the ECG and Afib detection features of new Apple Watch models in the Apple press release here.
Apple Watch “Real Stories” Videos
Along with the release of watchOS 5.1.2, Apple has released a handful of powerful and touching stories from real Apple Watch users, where the devices features proved vital to their lives:
The first video is titled “Real Stories” and is roughly four minutes long, covering several different stories where an Apple Watch impacted their lives in various ways. The text accompanying the video on YouTube describes the video as follows:
“People reach out to Apple all the time to share how Apple Watch has become an indispensable part of their lives. Here are some of their stories.”
The second video is titled “Real Stories: Michael” and tells the story of how an individual was alerted to a serious medical condition thanks to Apple Watch. The accompanying descriptive text on YouTube describes the video as so:
“Many people reach out to Apple to share how receiving heart rate notifications on Apple Watch has helped them recognize and react to serious conditions. Here is Michael’s story.”
These compelling stories, combined with the myriad of health features on Apple Watch (and to a lesser extent, iPhone), are sure to increase the popularity of these devices for the health conscious.
watchOS 5.1.2 Release Notes
Release notes for the latest Apple Watch system software as follows:
This update includes new features, improvements and bug fixes:
– New ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 (US and US territories only)
— Allows you to take an electrocardiogram similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram.
— Can indicate whether your heart rhythm shows signs of atrial fibrillation—a serious form of irregular heart rhythm—or sinus rhythm, which means your heart is beating in a normal pattern.
— Saves ECG waveform, classification and any noted symptoms in a PDF on the Health app on iPhone to share with your doctor.
– Adds the ability to receive an alert if an irregular heart rhythm that appears to be atrial fibrillation is detected (US and US territories only).
– Enables direct access to supported movie tickets, coupons and rewards cards in Wallet when tapped to a contactless reader.
– Receive notifications and animated celebrations when you achieve daily maximum points in a day during an Activity competition.
– New Infograph complications for Mail, Maps, Messages, Find My Friends, Home, News, Phone and Remote.
– Manage your availability for Walkie-Talkie from Control Center.
Spotify has finally released an official app for the Apple Watch.
We know the importance of having music on the go, which is why we’re excited to bring a new Spotify app to our highly mobile users on Apple Watch. With this new app, users can enjoy an improved experience with better control and the ability to seamlessly connect to your speakers or devices. And while we continue to innovate, we have many exciting things coming up —including the ability to listen to your music and podcasts offline.
Spotify has officially announced its app for the Apple Watch. The release comes not long after it was rolled out to Spotify beta testers earlier this month, and while the initial app appears limited to providing playback controls, Spotify has acknowledged that the ability to listen to music offline is in the works for a future update. While the standard watchOS “Now Playing” app previously allowed users to pause and resume playback, the Spotify app gives users the ability to start up playback right from their wrists, mark tracks as favourites, and access recently played tracks, as well as connecting to Spotify Connect enabled speakers.
Features:
● More activities—more control
Smartwatches let us access the world with a flick of our wrists. Ready to start your run? Hit play from your Apple Watch without having to wrangle your phone out of its running case. Running into a friend as you head into the grocery store? Tap pause to grab a cart and a chat. Not feeling a slow song during your birthday party? Skipping to the track that matches your mood and activity is now as easy as checking your notifications. Or, while listening to your favorite podcast, easily rewind 15 seconds to catch that detail you missed. It’s all right there on the watch face.
Speaking of parties, easily connect your speakers or devices via Spotify Connect to effortlessly DJ from your watch.
● Easier access—easier discovery
The new integration with Apple Watch makes accessing your recently played songs simple, even with your phone in your pocket. Plus, if you find a new favorite track while on the go, just tap the ♡ icon on your watch screen to save it to your collection—and then feel free to stream it over and over again.
Spotify today updated its iOS app to version 8.4.79, and with the update came an Apple Watch app. With this app, you can play and pause music, skip back and forth between tracks, shuffle, heart songs, control volume, and see how much time is left in a track. You can also control volume with the Apple Watch‘s Digital Crown and send music to a speaker using Spotify Connect, and you can see your recently played music if you want to hear a specific playlist, artist, or album again.
Spotify says that it’s got more features coming to its Apple Watch app, too. These include offline playback, but there’s no word on when that particular feature might arrive.
The Apple Watch doesn’t get as much love from app developers as it used to, so it’s nice to see Spotify launch an app for Apple’s smartwatch. We imagine that a lot of Spotify users would love to have offline playback right out of the gate, so it’s kind of a bummer to see that right now the Spotify app is focused mostly on music controls, but at least Spotify has acknowledged that offline playback is coming.
