Apple Watch

It won’t be long now until Apple’s September keynote event but a lot is still tightly under wraps. We know the iPhone 7 will make its debut. We also now know the event will take place Wednesday, September 7, but most of the other details remain up-in-the-air. Will the iPhone 7 have new features we haven't heard about? What other products will Apple release at its September Keynote event this year? Let’s take a look at the possibilities, starting with the obvious (iPhone 7) and descending into the strong maybes. Here’s everything we’re expecting to see at Apple’s September keynote event 2016.

A little known trick of the Apple Watch is that you can use it as your shutter remote for taking pictures with your iPhone. When you open the Camera app on your Apple Watch, you’ll see whatever the iPhone’s camera can see. This is perfect for taking family photos since you can station the iPhone on a tripod, join the group, and tap the button or activate the three-second timer right from your Apple Watch. Here’s how to take iPhone photos using your Apple Watch.

If you have an Apple Watch paired with your iPhone, you’re familiar with Activity rings. On the Apple Watch, your activity is represented by three concentric circles that track how much of your daily goals you have met. There’s a red circle for your Move goal, a green one for Exercise, and a blue one for Stand. However, you can also view these Activity rings in graph form in the Health app and include it as a part of your health Dashboard. Here’s how to view your activity rings in your health app dashboard.

We all sat around the table as Tim Cook made his closing remarks saying, “this can’t be the end. It’s only been an hour. Is that it?” Beginning at 10 a.m Pacific Time, the Apple Spring Event was exactly what the rumors predicted with a couple unexpected features. Tim Cook began by addressing the ongoing controversy between Apple and the FBI stating, “we did not expect to be in this position, at odds with our government,” but, “We will not shrink from this responsibility.”

Etsy has made it far easier for small businesses and local craftsman to promote and sell their handmade or vintage goods. The large online store has categories with everything from knitting needles to wedding dresses. But when we’re looking for tech accessories, it’s easy to forget about the website of amazing crafts. Meanwhile, the options available on Etsy are endless and certainly deserve a look. Here’s five gorgeous and/or useful Apple accessories you can only find on Etsy.

It's a reality today that all wearables will be compared to the Apple Watch, but the Activité Pop ($149.95) from Withings compares favorably. For starters, it's a lot more affordable, at about $150. It's also waterproof, which Apple doesn't claim. The first thing you'll notice is that it's analog. That means the battery life can be measured in months (up to eight), not hours. It's still smart, just don't expect to read your text messages on it. What you can do, though, is track your activity, steps, and sleep, and receive vibration alarms.

"Nailed it!" That's what I imagine it sounds like to work at Twelve South. The folks there seem to repeatedly and reliably come up with accessory after accessory that makes the Apple experience better. I use a MacBook stand from the company, and used to have an iPad BookBook case for my original iPad and a BookBook case for my new iPhone 6s. In fact, the BookBook is probably Twelve South's most notable product. It is an iPad or iPhone case disguised as a leather-bound book, and the iPhone versions have slots for credit cards and ID. You get the best of both worlds: handmade, old-world-book style and modern e-books and apps!  It's very charming and functional, and could protect your iOS devices from unwitting thieves.

I will probably upgrade to the iPhone 6s, but not for the reasons you might think. Yes, Apple claims "The only thing that’s changed is everything" and that's true. Almost every element of the iPhone 6 has been enhanced. The metal is stronger. The screen has 3D Touch. The camera is a big improvement. The processor is faster, as are the graphics and networking. If your job was to repair iPhones, there are almost no components from the older iPhone 6 that could be reused in the iPhone 6s. It is entirely new. Everything has indeed changed. Apple has a valid point and it is also trying to head off the inevitable "nothing's changed" criticism that comes with any "s" model.


The Apple Watch is set to remind you to stand every waking hour for at least a minute. If you're at a desk for multiple hours at a time, this can be beneficial and add to your over-all health. However, the Apple Watch's stand sensor is not always the most accurate; many users report getting stand reminders right when they have stood up multiple times throughout the hour. Fortunately, it couldn't be easier to get that pesky reminder to shush. And whether Stand Reminders are enabled or not, your Apple Watch will continue to track how often you move. 

If you own an Apple Watch, you already know that the built-in speaker it comes with is not designed to deliver high-quality audio, at any appreciable volume. Yet with a respectable onboard storage capacity for your music, the Apple Watch has the potential to store and deliver great sounding audio wherever you go, if you have a quality Bluetooth speaker that is. A good Bluetooth speaker can also work wonders when it comes to phone calls and FaceTime chats, as most Bluetooth speakers these days also house a built-in microphone for such purposes. Here are three of our favorite Bluetooth speakers that serve as perfect complements to the Apple Watch.

You can imagine the consternation felt by owners of a new $500 stainless steel Apple Watch when they notice scratches on the casing. According to a report on 9To5Mac, while it does indeed appear that this model is easily scratched, it can also be easily fixed. The article says that such scratching is actually common for stainless steel items and that the scratches can be removed via buffing. A video shows how it's done and gives a good before-and-after comparison of a scratched watch appearing like new again.

They say you can never have too much money. I don't know if that's true. Shakespeare had King Richard shouting "A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" I don't ride a horse, but I do have a couple of old convertibles that have had the battery die on occassion, so I can relate. All the money in the world won't help you if your car and phone batteries are dead and nobody is around to help. That's why I was very excited to see the JumperPack mini from Cyntur.

Before the Apple Watch was announced, when we learned that Nike was abandoning its Fuel Band, there was speculation that the Apple offering might be more of a fitness band and less of a miniature iPhone. However, that didn't happen and the Apple Watch is indeed bulkier than most fitness bands. Potential customers looking for a smaller band may want to consider the Microsoft Band. Not only is the Microsoft Band smaller, but it's cheaper too, at $199.

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