"Official" AppleWatch thread
- Thread starter armwt
- Start date
I think non-invasive glucose monitoring will be a game changer for people with diabetes who need to manage their sugar. But I’m even more excited about the potential for prevention.
Hundreds of millions of people will passively be taking glucose readings multiple times a day BEFORE they have a diabetes diagnosis. Imagine what that will do for our understanding of how people become diabetic over time. Then imagine what we could do if we had clear milestones to say “you’re 10% closer to diabetes than you were two months ago - change your life!” That’s going to be a huge societal benefit over and above the quality of life benefits for those already managing diabetes.
Hundreds of millions of people will passively be taking glucose readings multiple times a day BEFORE they have a diabetes diagnosis. Imagine what that will do for our understanding of how people become diabetic over time. Then imagine what we could do if we had clear milestones to say “you’re 10% closer to diabetes than you were two months ago - change your life!” That’s going to be a huge societal benefit over and above the quality of life benefits for those already managing diabetes.
I'm sure insurance companies will love it too.
"Ah, this guy is trending towards becoming diabetic. Let's raise his premiums now."
And that's why we have HIPAA and data encryption for which Apple specifically chooses not to know the key.
That and, ya know, The Affordable Care Act not allowing insurance companies to base premiums on pre-existing conditions.
You'd be surprised how many organizations aren't very strict with following HIPAA. My wife works in healthcare and she tells me stories sometimes. Just because there's laws and regulations in place doesn't mean it couldn't happen. Having encryption is a big help though.
On the other hand, I could foresee a situation where insurance companies go "share your health tracking data with us and we can lower your premiums". Kind of like some car insurance companies are doing today with tracking your driving behavior.
On the other hand, I could foresee a situation where insurance companies go "share your health tracking data with us and we can lower your premiums". Kind of like some car insurance companies are doing today with tracking your driving behavior.
Old news. Peeling away the marketing nonsense, you essentially agree to forward certain metrics from your AppleWatch in return for cash money. Who cares about HIPAA when people just hand over data they should never, ever share with anyone but their doctor, and maybe not even then?
Speaking only personally, I appreciate and enjoy monkeying with the health data my iPhone and AppleWatch track, but I if there was ever a slippery slope, this is it. Some actor will misuse access to all this data at some point, it's only a matter of time.
Would they be willing to subscribe to an app for $4 a month to help insert fake data into apple health that's being shared with their insurance? ::eyebow waggle::
Apple made this official today. Kudos to them.
Get a Depth and Water Seal Test for your Apple Watch Ultra
Emphasis mine. Still no easy way to repair it, but this is a step in the right direction. However, they are saying, "Well, we can check for you, but if it no longer seals, we are gonna destroy it by checking." So it's still effectively Schrödinger's Seal.If you have Apple Watch Ultra and want to check that its depth gauge and seals are working properly, you can get a Depth and Water Seal Test from Apple.
You might want to send your Apple Watch Ultra for a Depth and Water Seal Test if:
You should avoid diving with your Apple Watch Ultra if it has visible cracks on the front display or back crystal. Cracks in the display or crystal can allow water to enter and damage your watch, especially if it's subjected to high water pressure. For this same reason, the Depth and Water Seal Test can't be performed if your Apple Watch Ultra has visible cracks.
- You'd like to check the functionality of the depth gauge in your Apple Watch Ultra.
- You might have caused unseen damage to your Apple Watch Ultra — for example, by crashing while bicycling, or hitting your watch on a rock during a hike.
What happens during a Depth and Water Seal Test
The Depth and Water Seal Test determines whether your watch's depth gauge and seals are working properly at the time of the test.
First, we perform a visual inspection for any cracks or damage to the exterior of your Apple Watch Ultra. If your watch doesn't have any visible damage, we'll test its system water seals and depth gauge.
If your Apple Watch Ultra needs to be replaced
If your Apple Watch Ultra has unseen damage, the Depth and Water Seal Test may leave the watch inoperable and may result in a replacement fee if the device is not covered by the Limited Warranty, or by any applicable consumer protection laws or regulations.
Request a Depth and Water Seal Test
If you've inspected your Apple Watch Ultra and it doesn't have any visible cracks or damage, you can request a Depth and Water Seal Test. You'll receive your watch (or a replacement) an average of seven to ten business days after you send it to us.
Bummer got a couple of nicks on my Series 6.
it fell off a small nightstand a couple of times and made a loud clack.
the the floor is this lacquered wood, so I don’t see how that could have done it.
it fell off a small nightstand a couple of times and made a loud clack.
the the floor is this lacquered wood, so I don’t see how that could have done it.
It has a sapphire glass crystal. My SS S3 remains unmarked despite my using it as tool watch. And the magnetic attraction door strikers have towards my wrist.
I usually upgrade every 3 cycles, but always with a sapphire face. Never had a scratch on the face, always micro scratches/swirling on the SS case. Ultra Face seems just as hard. The titanium on the case looks brand new so far.
Anyone found that watchOS 16.4 significantly improved battery life? My S6 is almost back to the day-and-a-half life I got when it was new. Even more unexpectedly, the battery health it reports has actually improved from a low of 80% to 85%.
A daily irritant since the last update, the Podcasts and Now Playing apps behavior has changed.
Used to be that when I started a podcast on my iPhone, using the Apple Podcast app, the Podcast app would appear on my Series 6 and show the playback controls, display the approximate progress of the podcast episode.
It no longer does that.
So I have to open the app and often, I have to go through some screens to have it display the playing podcast controls.
And often, on the Watch podcast app, it wants to display other podcast episodes. Part of the problem is that I'm routing the output between my iPhone, HomePod Mini and a third-party BT speaker. So the HPM tracks its own podcasts it appears, not content to act as a dumb output for whatever I send to it.
So I use the Now Playing app, which doesn't have all that nonsense. But then I have to choose between iPhone and Watch for which podcast I want to display.
But the biggest irritant, if I let the Watch go to sleep, it no longer displays the app so I have to go back and open it again.
It never did that about a month or two ago, before this latest update. Wake the Watch and it would show the Podcast or Now Playing app, and show the updated approximate progress of the podcast episode.
Now I have to open the app a half dozen to a dozen times a day.
Why do they keep breaking basic functionality?
Used to be that when I started a podcast on my iPhone, using the Apple Podcast app, the Podcast app would appear on my Series 6 and show the playback controls, display the approximate progress of the podcast episode.
It no longer does that.
So I have to open the app and often, I have to go through some screens to have it display the playing podcast controls.
And often, on the Watch podcast app, it wants to display other podcast episodes. Part of the problem is that I'm routing the output between my iPhone, HomePod Mini and a third-party BT speaker. So the HPM tracks its own podcasts it appears, not content to act as a dumb output for whatever I send to it.
So I use the Now Playing app, which doesn't have all that nonsense. But then I have to choose between iPhone and Watch for which podcast I want to display.
But the biggest irritant, if I let the Watch go to sleep, it no longer displays the app so I have to go back and open it again.
It never did that about a month or two ago, before this latest update. Wake the Watch and it would show the Podcast or Now Playing app, and show the updated approximate progress of the podcast episode.
Now I have to open the app a half dozen to a dozen times a day.
Why do they keep breaking basic functionality?
I have a related sounding thing, but it's been like this for a while now, like months at least. I have the now playing widget on one of my faces, and when watching something on my Apple TV it'd be right there on the watch widget too. At some point it reverted to showing the phone by default (or maybe watch or nothing at all I forget).
Oh that's right the next major WatchOS is going to be widgets-centric.
Hmm, that will be a challenge.
Also the speculation is that the S9 SOC will be based on the A15 whereas the last 2 or 3 Watch SOCs used on Series 6 to 8 were based on the A13.
So we will see what kind of performance and energy efficiency improvements (or regressions?) the Series 9 brings.
Hmm, that will be a challenge.
Also the speculation is that the S9 SOC will be based on the A15 whereas the last 2 or 3 Watch SOCs used on Series 6 to 8 were based on the A13.
So we will see what kind of performance and energy efficiency improvements (or regressions?) the Series 9 brings.
I've battered my ultra senseless while working on cars, dropped it from height on to a concrete floor a few times and it's still good as new. No damage at all.
So now the behavior has reverted back. Podcasts app stays open.
And what do you know, there was a watchOS update within the past week.
Random question: I accidentally left my phone at home today. Although I have a cellular-capable Apple Watch, I haven't bothered setting up the cell plan for it. Unsurprisingly, while driving to and from work the weather complications on my watch face didn't show anything, since the watch is dependent on my phone for data. However, while at work the complications showed the local weather data which was seemingly accurate (at least it felt right compared to when I stepped outside). I've never used the WiFi at work so I don't have any stored networks in my watch, and I checked and it wasn't connected to a WiFi network. On top of that if I opened the weather app on the watch it couldn't retrieve any information. Also, nothing else came through. No alerts for text messages, emails, or other notifications. Which, again, is exactly what I'd expect. So what was it using to get the displayed data on the main watch face?
Watches will “learn” WiFi from their phones. My guess is that at some point you passed by a WiFi that it knew and it connected.
I mean it shouldn't have been able to do that! There's no mesh network for apple watches (although that could be super cool). Without checking the network connection while you're back in the same environment under the same conditions it's going to be hard to tell. Have you ever connected to a generic free wifi hotspot, like at a grocery store or airport that might have been close by enough for it to connect to? Alternatively, do you have it set to automatically connect to hotspots? Maybe it requested to be connected to someone's iPhone hotspot at work and they absentmindedly clicked yes? Those are the only things I can think of.
The Watch's ability to seek out an active wifi connection it has credentials for or is wide open is legendary. Your Watch clearly found a wifi network it could talk to long enough to update its weather complication, and then you moved out of range.
The only curiosity is that the complication should then have again gone "blank" when it tried to update later in the day and didn't have a connection to the outside world. I don't believe it will hold state with old data.
The only curiosity is that the complication should then have again gone "blank" when it tried to update later in the day and didn't have a connection to the outside world. I don't believe it will hold state with old data.
Is it only me that find the audio part of WatchOS completely unreliable on the cellular connection?
I have a Series 6 4G, Apple Music subscription, and original Airpods Pro and just went out for a run
I could not start any song or podcast, at best it played for a few seconds, probably buffered from the last time it had Wifi
I got so pissed it completely derailed my work out
Last time I got so pissed about this three years ago, I forgot to take out the Airpods from my shorts and put them in the washer and had to pay for replacement of one broken AirPod... Luckily I did not do the same mistake this time, as they're both brand new on warranty (5 year coverage in Norway
)
Are there any competing products with cellular connection that just works for audio? Bonus points if it can be used abroad, unlike the Apple Watch
I have a Series 6 4G, Apple Music subscription, and original Airpods Pro and just went out for a run
I could not start any song or podcast, at best it played for a few seconds, probably buffered from the last time it had Wifi
I got so pissed it completely derailed my work out
Last time I got so pissed about this three years ago, I forgot to take out the Airpods from my shorts and put them in the washer and had to pay for replacement of one broken AirPod... Luckily I did not do the same mistake this time, as they're both brand new on warranty (5 year coverage in Norway
)Are there any competing products with cellular connection that just works for audio? Bonus points if it can be used abroad, unlike the Apple Watch
Apple Music on any cellular device is horrible for me. The network is either congested in high density areas, or cellular signal is weak. It’s why I always download my music to play locally.Is it only me that find the audio part of WatchOS completely unreliable on the cellular connection?
I have a Series 6 4G, Apple Music subscription, and original Airpods Pro and just went out for a run
I could not start any song or podcast, at best it played for a few seconds, probably buffered from the last time it had Wifi
I got so pissed it completely derailed my work out
Last time I got so pissed about this three years ago, I forgot to take out the Airpods from my shorts and put them in the washer and had to pay for replacement of one broken AirPod... Luckily I did not do the same mistake this time, as they're both brand new on warranty (5 year coverage in Norway
Are there any competing products with cellular connection that just works for audio? Bonus points if it can be used abroad, unlike the Apple Watch
Indeed! It was off on mine. Very strange to not prompt the user if they want to enable it, follow the iPhone setting, or prompt first time you're abroad after the update.
I’ve never activated cellular on my watch — last I checked my provider still didn’t offer the option — but I don’t have problems using cellular to download/stream Apple Music (or podcasts via Overcast) with the iPhone and CarPlay.
I’m having the same “plays for a few seconds then stops” problem with an S6 wifi-only, playing podcasts stored on the watch to Airpod Pros. Beats Fit Pros and other headsets work fine, so I think it’s some specific incompatibility between the watch and the APPs. Rebooting the watch also seems to fix it for a few hours, for whatever that’s worth.
Went on the Apple Store to see about trading in my Series 8 for an Ultra, only to find there's no options for trading in the Series 8 (yet?).
Apple low-balls trade-ins anyways; you're probably better off selling it yourself (Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist or whatever).
Oh, I know that. But if I sell on FB Marketplace or eBay or wherever, I have to deal with people. And for the sake of fifty or a hundred quid, I’ve got to be asking myself - do I feel lucky, punk?
Re trade ins, Apple does not offer trade ins until the next version has been released. So it won't offer a trade in on the S8 until the S9 has been released. Having said that, I would have thought that it might offer trade ins on the Ultra, but I guess it regards the Ultra as the same generation as the S8.