State of Mind for the New Chip and New WatchOS 10 Health Updates: I Cannot Have a Paramedic. But I Can Go to the Bathroom
I said “pfffft” out loud this week because of the Watch Series 9. The official version of watchOS 10 dropped on Monday with a new feature called State of Mind. In the Health app, you can pick how often you want State of Mind to ping you, whether it’s at the end of the day or throughout the day. When prompted, you twist the watch’s crown to scroll through colors on a flower-shaped graphic to dial in exactly how pleasant or unpleasant you’re feeling, then answer a question or two about what the feeling is and why you’re feeling it.
But then I stopped. Who was I? I’m not a paramedic. No one was working on a project. Was my kid’s first-grade teacher really going to ruin his life if we arrived at 7:51 instead of 7:50? No. I logged my state of mind. I went to the bathroom. It’s OK to stop and take a minute. Maybe many. I might even finish my cup of coffee before sitting down to work!
Source: Apple Watch Series 9 Review: New Chip and New WatchOS 10 Health Updates
How Safe is Apple? The Rise and Fall of Privacy in Apple WatchOS 10: Preview, Review, and Later Update Revisited
Apple has carved out a reputation for itself as a privacy protection despite occasional stumbles. Beyond going toe-to-toe with agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation to protect its customers’ privacy, Apple has built a suite of products and services that are for the most part safer to use than the competition. When you log your health data in an iPhone or Apple Watch, it is encrypted on the device and accessible only to you. It is also safe when it travels to and from your iCloud storage. Adding the ability to log your medication is one of the health- tracking features Apple provides with every iteration of its products.
The new watch is constructed around the S9 chipset and is available this week in stores. The new watch has the same processor as before. The S9 chipset lets both watches process simple Siri commands on the device itself. When your voice commands don’t have to travel to and from the cloud to be processed by Apple’s servers, the watch can deliver what you’re asking for much more quickly. This scheme also theoretically makes your interactions more private. That level of protection is reassuring when you’re noting your mental state, marking down the days of your period, or logging your weight after stepping on the scale.
I was sent a Double Tap enabled device by Apple so I could experience it early for my review, but it’ll be available via software update in October. The new feature comes with some limitations. Double Tap won’t work if you have set up the Assistive touch features that allow you to pinch or clench your hand. Assistive Touch must be turned off for Double Tap to work. You also can’t stop a workout mid-run, because there’s a lot of shaking and hand movement and just a lot of blood flowing all over the place. I mostly preferred using Double Tap to stop and start my music on my Mini, but also to start and stop my timers. Functions like responding to texts, were not easy to understand. I need to practice more.
I’ve written about most of the new features in watchOS 10 in my preview earlier this year. In a nutshell, widgets are back in a big way. Apple’s native apps have been redesigned so they’re more glanceable, and there’s a hell of a lot less scrolling. The controls have also been reconfigured. Swiping up no longer brings up the control panel but a list of widgets. To get the control panel, you now have to press the side button while double-pressing the crown brings up your recent apps.
The Pink Apple Ultra 2 and the Ultra 9: A Review of Materials, Material, and Texture Toward a Transparent, Efficient Future
The Series 9 is a pink color, and that is all that is new. The Series 8 and the Series 7 have the same design with 41mm or 45mm sizes.
This is the best color Apple has ever introduced for the watch. The pink Series 7 looks just like the green Series 7, but it only resembles green if the light hits just right. Second, this is the year of our queen and savior Barbie. Technically, it’s more Millennial pink than Barbie pink, but that’s probably a good thing. Normally, I’d like to think that Apple shies away from saturated colour, but the extra subtlety here makes for a more versatile watch. You can either emphasize or de- emphasize pinkness, depending on the strap.
The Ultra 2 is difficult to differentiate from the Ultra. When I got my hands-on at Apple Park, a representative advised I stow my Ultra in my bag — lest I accidentally leave it behind. Even the back crystal on the Ultra 2 just reads “Ultra,” unlike the Series watches, which always specify which Series they are. This entire week, I’ve had to rely on very minimal signs of wear and tear on my original Ultra to tell these two watches apart.
The Series 9 and Ultra 2 are made with more recycled materials. The Sport Loop, for example, is made of 82 percent recycled yarn, up from 0 percent. The aluminum Series 9 is made from 100 percent recycled aluminum, while the Ultra 2 is made from 95 percent recycled titanium. The speckled flecks in silicone Nike straps you’ll see throughout this review are also recycled. The FineWoven strap is made of post-consumer recycled material and is intended to be an alternative to leather. ‘Cause Apple doesn’t do leather anymore.
FineWoven is fine. It’s kinda like suede: soft and a lil’ fuzzy. If you scrape it with a nail, it shows the scratch like suede would. I wouldn’t recommend working out in any leather strap, as I have not had it long enough to develop a patina, but you don’t have to work out in it. I thought the strap was fetching on my stainless steel 45mm review unit, but the texture was a lot more polarizing among my co-workers. Most said they weren’t fans but couldn’t articulate why. If you’re debating getting one, I would swing by an Apple Store first to get a feel for it first.
Source: Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 review: small but smart improvements
Mahershala Ali as a Litmus Test on the S9 S9 SiP (Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2): Small but Smart Improvements
The Neural Engine on the S9 SiP has improved, so it is possible to use it on a device. That, in turn, purportedly leads to 25 percent better dictation and the ability to issue Siri commands when offline. You will be able to ask health related queries later this year.
With Korean words in the text, some names were messed up but it was an improvement over last year, when they didn’t feature Korean words. It’s not a perfect test, but to me, that means I still have to enunciate clearly when using foreign words in English (aka Konglish). Over the last few years, I’ve used the name of actor Mahershala Ali as a litmus test. In the two years before, it would sometimes get tripped up on it. I am so happy that it nailed it 100% of the time this year.
Source: Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 review: small but smart improvements
Why the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are better than the S9 SiP and the Ultra 2? Double Tap Precision Finding on the Surface
When you have no internet or cellphone, you can use your Apple device to issue basic tasks. For example, I was able to ask Siri to set timers and workouts with airplane mode enabled both on the watch and on my iPhone. Say your laundry room is in the basement, your hands are full with a laundry basket, and you forgot your iPhone upstairs. You can now ask Siri to set a timer and not worry about it. This won’t work 100 percent of the time when you have to pull information from the internet. But, if you do get a weather update preloaded from when you had internet, I found that Siri can still give you an update. (Though it may not be the most up-to-date information.)
The S9 SiP also results in greater power savings, but you should already know that Apple’s reinvested that somewhere other than better battery life. In this case, Apple decided to make the displays brighter. The Series 9 is now up to 2,000 nits from 1,000 nits, while the Ultra 2 is 50 percent brighter at 3000 nits. Indoors and outdoors, it’s difficult to tell the difference if you don’t have older models on hand for comparison. And even if you do, as I did, it can still be difficult to tell under certain lighting conditions.
Apple uses the ambient light sensor a lot. You can change the Series 9 or Ultra 2 to go to maximum brightness, but that doesn’t mean it is giving you all it’s got. It’s dependent on your environment, which is to give your eyes a break and save battery. You’re most likely to see the difference outside on a very sunny day.
As for battery life, I’m still investigating. I get roughly 25 to 30 hours on the Series 9 and the Ultra 2, without any low-power settings. Granted, I’m recovering from some calf strain; we’ll have to see how both watches fare when I get back to training.
Source: Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 review: small but smart improvements
The Double-Tap Gesture: a Problem for Android Devices and the Features that It Provides (Improved)
Perhaps the most novel update to the Series 9 and Ultra 2 is the double-tap gesture. Or, as my colleague Dan Seifert more accurately describes it, the pinchy pinch. It’s similar to double-clicking with a mouse, except you’re making a pinching motion with your index finger and thumb. It will come via a software update in the fall but Apple gave us a separate Series 9 loaded with a version of the feature so I could try it out.
For example, say you get a text. The ability to reply via voice messages will be brought up if you double-tap. The message can be sent again with double-tapping. Double-tapping once will pause the timer. Doing it again will unpause it. pinchy pinching stops the timer when it goes off. It has also been used to control the camera shutter, control my music, snooze alarm, and answer / end calls.
This is an excellent feature, but it has quirks. For one thing, it comes with a learning curve. The raise-to-wake gesture is needed to make it work. (This is to prevent accidental triggers.) You also have to learn the timing. Between selecting actions, there is a slight pause and too fast or too slow won’t work. When I was first trying out demos at Apple Park, I was definitely too fast and aggressive. I got the hang of it quickly once I got my review unit.
It’s also not the best at multitasking. If you navigate away from a timer, for example, you won’t be able to just double-tap to pause or restart while it’s running in the background. Once it goes off, you can double-tap again since it’s back at the forefront. You have the same thing for snoozing alarms. If you don’t have a lot going on at the same time, you’ll probably have to use your other hand.
Another thing: I wish it were slightly more customizable. Apple designed this to be intuitive, but not everyone will think double-tap ought to do the same thing. I understand why in the Messages app, the gesture brings up a voice reply. However, I’d love it if I could use it to scroll through quick text replies, select one, and send it. Apple is aware of this, as you can customize what the double-tap will do for music playback and the smart widget stack. For instance, you can decide whether the gesture will pause / play a track or skip it. (I prefer the skip function!) Either scrolling through the various pages of the smart stack or choosing the first one to be pinned up top is the way to go.
You don’t have to use your index finger. The feature also works with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers — though it may not work quite as well with the latter two. Even so, it’s great that you have alternatives in the event you lose or break your index finger.
Apple is not the first to come out with a gesture-based feature. It has something similar to AssistiveTouch for its Watches. That said, Apple’s taking it a step further and making this part of the default system interface. It’s a powerful example of how accessible design benefits everyone. I hope Apple continues to improve the feature and that other makers follow suit.
Source: Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 review: small but smart improvements
Precision Finding on the Apple Watch: Scavenger Hunt at the height of the covid-19 epidemic and New Watch Faces in the Public Version of the Game
Some of us never misplace our phones. The Series 9 and Ultra 2 do not fit those people’s lifestyles. This is for those of us who misplace our phones multiple times a day. I was at the height of the covid-19 epidemic when I left my phone inside my fridge.
Precision Finding on the Apple Watch is similar to how you find AirTags with your phone. You bring up the control panel and ring your phone. Once you’re within range of your phone, you’ll see an approximate distance and some directional guidance. When you’re within six feet, you’ll hear another beep from your phone.
Owen sent me to a scavenger hunt in the office to give it a try. He hid an iPhone 14 Pro Max paired with an Ultra in one area and an iPhone 15 paired with a Series 9 in another. Although I heard the iPhone 14 Pro Max ring first, it was incredibly faint, and I didn’t really have a clue where it could be. Once I was within 50 feet, the Series 9 picked up a signal. It was super easy to find my iPhone 15 after that — the whole thing only took about three minutes. Since I had to rely on sound to locate the phone, I lost my connection a lot when I was not using it. It took twice as long to find the 14 Pro Max.
We tested the feature outside and found it to be around 80 feet on account of all the open space. It was not easy to get a precise lock when Owen was moving around with the phone. An icon pops up, telling you the phone is moving. In other words, this feature works better if your phone is stationary.
But as much as I love this feature, it requires that your phone also has the new second-generation UWB chip, which means it’s limited to the iPhone 15 lineup. If you upgrade your Apple Watch only, this won’t be a feature that you will have right away. This is limited to your phone and cannot be used with the Series 9 or Ultra 2.
There are two new watchfaces we didn’t get to see in the public version of the game. The solar analog face is on the simpler side. Its main thing is that the light trail behind the second hand changes from light to dark depending on whether it’s day or night. The Modular Ultra face is exclusive to the Ultra and Ultra 2 but is a dream for data nerds, aka me. There are six small ones and a big one in the center of the pack. The bezel can also show either elevation, depth, or seconds in real time.
Got any lingering questions about double tap, precision finding, Siri, the S9, why they didn’t call this the Ultra Deuce? I’ll be answering your questions live on Thursday, September 21st. Just post your questions in the comments of this quickpost.
Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.
You can only use the Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 with an iPhone. The terms of service and privacy agreements you agreed to already exist. Using optional services, like Apple Pay, Apple Music, or Fitness Plus, with your Series 8 will also come with their own agreements. The Health app has its own terms and conditions.
Source: Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 review: small but smart improvements
A Constraint on a Cellular Service Agreement from the T-Mobile Customer Service Support Team (Quantum Response Group Technical Support Group)
If you decide to allow cellular service, you have to agree to the terms of your carrier. I was asked to agree to a mandatory agreement after I activated cellular on T-Mobile.