Everything you need to know about Apple's new watch
So your invitation to the Apple Spring Forward event got lost in the mail and you were too busy having a life to tune into the livestream? Not to worry. Here’s what you missed.
-The Apple Watch-
First announced last September, the Apple Watch was finally revealed in full, with Apple CEO Tim Cook offering details on models, pricing, and the apps that will run on your wrist.
The Watch will be available in three editions. The standard Apple Watch A$713+ will feature a stainless steel case or in traditional or space black, and come in two sizes. The Watch Sport A$454 will be made from a lighter anodized aluminum in silver or space gray. The Apple Watch Edition is made from 18-karat gold and starts at a whopping A$13,000 and can run up to A$22,000.
Cook demonstrated many of the features shown at last September’s unveiling, including the ability to swipe the watchface to see your calendar, music, and heart rate, or employ its “Taptic” engine to literally tap out messages to loved ones who are also wearing an Apple Watch. You can also receive calls via the watch without having to take your iPhone out of your pocket.
The Watch will have its own app store, featuring a passel of Watch-centric software that lets you view maps, get sports scores, call an Uber from your wrist, open your garage door, and more.
The Watch will be available starting on April 24, or for pre-order on April 10th.
Apple to tap iPhone users for medical research
Apple unveiled an initiative to help researchers tackle some of the world's most critical medical conditions by gathering data from willing iPhone users.
The plan will use, on a voluntary basis, data from medical tracking apps to aid research on asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Parkinson?s disease.
The move aims "to transform medical research," Apple chief executive Tim Cook said, by gathering real-time data from millions of users.
In collaboration with large medical research centers, Apple will gather data through apps develop for its new ResearchKit platform.
The program may speed up efforts to collect and analyze data by using the iPhone for monitoring user movements, glucose level and other medical information.
The initiative "turns the iPhone into a diagnostic tool," said Jeff Williams, Apple's senior vice president of operations, at a San Francisco media event.
"ResearchKit gives the scientific community access to a diverse, global population and more ways to collect data than ever before."
The program aims to help research by getting more frequent data than is available during conventional research studies, while at the same time protecting privacy.
"Users decide if they want to participate in a study and how their data is shared," Apple said.
To participate in Parkinson's research, for example, users merely walk while the app monitors their movements, or speak into the phone. Diabetes and asthma, meanwhile, can be tracked with devices that connect to the iPhone.
HBO standalone service coming to Apple devices in April
HBO's standalone streaming service will launch on Apple Inc devices next month in time for the season premiere of hit series "Game of Thrones".
The move will reach millions of viewers who do not subscribe to pay television packages.
It is the first time the premium network will be available to people with Internet access who shun traditional TV bundles with dozens of channels. Other media companies including CBS Corp and Dish Network Corp also are taking steps to reach those audiences.
The move by HBO could threaten the video businesses of cable and satellite television providers, which are fighting to keep customers from dropping their TV packages.
It also amps up competition with streaming video services like Netflix Inc. HBO's library of hits includes acclaimed series such as "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City."
Starting in early April, HBO Now will be available through a new channel on the Apple TV box and on iPhones, iPads and the iPod touch. The fifth season of "Game of Thrones" premieres on April 12.
Apple will serve as the exclusive digital provider of HBO Now for three months. The network is in talks with pay TV distributors who might also offer the service as early as April, an HBO spokesman said.
The network had announced plans for a standalone - or over-the-top - streaming service last October. At the time, Plepler said 10 million U.S. homes were broadband-only, without cable subscriptions.
HBO Now is separate from HBO Go, a streaming service for customers who subscribe to HBO through pay TV packages.
Apple also said Monday it was cutting the price of the Apple TV device to $69 from $99.Time Warner shares rose 1.3 percent to close at $85.20 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Netflix fell 1.9 percent to $445.63, while Apple shares climbed 0.4 percent to $127.14. Both trade on Nasdaq.
