Today is the start of WWDC, Apple’s developer conference. At 10 am Pacific / 1 pm Eastern today, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives will give the keynote address, an event Apple typically uses to preview new iPhone, iPad and Mac software — and this year, I’m sure we will hear about the Apple Watch as well. This is typically an event where Apple previews the next version of the iOS operating system, so my guess is that we will learn about some of the new features in iOS 9, which will likely be released later this year when the 2015 model of the iPhone is released. There are also rumors that Apple will debut a new Apple Music service today.
You can watch the keynote live at apple.com/live, using Safari on a Mac, iPhone or iPad. The live stream is also available on Apple TV.
If you cannot wait until 10 am Pacific to find out what is likely to be announced, Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac has written the definitive roundup of WWDC keynote rumors.
Monday morning will be the start of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The Keynote address will be at 10am, and unlike the rest of the conference which includes many confidential sessions, the Keynote will be public. I expect Apple to announce some of the new features of the next version of iOS, which will most likely be available this Fall when new iPhones come out. There was also a rumor that Apple was going to debut a new version of Apple TV, but Brian Chen of the New York Times reported this week that sources told him that the new Apple TV was not ready yet. Whatever Apple announces next week, hopefully it will be interesting. And if nothing else, perhaps it will give us something related to the iPhone and iPad to talk about for the next few months, instead of the Apple Watch continuing to dominate the iOS news cycle. And now, the news of note from the past week:
I use a clock face on my Apple Watch that shows my next calendar appointment right in the middle of the screen, and I love that I can just glance at my wrist and see what’s next — especially on those busy days with lots of meetings and calls. On my iPhone, I find that Fantastical does a much better job handling my calendar than the built-in Calendar app, so I was thrilled to see that Fantastical came to the Apple Watch this week. It’s got a few nice features, such as emphasizing how much time you have until the next event (similar to a feature that I praised earlier this week in my review of the Delta Apple Watch app). California attorney David Sparks shares my enthusiasm and he runs down the new features in this post. I also enjoyed the reviews by Susie Ochs of Macworld and the review by Federico Viticci of MacStories. I’m sure that this app will be even more useful when Apple lets third parties create native Apple Watch apps later this year, but for now Fantastical on the Apple Watch is already useful, not to mention being a good sign of things to come.
The Joy of Tech offers one theory on why the Apple TV won’t be ready on Monday.
This week, the Chase app was updated to support Touch ID, as noted by Joseph Keller of iMore. I use Chase for my banking, and I’m a big fan of this app. You can use the app to deposit a check just by taking a picture of it, saving you a trip to the bank, and now that the app supports Touch ID, you can securely log in to the app without having to even type in your long password.
Sharon Noguchi of the San Jose Mercury News reports that, after her husband died, a woman dropped off boxes of old electronics at a recycling center. It turns out that one of the things that she discarded was an original Apple I computer, which the center sold for $200,000. The center is now trying to find the woman to split the proceeds with her. If any iPhone J.D. readers want to recycle an Apple I, feel free to send it to me.
John Arlidge of the London Evening Standard interviewed Marc Newson, who helped Jony Ive design the Apple Watch.
Apple announced this week that, starting June 26, the Apple Watch will go on sale in Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan. It is interesting to see the Apple Watch go on sale in Switzerland since that country has long been synonymous with traditional watches. The same press release also announces that you will be able to buy certain Apple Watch models in the Apple Stores in about two weeks.
Speaking of traditional versus new watches, the New York Times reported on July 9, 1916 that some people were starting to use the new “strap watches” instead of the traditional pocket watch. The article notes: “Until recently, the bracelet watch has been looked upon by Americans as more or less of a joke. Vaudeville artists and moving-picture actors have utilized it as a funmaker, as a ‘silly ass’ fad.” Something to keep in mind the next time you see someone roll their eyes at an Apple Watch while they are simultaneously determining the time by reaching for a device in their pocket … i.e. a smartphone. (via M.G. Siegler)
One of the things that the Apple Watch encourages you to do is to spend more time being active and less time sitting down for many hours at a time. Brigid Schulte of the Washington Post explains why this is a good thing.
And finally, have you ever wondered what it might have been like if Steve Jobs had been around to debut the Apple Watch? Here is a video that shows us what that might have been like, created by mashing together clips of old Steve Jobs keynotes:
Thank you to Connected Data, maker of the Transporter, for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month. The Transporter is a hard drive, but unlike a traditional hard drive that connect to just one computer, the Transporter securely shares your files with all of your computers and iOS devices so that you can access your files from anywhere. And unlike Dropbox or other cloud-based services, your data is stored on a hard drive that you own, and which you keep at your office or home, so you maintain full custody of your data. Thus, you don’t need to worry about your documents being on the cloud and in the possession of a third party that hasn’t signed a confidentiality agreement with you. Also, there are no subscription fees. Just buy the hardware once. If you want more information on how you can use a Transporter in your law practice, click here to access the Legal Solutions page of the Transporter website.
If you are ready to buy a Transporter this month, the company was nice enough to create a special discount code for iPhone J.D. readers. Purchase a 1TB or 2TB Transporter at filetransporterstore.com between now and June 30, 2015, and use the offer code IJD75, and you will get a $75 discount.
Connected Data, which makes the Transporter, gave me a free review unit when it first sponsored iPhone J.D. in March of 2013. I love it, and I’ve used the product almost every single day for over two years. Thanks to Connected Data for making such a great product and for being a long time supporter of iPhone J.D.
These are early days for apps designed for the Apple Watch. There are quite a few good ones, but as developers are just starting to use an Apple Watch, it is no surprise that many Apple Watch apps need to go back to the drawing board. During a recent business trip in which a traveled on Delta Airlines, I tried out the Fly Delta app for the Apple Watch, and I was pleased to discover that it is very good. The developers did a great job of designing a useful app that has the info you need, but nothing else.
When you have an upcoming Delta flight, the app shows you in the center how much time you have until your flight departs. The bottom of the app shows you your flight number and your gate.
And that’s about it. The developers of the app could have included features such as a map of your current location, other flights you will be taking that day, frequent flier mile information, etc., but wisely chose not to do so. You can always use the Delta app on your iPhone for more detailed information, but when you are walking around the airport, the info you need is simple. You want to know how long you have until your next flight. You want to know your flight number, so that if there is an announcement or if you are reading a board you can determine which flight is yours. And you need to know the gate that you are walking to.
One of my favorite features of the Apple Watch is that it is so easy to lift your wrist and quickly look at key information, such as the time, the date, your next appointment, a text or email that just came in, who is calling you, etc. When you are in an airport, you are most likely to be focused mainly on the upcoming flight, so the info displayed by the Delta app is the most relevant info at that time.
In the Settings app on my Apple Watch, in General -> Activate on Wrist Raise -> Resume to, I always have my Apple Watch set to Last Used App. This means that when I am using an app, if I drop my hand to my side for a period of time and then lift my wrist again, I see the last app that I was using instead of going back to the watch face. This setting is perfect when used in connection with the Fly Delta Apple Watch app because when I lift my wrist in an airport, I would much rather see the Delta app with time to flight, flight number and gate number than see my normal watch face. And if I really do need to know the time, that is also on the top right corner of the Delta app. Thus, the Delta app functions as the perfect substitute watch face while I am traveling.
If you are actually on the plane, the Delta app instead shows you the info you would most likely want to see during your flight — how long until you land, and what gate will you land at.
When you land, the app welcomes you to your destination.
As much as I love the design of the Fly Delta app, there is room for improvement. First, instead of showing you how long until my flight leaves, it would be useful to have the option to instead see how long until my plane boards. That’s the actual time that I want to make sure that I am at the gate.
Also, there were times when the Apple Watch app got stuck and didn’t show me the correct time until my next flight … but then a few minutes later it would work again. And other times, I just got the generic screen indicating that the app was looking for information:
My guess is that this is not Delta’s fault but instead has to do with the way that Apple doesn’t currently allow native apps on the Apple Watch, so the apps instead have to work through the iPhone app, which can lead to a delay. Native apps should be out later this year, and when they are out hopefully this will go away.
Note that you also can use your Apple Watch as a boarding pass, but you do so using the Passbook app, not the Fly Delta app. Moreover, most every airline scanner screen that I see nowadays is a flat surface, which makes it easy to place your iPhone on it face down to scan a boarding pass from the iPhone Passbook app, but makes it incredibly awkward to use with a watch. You would have to twist your arm in a backwards position, or slip the watch so that the face was underneath your arm instead of on top of your arm. I can’t see using my Apple Watch as a boarding pass, so it makes sense to me that Delta did not include this feature in its Apple Watch app.
While there is room for improvement, I’m a big fan of the Delta Apple Watch app. When traveling, it is a great substitute for the normal watch face. When walking through an airport terminal, it is much easier to glance at my watch to confirm a gate number than to pull out an iPhone, unlock it, navigate to the Delta app and then locate that information. I hope we see more apps for the Apple Watch that use a single screen to show just what you need to know, and nothing else.
