Apple Watch Hermès collection gets new color-blocked faces and bands

Apple today introduced a set of new Apple Watch bands to accompany the Apple Watch Series 4, announced this morning at the company’s hardware event in Cupertino. The bands, which will debut this fall with the Series 4 devices, will also fit older generation watches, Apple says. They include new collections designed for Apple Watch Nike+ as well as the Apple Watch Hermès Series 4 edition, which combines handcrafted leather bands and exclusive watch faces.

In the Nike+ lineup, Apple will add new band colors to match the updated Nike watch faces. This collection will include a Pure Platinum/Black Sport Band and a Summit White Sport Loop with reflective yarn.

The Hermès collection, meanwhile, will introduce color-blocked bands to match watch faces that shift from one color to the next with the passage of the minute hand.

Among the new bands are the Indigo/Craie/Orange Swift Leather Double Tour and the Bordeaux/Rose Extrême/Rose Azalée Swift Leather Double Tour ($489), both of which wrap around the wrist twice and are handmade in France using Barenia leather, textured Epsom leather, or supple Swift leather.

These same bands are also available in Single Tour styles ($339) – meaning they only wrap around the wrist once.

There’s also a new Fauve Grained Barenia Leather Single Tour Rallye ($439) style available.

In total, there are five new Hermès bands, most of which are designed to match the new Hermès watch faces. As you get used to the movement of colors across the watch screen, you may be able to tell the time without having to peer the hour and minute hands – the placement of the colors themselves could be enough.

The Hermès bands will go on sale on Friday, September 14 on the Apple Store app in Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, U.K. and U.S.

The Nike+ bands will be more broadly available, starting Friday, October 5, in Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Macau, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, U.K. and U.S.

They’ll also later be available on the Hermès website.

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Here are the first videos of the Apple Watch Series 4, iPhone XS and iPhone XR

Apple just announced the latest iPhone and Apple Watch and these are the first promo videos for the devices. As usual, Jony Ive, Apple’s Chief Design Officer, narrates the videos as the camera pans over the different features and aspects of the new products.

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Fitbit stock sinking following Apple Watch announcement

Apple announced its latest and greatest Apple Watch in Cupertino today — The Apple Watch Series 4. 

Fitbit (NYSE: FIT) stock sank as a result. Right now it’s down more than 6 percent and continuing to tank. The company sells a competing wearable health and fitness device. 

Apple’s newest watch, starting at $399, can now perform an ECG, detect atrial fibrillation and detect when a person’s heart rate is too low. The watch is even FDA certified. Apple Watch Series 3 devices will now retail at $299.

Pre-orders will begin this Friday; the device will be available for purchase on September 21st.

An interview with Fitbit CEO James Park

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Here are the prices of the iPhone Xs, Xs Max and Xr

Apple just unveiled brand new phones. The iPhone Xs and Xs Max are the two new flagship devices, replacing the iPhone X. The iPhone Xr is replacing the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus with Face ID and an edge-to-edge design.

And maybe you were waiting for this press conference to buy a new smartphone. So here’s a quick rundown of how much you’re going to pay for those devices.

The iPhone Xs is are available with 64GB, 256GB or 512GB of storage for $999, $1,149 or $1,349. You need to add $100 on top of that for the iPhone Xs Max with a bigger display ($1,099, $1,249 or $1,449). There are three different colors — silver, gold and space gray.

The iPhone Xr replaces the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. It will start at $749 for 64GB, with 128GB and 256GB also available for $799 and $899. There will be plenty of color options — white, black, blue, yellow, coral and red.

As a comparison, the iPhone X cost at $999 for the 64GB model and $1,149 for the 256GB model. The iPhone 8 used to cost $699 with 64GB or $849 with 256GB. The iPhone 8 Plus was $100 more expensive for each option ($799 or $949).

In other words, if you’re confused, the iPhone Xr is the entry-level device of this year’s iPhone lineup. The iPhone Xs and Xs Max are the exact same phone in two different screen sizes. They are the premium devices in the lineup, with a better display, better cameras and better material (stainless steel).

For the iPhone Xs, pre-orders start on Friday and shipments start on September 21st Pre-orders of the iPhone Xr will start on October 19th and ship on October 26th.

If you want something cheaper, the iPhone 7 now costs $449 for 32GB (with 128GB model also available) and the iPhone 8 costs $599 for 64GB (with 256GB model also available).

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macOS Mojave will launch September 24

MacOS Mojave, the next major update to Apple’s desktop operating system, will officially launch on September 24, the company today announced.

Unsurprisingly, Apple’s September event today was all about the new iPhone and iOS. But the company also found time to talk a bit about its desktop operating system, too.

Mojave, which has been in beta for a while now, features a new dark mode, something users have been asking for for a very long time, stacks for keeping your desktop uncluttered, an updated Finder that lets you perform more actions without having to open another app, a new screenshot app, and support for Facetime calls with up to 32 people.

macOS Mojave 10.14 first look

Mojave will also launch with a couple of new apps that were previously only available on iOS. These include Apple News and the Stocks app, as well as a voice memo app and the Home app for managing HomeKit-enabled gadgets from your laptop. As usual, there are plenty of other updates here as well, including a refreshed Safari browser, emoji support in Mail and more.

The public beta of Mojave has been available since late June, so there are no major surprises here. Virtually every Mac that has shipped since mid-2012 will support the new operating system. It does drop support for older machines, though, but that’s the price of progress.

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Apple is releasing iOS 12 on September 17th

Even if you don’t plan on buying a new iPhone, you’ll be able to get a bunch of new features next week. Apple plans on releasing iOS 12, the next major version of iOS, on Tuesday, September 17th.

As always, iOS 12 will be available as a free download. If your iPhone or iPad runs iOS 11, you’ll be able to update to iOS 12 as Apple plans to keep supporting all existing iOS 11 devices.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new in iOS 12. The main feature of iOS 12 is a performance improvement, especially for older devices. If you have an iPhone 6 or an iPad Air for instance, you should see a big improvement when it comes to launching apps, triggering the camera and entering text.

The other big theme of the year is new features to help you spend less time using your phone. There’s a new Screen Time feature to see and control how much time you spend using each app. Notifications are now grouped and you can silence them from the lock screen. You also can turn on Do Not Disturb when you’re in a meeting, for a few hours or for longer.

Apple didn’t stop there, and added new power features as well. Developers will be able to take advantage of a new file format for augmented reality and new features in ARKit 2.0. Apple is releasing the Workflow app as a new Siri Shortcuts app. Developers will be able to add information to Siri, as well, so that you can add a boarding pass or a music playlist to Siri.

The Photos, News and Stocks apps have been improved, as well as Apple Books (the app formerly known as iBooks). Apple is introducing Memoji on the iPhone X. It’s a customized avatar that you can use in iMessage and FaceTime to represent you.

If you want to learn more, read my iOS 12 preview to get my thoughts on this update.

iOS 12 is all about making your phone work better

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Here are the prices of the iPhone Xs, Xs Max and Xr

Apple just unveiled brand new phones. The iPhone Xs and Xs Max are the two new flagship devices, replacing the iPhone X. The iPhone Xr is replacing the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus with Face ID and an edge-to-edge design.

And maybe you were waiting for this press conference to buy a new smartphone. So here’s a quick rundown of how much you’re going to pay for those devices.

The iPhone Xs is are available with 64GB, 256GB or 512GB of storage for $999, $1,149 or $1,349. You need to add $100 on top of that for the iPhone Xs Max with a bigger display ($1,099, $1,249 or $1,449). There are three different colors — silver, gold and space gray.

The iPhone Xr replaces the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. It will start at $749 for 64GB, with 128GB and 256GB also available. There will be plenty of color options — white, black, blue, yellow, coral and red.

As a comparison, the iPhone X cost at $999 for the 64GB model and $1,149 for the 256GB model. The iPhone 8 used to cost $699 with 64GB or $849 with 256GB. The iPhone 8 Plus was $100 more expensive for each option ($799 or $949).

In other words, if you’re confused, the iPhone Xr is the entry-level device of this year’s iPhone lineup. The iPhone Xs and Xs Max are the exact same phone in two different screen sizes. They are the premium devices in the lineup, with a better display, better cameras and better material (stainless steel).

The iPhone Xs, Xs Max and Xr will be available on September th. For the iPhone Xs, pre-orders start on Friday and shipments start on September 21st Pre-orders of the iPhone Xr will start on October 19th and ship in October 26th.

If you want something cheaper, the iPhone 7 now costs $449 and the iPhone 8 costs $599. It’s unclear how many GBs you get for those prices.

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