Will we get Night Mode as a standard feature in watchOS 26?

Night Mode is a great feature that is limited to two watch faces* on the Apple Watch Ultra models, but it should be a feature available to all Apple Watches on more watch faces.

It arguably classifies as an Accessibility feature since many people would like to preserve their vision at night, and Night Mode is the best way to do it. Currently all iPhones starting with the iPhone XS and later support Night Mode on StandBy. This feature is not limited to the Pro iPhones, so the same standard should apply with the Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch Series 10 did get some trickle-down features from the Ultra such as a Depth gauge, Depth app, and even a water temperature sensor. Hopefully Apple continues with their trickle-down economics and gives us Night Mode for all Apple Watches, this time baked into watchOS instead of a particular watch.

*Wayfinder and Modular Ultra

WHOOP 5.0 and MG models require new bands that are not compatible with WHOOP 4.0.

Another reason why WHOOP owners should be mad. These bands are not cheap, especially if you’re trying to make it look like a fancy bracelet. The one thing about the Apple Watch is the bands have been compatible for the last 10 years, across all their watches, which is commendable. At least WHOOP still makes their expensive bands out of “Genuine Italian Leather.”

Apple’s “WHOOP 5.0 day” will eventually come and band compatibility will be broken, and everything will hit the fan, but hopefully that day is still a long ways away.

iPhone and Apple Watch Compatibility update and correction.

I was wrong about Apple Watch compatibility in my previous post, but Apple’s chart is what makes it confusing.

I had stated earlier that you needed iOS 18 to use an Apple Watch, or else you were out of luck. Turns out, there is a hierarchy based on which versions of watchOS and iOS you have to determine compatibility. Having iOS 18 puts you at the top of the food chain (or tangled web in this case) and makes all watches compatible.

This isn't an issue for an iPhone XS or later user since they do have iOS 18, but it is a confusing mess if you have an iPhone X or earlier. I know these people are few and far between, but I'm still seeing these devices out in the wild.

What made me assume that you must have iOS 18 in order to use an Apple Watch? It was Apple of course in their own words:

To set up and use an Apple Watch, you need iPhone XS or later with iOS 18 or later.

Initially I thought this was an error, until I tried doing some other pairing experiments. When I wrote my first piece, I tried pairing a Series 5 Watch with an iPhone SE 1st gen several times, and each time it would not work. Then I tried pairing a Series 3 watch to the same iPhone, with no luck.

According to Apple’s chart though, both should have worked:

As you can see here, for a Series 5, you need an iPhone 6s or later, and iOS 13 or later. The iPhone SE 1st gen meets the criteria, but won’t pair, and it wouldn’t pair to a Series 3 that I tried three separate times.

Based on this information, I concluded that you must have iOS 18 moving forwards in order to use an Apple Watch.

But that’s not true.

I tried a 4th time to pair my Series 3 to my iPhone SE 1st generation over a week later, and it did work. Why it didn’t work the first three times is beyond me, even with restarting both devices, but maybe the iOS 15 and watchOS 8 update pathways or servers were down on that day? Who would’ve actually noticed though since these versions of the OS are obsolete.

After successfully pairing my iPhone SE 1st gen to a Series 3, I then decided to do some other experimentation. My iPhone X qualifies even more to pair with a Series 5 according to the chart, but it also wouldn’t pair saying my version of iOS (iOS 16) was out of date. The chart once again makes it seem compatible because it says I need iOS 13 or later and an iPhone 6s or later. Aaaah!

These are my results for trying to pair different watches to different iPhones up to this point:

1. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 5 - FAIL

2. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 3 - FAIL

3. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 3 (2nd attempt) - FAIL

4. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 3 (3rd attempt) - FAIL

5. iPhone X paired to a Series 3 - PASS

6. iPhone X paired to a Series 5 - FAIL

7. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 3 (4th attempt) - PASS

Long story short, this chart from wikipedia really tells you a more up-to-date compatibility of Apple Watches and iPhones for those iPhones that don’t update past iOS 16.

It turns out an iPhone is limited to what version of watchOS it can pair to than the generation of Apple Watch itself.

This chart explains why my Series 5 wouldn’t pair with my iPhone SE 1st gen or my iPhone X because the Series 5 was already updated to watchOS 10. If it was still on watchOS 9, it would work with the iPhone X and iPhone 8 but not the iPhone SE 1st gen.

New rules for Apple Watch compatibility with iPhones:

1. If your iPhone supports iOS 18, it will pair with any Apple Watch.

2. If you have an iPhone 8 or iPhone X, it will pair with a Series 4, Series 5, or SE 1st generation Apple Watch on watchOS 9 or earlier, and any Apple Watch before that.

3. If you have an iPhone 6S, SE 1st generation, or iPhone 7, you can pair a Series 3 Apple Watch or earlier.

Apple’s premium pre-configured packaging for the original Apple Watch meant insane deals for the patient.

The original Apple Watch launch was a historic event. I would argue it had the best introduction of any new product category for Apple outside the iPhone. As any first generation product gets launched, mistakes are made, and one company’s mistake is another person’s good fortune.

When you look at Apple’s original packaging for the Apple Watch, they came in pre-configured units that were not modular like the current packaging. Today, you can pick your watch size and case material, pair it with any band you like, and you will get a standard cardboard flap that wraps two separate boxes: one for your strap, and one for your watch.

Original Apple Watch packaging with holes for the charging cable and 5W plug (left) vs Series 10 (right).

Pre-configured watches had the strap already assembled in the premium, glossy plastic box with felt lining, compared to a cardboard sleeve holding a paper sleeve with the watch inside.

This type of packaging makes perfect sense since it manages inventory better and allows for better logistics. You literally make the packaging based on what the customer ordered, instead of telling the customer to pick from these standard configurations.

It wasn’t like that for the first few generations of Apple Watch. You would get a pre-configured watch that was set at many price points, all the way from $399 for the base aluminum watch, to the over $1,000 stainless steel watch with link bracelet. If you wanted another band to go with your watch, you would have to buy that separately.

You know you got the Stainless Steel watch if you got the square box.

Same premium high gloss plastic casing.

Your Watch came fully assembled, and you also got the premium charging puck that was stainless steel instead of aluminum (not pictured).

I actually have it placed incorrectly here. The watch body would be in the gapped section, making it fit more flush.

I remember when Apple announced pricing for the Apple Watch, I was bummed because the Stainless Steel with link bracelet was at a minimum $1,000. I told myself there’s no way I would plunk down that kind of money.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, and stores had piles of these sitting in inventory. Retailers didn’t know what to do with their stock of $1,000 plus Series 0* Apple watches that no one wanted to buy, so they heavily discounted these when the Series 2 came out. I’m talking heavy discounts.

Best Buy had a 38mm Apple Watch with link bracelet that normally retailed for $999 down to $349. Yes, $349. They also had the space black version of the same configuration for $449 instead of $1,049.

When I saw these deals online, my jaw literally dropped. Was this really happening? My premium Apple Watch dreams that were once crushed were rejuvenated. My mind was running wild with all kinds of ways to take advantage of this deal:

“I could buy both and sell one of them to essentially get a free Apple Watch.”

“If I kept both, I could mix and match the stainless steel look which would look amazing!”

“I can keep both watches and one of the link bracelets, and just sell a bracelet and still come out on top.”

The opportunities were endless. I always wanted the link bracelet with a stainless steel Apple Watch, and now I could easily afford it. So did I get the regular Stainless Steel or the Space Black?

Yes.

I grabbed both of these deals. The bands alone were worth $449 and $549, and now I can get the whole watch with that band for $100 cheaper!

This was one of my fondest memories of the original Apple Watch because of the insane value it was. Sure they were slower than the Series 1 and 2, but it was fast enough for me.

At first, I didn’t think I would like the 38mm size, but when I wore it, it was perfect. It didn’t look like a toy, but a proper luxury watch. I went from the 42mm Aluminum watch to a 38mm Stainless Steel and never looked back. The smaller size just looked better and became my size of choice from that point forward. The irony of the situation is now the smaller 42mm size equals the original, larger 42mm, so we’re back to square one.

*Series 0 refers to the original Apple Watch released in April 2015. Apple released a Series 1 alongside the Series 2 in September 2016 that had a faster processor and discontinued the original Apple Watch.

A deeper speculation into Apple Watch SE 3rd generation’s display size.

Juli Clover from MacRumors:

Apple is working on an updated version of the low-cost Apple Watch SE, and the displays for the new model have entered production, according to display analyst Ross Young.

Young says that the new ‌Apple Watch SE‌ 3 will be available with 1.6-inch and 1.8-inch display sizes, which suggests little in the way of an upgrade over the current ‌Apple Watch SE‌ models. The ‌Apple Watch SE‌ 2 comes in 40mm and 44mm size options, and Apple could stick with those sizes for the next-generation models.

The ‌Apple Watch SE‌ has historically been based on an existing Apple Watch model, and the current version is based on the Apple Watch Series 6. Apple could continue with another model based on the Series 6 design, but there are other options. The display sizes could be off somewhat due to rounding issues and Apple could be planning for a larger Series 7 design with 41mm and 45mm sizes, or the new ‌Apple Watch SE‌ could get an entirely new design.

The 1.6-inch and 1.8-inch estimates are perfect numbers for speculation because it means the display could be either the size of the Series 7-9 or the Series 10 and technically you can’t be wrong.

I measured my 41mm Series 9 display which is the same as the Series 7 and 8, and it measured 1.56 inches diagonally. The Series 10 is just a hair bigger, and would probably be right at 1.6 inches diagonally. I have the smaller sized watch, and the bigger one would be around 1.8 inches like the rumors are suggesting.

When the original SE was released, it came with the same screen size as the Series 6 at the time. My guess is the SE 3rd gen will come with the same display size as the Series 10 and 11, minus the always-on feature just like the first SE.

Apple Watch Series 7 thru 9 displays never had a version without always-on capabilities, so it makes more sense to just use a Series 10 display without those features included. A series 10 display would also mean the newly updated body style that is all aluminum even in back.

Should make for a more streamlined manufacturing process for the SE 3 and Series 11 with their similar displays and body styles.

Apple quietly updates Apple Watch to only work with iPhones on iOS 18 or later.

Update 5/12/25: See the clarification and correction to this article here.

If you have an iPhone X or earlier, don’t unpair your Apple Watch from your device because it will stop working. You must have iOS 18 now in order to pair any Apple Watch with your device. iOS 18 is available on iPhone XS or later, and iPhone SE 2nd generation or later.

This was changed recently and Apple released an updated support document. Apple’s previous compatibility chart was more complicated, but it allowed older versions of iOS to work with older Apple Watches. Their chart was not complete, and I made a modified chart to include the iPhone SE models.

Apple’s compatibility chart was dated Nov. 20, 2024, and Apple’s most recent support document is dated Feb. 28, 2025, a Friday.

So on a Friday, right when the news cycle for the week ends, Apple published a support document quietly making it impossible to pair usable Apple Watches with iOS 17 or older devices. I was in the process today of pairing a Series 5 on watchOS 10 with my iPhone SE 1st gen on iOS 15 which was possible according to Apple’s chart, but I could no longer do that and when I clicked on the “Learn More” option, the support document spelled it out bluntly:

To set up and use an Apple Watch, you need iPhone XS or later with iOS 18 or later.

Both the iPhone SE 1st gen and the Series 5 watch are on their latest software revisions, but even then it is not possible.

iOS 18 is the minimum you need now.

It is a bitter sweet ending, since it was quite perplexing to keep track of which watches on which version of watchOS would work with which iPhones on which versions of iOS. Even for a geek like me it was hard to keep it straight. The backwards compatibility was bound to come to an end, and that time is now.

Keep these 4 points in mind:

1. If you have iOS 18, you can pair any Apple Watch to it.

2. If you don’t have iOS 18, you cannot pair any Apple Watch to it.

3. If your Apple Watch is currently paired to an iOS 17 device, it will continue to work, but you might eventually be forced to upgrade to iOS 18 if you have an iPhone XS or later or an iPhone SE 2nd gen or later.

4. If you have an iPhone X or earlier, unpairing your current Apple Watch will prevent you from re-pairing the device to your iPhone.

Fire and Water watch face doesn’t go full screen on the Series 10.

When the Series 4 Apple Watch was announced, it debuted with a multitude of watch faces that embraced the full screen nature of the device. Gone was the harsh rectangular shape of the screen, and in was a new “edge-to-edge” display that gave us 30% more real estate and curved around with the watch’s shape.

These three visually appealing and functionally devoid watch faces were:

1. Fire and Water

2. Liquid Metal

3. Vapor

Fire and Water was the best watch face in my opinion, but you can’t get that in full screen mode on the Series 10. It works in full screen mode on my Series 5 with its now thick bezels, and also on my Series 9. It’s been like this since the Series 10 launched back in September. This problem doesn’t exist with the Liquid Metal and Vapor watch faces.

Bug reported to Apple.

There is no “Dial” option on the Series 10 to change it to full screen mode.

Apple Watch Series 10 - Jet Black durability after 6 months of use.

I have had the Series 10 Jet Black since launch, and it has been holding up well, much better than the iPhone 7’s Jet Black. According to Apple’s own description, it has gone from a 9-step anodization process to a 30- step anodization process.

To sum it up quickly, if you’re worried it will accumulate micro abrasions and swirls like the iPhone 7 did even while babying the device, that will not happen. It will stay shiny and beautiful. If you abuse it or drop it on an hard surface, expect scratches and even the bare aluminum to shine through. With normal use and occasional bumps here and there, it will also be fine.

The main thing to watch for is imperfections out of the box, which happened to me twice before I got a perfect one without any defects. The imperfections are at the junction between where the display ends and the aluminum body meets. That flat surface of aluminum is not polished as much as the curved body is, making it likely to have bare aluminum shining through the swath of the dark creamy black.

Once you notice it, you can’t unsee it.

Apple’s customer service did take care of me, but they are more lenient and forgiving if you call them versus try to deal with them in store.

Their words, not mine.

You can ready the whole experience below, along with photos showing what happens to the Jet Black finish if dropped on a hard surface.

Jet Black Apple Watch durability 28 days later - part 1

Jet Black Apple Watch Genius Bar Appointment - part 2

Calling Apple to resolve my Jet Black Apple Watch defect - part 3

Jet Black Apple Watch Replacement was worse - part 4

Jet Black Apple Watch durability after hitting the floor…hard.

Apple Watch’s new alarm feature needs a small tweak to be perfect.

WatchOS 11.4 has a new feature that allows your Apple Watch alarm to be audible even in Silent Mode. This is perfect for people who are heavy sleepers and the haptic feedback isn’t enough to wake them up. For me personally, I keep my watch on silent all the time, and the haptic feedback from the watch is enough to wake me up without disturbing my wife.

I’m willing to bet that most people keep their Apple Watch on silent too or else this feature wouldn’t be a thing. It’s easy to feel the haptics when you’re awake, but we all know that heavy sleeper that needs both haptics and sound (and even a splash of water!).

If you need that extra jolt to wake you up, just edit the alarm, scroll down and turn on Break Through Silent Mode.

Behold, the alarm times for a Nuclear Pharmacist.

There is one problem though because in the above example, the 1:00 AM alarm has Break Through Silent Mode turned ON, and the 1:10 AM has it turned OFF. There is no way to distinguish which alarms are going to be loud and which ones will just have haptic feedback. Apple can solve this with a simple tweak by adding a little volume glyph in the corner so people can remember which alarms are going to be loud.

With the volume glyph, you can easily tell which alarms will be loud.

I hope WWDC brings these two fixes in watchOS 12.

There’s been a viral clip going around X ever since the Siri fiasco took off. 

A clip emphasizing simplicity. 

A clip emphasizing stability.

It was about the new features in Snow Leopard back in 2009, and how Apple proudly announced zero new features.

Although there were new features, what Apple was trying to emphasize was software stability and how important it was to them to make sure, “it just works.”

The famous “it just works,” implying how seamless and unbelievable it is, and not the jerry rigged “it juuust (barely) works.”

Apple had a more recent instance similar to this with iOS9 in 2015, where Craig Federighi discussed how the focus was on “elevating the foundations” of iOS, such as extending battery life, improving performance, and enhancing security to protect customer data. 

watchOS needs its Snow Leopard / iOS 9 moment. Have a few updates to wow the people and please Wall Street, but really hunker down and fix some key issues.

Two issues to be exact.

The first issue is the ability to swipe between your watch faces. This was a staple and stable feature starting with watchOS 3 before watchOS 10 had its huge overhaul with SmartStack. You would effortlessly swipe between watch faces and all your information was just there, present and up to date. In watchOS 10, that feature went away for a while, and I was not happy about it:

A barbaric touch and hold, followed by scrolling right or left in the edit screen. Even the original Apple Watch had a faster way to change watch faces with its Force Touch ability giving you almost instant access to the watch face edit screen.

Even Apple knew they had to bring this feature back since it made switching watch faces much faster, and they did bring it back as a hidden option with watchOS 10.2 under Settings > Clock > Swipe to Switch Watch Face.

It came back, but it came back the way Michael Jordan came back as a Washington Wizard instead of a Chicago Bull.

No longer the default option, the swipe came back as a 2nd string option due to its glitchy performance. On my 7 and a half year old Series 3 Apple Watch, with its latest software version (Watch OS 8), in the year 2025, you can swipe between watch faces and everything is in memory and seamless. Extremely smooth, with the hour, minute, and seconds hands perfectly in sync between swipes. It just works!

Somehow the architecture of watchOS 10 fundamentally changed some of the inner workings of the Apple Watch, and after almost 2 years now, it’s as if the watch face has to “load” each and every time you swipe watch faces. It feels and looks buggy, especially when you go from an analog watch face to a digital watch face that is full of data. It juuust (barely) works.

The Tips app on your iPhone even demos how to change your watch face, referring to the touch and hold method vs the swipe method.

I’m sure there are Apple Watch engineers who cringe every time they swipe from one watch face to another, knowing that this problem still exists and needs to be fixed. I understand why it’s not a high priority, but it’ll be two years in June when they announce watchOS 12.

Two years is long enough.

The second (more critical) issue that needs to be overhauled are the watch faces. I’ve said this multiple times already, but they need to be updated to support the Series 10’s always on display with seconds hand. To advertise this feature and then to only have it on 3 watch faces at launch is just embarrassing. The Unity Rhythm watch face was released recently with watchOS 11.3, but that is still 4 out of over 40 watch faces. In the Steve Jobs era, this would not have been acceptable. Heck, even Jony Ive would have put the hammer down on this one.

To complicate things further, there are plenty of complications such as the digital time and digital seconds complications that would make this feature pop even more on the watch. Your always on display would look more realistic, with ticking “components” constantly updating every second without sacrificing battery life. That “magical” touch would sell more watches, because we are visual creatures, and to see the Apple Watch acting like an actual watch that ticks and doesn’t stop moving will blur the line between digital and traditional watch faces. 

Watch enthusiasts will appreciate it even more, and won’t scoff (as much) at us digital watch wearers. They will still scoff at us when they notice its quartz-like movement, but appreciate the technological step forward and will purchase one, probably a more expensive model to boot.

The real question is, was this a Wall Street move to keep this feature gimped the way Apple has? Perhaps it would have taken sales away from the higher profit margin of the Ultra 2? The Series 10 in 46mm technically does have a bigger display, and to make it more lively with its 1 sec refresh rate for $370 less does make it a much more compelling purchase from a visual standpoint. 

As sleezy as it might be to keep the feature purposefully limited to drive Ultra 2 sales (I don’t think this was the plan), it would be reassuring to know they have the capability to make every watch face compatible with the 1 second refresh rate. I really do hope the Ultra 3 and Series 11 have full support for this feature, while updating the Series 10 to match.

Ideally, and this is truly my hope, Apple didn’t have time to fix the issues with the previous watch faces, and they are working diligently to update all watch faces for watchOS 12.

The updated watch faces could even be the main upgrade for watchOS 12 and it could actually revitalize interest in the Apple Watch. The timing would be perfect to coincide with the purported iOS 19 redesign.

Pebble gladly tells you who its watch is not for.

Eric Migicovsky at the end of his blogpost introducing two new PebbleOS watches:

You shouldn’t get one if…

You need a perfectly polished smartwatch. This project is a labour of love rather than a startup trying to sell millions of watches. There may be some rough edges (literally). Things will get delayed. Some features will not be ready at launch. Things could break. Things could not last as long as you’d like. The only thing we can guarantee is that it will be awesome and a lot of fun! Every time you look down at your watch, you will smile 🙂

You’re looking for a fitness or sports watch. That’s not what we’re making. From what we hear, Garmin watches are great for runners/cyclists/triathletes!

You’re comparing this to an Apple Watch. There is NO way for a 3rd party smartwatch to compete with Apple Watch. Apple restricts 3rd parties in major ways - read my blog post for more information. For example, 3rd party watches on iOS cannot send replies to notifications.

These watches are not made for everyone. We want to be upfront with you about what to expect.

I appreciate his honesty here, especially when he says you can’t compare this to an Apple Watch. He makes Apple seem like the bad guy in this, but the truth is, can you fault Apple, with its hard stance on privacy, for not supporting the Pebble Watch, when one of its five key features is being hackable?

John Gruber said it best when he described Pebble like the Playdate:

If their goal is to be to smartwatches what Playdate is to handheld gaming, that’s definitely achievable, and if they succeed, will by definition be a lot of fun.

The whole tech world needs more projects that aren’t trying to become billion- (let alone trillion‑) dollar ideas, but are happily shooting for success as million-dollar ideas (or less!).

Will Apple release a Jet Black Series 11 Apple Watch?

Jet Black Series 10 hiding in the shadows.

When Apple announced the Series 10 in Jet Black, it caught me by surprise, and I knew it was going to be the color I chose. 

Apple only had one Jet Black device before, and that was the iPhone 7. Why they discontinued it is anybody’s guess, but it could have something to do with it scratching too easily, which Apple acknowledged in a footnote (taken from The Verge):

The high-gloss finish of the jet black iPhone 7 is achieved through a precision nine-step anodization and polishing process. Its surface is equally as hard as other anodized Apple products; however, its high shine may show fine micro-abrasions with use. If you are concerned about this, we suggest you use one of the many cases available to protect your iPhone.

This problem doesn’t exist with the Series 10, and it may have something to do with a newer 30-step anodization process vs the old nine-step process:

For the first time, Apple Watch comes in an eye-catching Jet Black aluminum. The case is polished until it’s extremely reflective. It then goes through a 30-step anodization process to create a deep, glossy black that’s truly striking. The result is a timeless, sophisticated look.

I’ve had my Jet Black for around 6 months now, and after giving it a thorough wipe down, I cannot see any micro abrasions at all, or any other unexplainable scratches beyond my one critical drop. My watch isn’t perfect, but it seems like Apple has improved their anodizing and polishing process within the 8 years since the iPhone 7.

Besides Jet Black, the iPhone 7 came in a regular Black variant, giving people a choice between matte and glossy black. With the Series 10, Apple doubled down on Jet Black and didn’t release another black variant. They must be confident in this new Jet Black color, and it gives me confidence that the Jet Black might stick around beyond the Series 10.

Is the Apple Watch Series 10 worth buying 6 months later?

We are at the 6-month period with the Apple Watch Series 10, and it begs the question:

Should you wait for the Series 11 or buy the Series 10 now at a discount?

Based on what’s been rumored in the pipeline, I would buy a Series 10 and save a minimum of $100 on the aluminum models, and up to $120 off on the Titanium models on Amazon. About a year ago when the Series 9 was six months old, I was able to snag a brand new Series 9 Stainless Steel 41mm for $472 (before tax) compared to the usual $699, saving $227!

The Series 10 did end up being a significant upgrade with a thinner design and a new LTPO3 display, and I wouldn’t expect these to change with the Series 11, making a discounted Series 10 a great buy.

Speaking of the display, let’s talk about what you get with the Series 10 (and probably the Series 11).

The display is 40% brighter than the Series 9 when viewed from an angle, but the difference is only noticeable on certain watch faces, which is still a plus. The display is more efficient, allowing it to be refreshed once a second instead of once a minute. According to Apple, this allows for an always-on seconds hand, allowing you to see a ticking seconds hand without raising your hand. It only works on select watch faces right now, but I expect that to be updated in watchOS 12, or else we have a big problem on our hands (pun intended).

The main rumored features for the Series 11 that might prevent you from upgrading right now would be blood pressure monitoring and glucose monitoring. Glucose monitoring is less likely, but blood pressure monitoring is more probable. It was allegedly supposed to be on the Series 10 according to Mark Gurman.

Even if blood pressure monitoring did make its way to the Series 11, it will not be like a traditional blood pressure monitor. You will not be able to get readings whenever you want, and it would be similar to the sleep apnea detection capabilities.

Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature is able to detect severe sleep apnea 89% of the time, but it can only detect moderate sleep apnea 43% of the time. My gut tells me that blood pressure monitoring will be similar and will be most beneficial for those who already suffer from high blood pressure.

Besides blood pressure detection, I don’t expect a whole lot of hardware differences. Sure, there might be a faster chip, but the chip in the Series 10 is plenty fast for what a watch needs. Even a Series 3 works well enough today.

The Series 10 did get faster charging than the Series 9, going from 0-80% in 30 minutes versus 45 minutes on the Series 9. I wouldn’t expect the Series 11 to get any faster as 30 minutes is already excellent.

The Series 11 might end up being the most iterative device refresh of the year, and it would be a good idea to get a Series 10 right now at a minimum of $100 off.

Apple Watch Typograph - Unique colors you didn’t know about.

Since the launch of Apple Watch, Apple releases new colors for Apple Watch face customization during different seasons.

Out of the 130+ custom colors to choose from, there are only 4 colors that standout to give you a unique and more professional watch face experience.

Let’s look at the Typograph watch face.

This watch face gives you 19 black watch faces…

followed by 14 full-screen color watch faces.

If you add every custom color as an option, you get 137 bonus colors, but only four of them give you a full-screen color effect. 

Take a look for yourself:

It might not be obvious at first glance, but do you see the four special colors?

These four colors are: Clover, Starlight, Red, and Abyss Blue.

These colors are located under the Fall 2021 season. 

English Lavender and Dark Cherry are also in the Fall 2021 Season, but they don’t get the special treatment.

Not sure if this was meant to be, but I’m all for the full screen effect. These four colors seem to be coded in watchOS like the 14 default full-screen colors even though they’re custom colors. The Typograph watch face is particularly one that is form over function, so these four colors add a bit more style if the other shades didn’t tickle your fancy. Of course, the colors also work in the more functional “Dial II” layout.

These four colors are distinct from their closest resembling default watch faces and have their own unique look:

Evergreen (default) vs Clover.

Watermelon (default) vs Red.

Navy Blue (default) vs Abyss Blue.

Among all these default colors, the custom Starlight color falls somewhere in between Gold and Light Titanium.

The only reason why I think these 4 colors are special is because besides Midnight (which is just fancy for Space Gray, a default color since the Apple Watch’s inception), the Series 7 aluminum models came in Green, Starlight, (PRODUCT) RED, and Blue. There are many shades of red to choose from, but the red from Fall 2021 resembles (PRODUCT) RED. I think Apple wanted matching watch face colors with the debut of these new colors and the newly remodeled edge-to-edge screen on the Series 7.

Check out the same colors on other watch faces to see their unique look, with a special surprise on the Meridian Watch Face.

California Watch Face

Chronograph Pro Watch Face

Meridian Watch Face

Apple’s new watch bands still don’t have the right description for compatibility.

Apple released new watch bands today, and their compatibility description is still wrong. Not all 42mm Apple Watches fit all 42mm watch bands.

What Apple’s description says:

You can match most bands with any Apple Watch Series 3 or later case of the same size.

38mm, 40mm, 41mm, and 42mm bands are compatible with 38mm, 40mm, 41mm, 42mm case sizes. 44mm, 45mm, 46mm, and 49mm bands are compatible with 44mm, 45mm, 46mm, and 49mm case sizes.

What it should say:

You can match most bands with any Apple Watch Series 3 or later case of the same size. 

38mm, 40mm, 41mm, and 42mm bands are compatible with 38mm, 40mm, 41mm, and Series 10 42mm case sizes. 

44mm, 45mm, 46mm, and 49mm bands are compatible with 44mm, 45mm, 46mm, and 49mm case sizes, and Series 3 or earlier models with a 42mm case size.

If you’re still wearing a Series 3 watch or earlier in the 42mm size and you want to buy one of the new watch bands that is worth more than your watch (you know who you are), you would have to buy the 46mm watch bands for a proper fit.

To understand why, I went in extreme detail a few months ago discussing this growing confusion of Apple Watch band compatibility.

Apple products: Why you should film your unboxing videos (part 2)

Update: 3/1/2025 - Got my refund from Best Buy, but no explanation or any details about the investigation. Probably something they won’t share with consumers.

I mentioned earlier how Best Buy was going to give me a refund simply because I told them I didn’t receive a watch inside the package. It turns out I was misinformed by the person who helped me with this case. This actually makes a ton of sense though because if it was as simple as calling Best Buy and telling them there was nothing in the package, what is there to stop anyone from simply abusing that policy? They do want to do an investigation, which makes perfect sense.

They got back to me via email and kindly requested pictures of the product packaging and the shipping box. I one-upped that request with detailed photos and a video of me unboxing the watch strap box, tearing the seals and finding even more overly engineered cardboard.

I do expect to get a full refund eventually, but in today’s day and age, it is worth your time to take photos of the shipping box, along with a video of you unboxing your expensive, high-value items. I personally believe that without the video I made, it would be hard for me to prove my innocence.

Stay tuned.

Who should buy the Powerbeats Pro 2? The answer will surprise you.

Apple’s Superstar lineup for marketing the Powerbeats Pro 2:

Shohei Ohtani.

Lionel Messi.

Lebron James.

Your mom.

Wait…what??

Yes, that’s right. Your mom is a Superstar, and an ideal candidate for the Powerbeats Pro 2, at least if she’s anything like mine.

My mom was in the market for some durable earbuds back in October 2021. Besides being wireless, she only had one criterion: the earbuds had to have a loop that goes around her ears and keeps it secure. She wears a headscarf, and headscarves don’t go well with any AirPods that she has tried since they simply are not secure enough. As a bus driver, the last thing she wants to do is try to find her ear bud in the driver’s footwell.

The Powerbeats Pro were the best choice, and she has been using the same pair every day since November 2021. They’re still going strong, and once they go bad, I will probably get her the Powerbeats Pro 2 that I am testing out. I can’t give them to her now because her original ones still work, and she wouldn’t want me to get her new headphones for no reason. I might even get a lecture about wasting money if I did.

It’s an Asian thing.

Just don’t tell her about my Apple Watch obsession.

She’s in her 60s, yet these are perfect for her in many ways besides the secure fit. She is a marathon talker on the phone, and she will be happy with the much better battery life. She manages battery life by alternating ear pieces, and she keeps her other ear free for listening to her surroundings.

I don’t even want to try to explain to her how the force touch tips on AirPods work, let alone the swipe gestures, but the actual buttons on the beats make it simple and easy to understand. A simple volume rocker and a “beats” button for play and pause. Real, clickable buttons, perfect for the elderly and non tech-savvy. She is already used to this layout, so she will feel right at home.

The smaller case will make more room for her purse which is already full (what purse isn’t full anyway?), but it won’t be too small for her to lose it either. The balance is just right.

The other cool aspect about the Pro 2 is heart rate monitoring. My mom refuses to wear an Apple Watch because that’s just one more thing to learn and charge, but she wears her beats all the time. When she is not actively listening to lectures or talking on the phone, her iPhone would be logging her heart rate with the Pro 2. It only logs your heart rate when you are actively in the Health App with both earbuds in place, but it would be nice for her to see at least one health metric. The minute you leave the Health app, the heart rate monitor stops, probably to preserve battery life.

My plan is to get her interested in heart rate monitoring, and then eventually upsell her into an Apple Watch for all the other health benefits.

Lastly, if you’re afraid someone might steal her earbuds, buy the Quick Sand color. That hue of light grayish-brown is a similar color to hearing aids, and looks the part when placed in your ear. I instantly felt older when I looked in the mirror instead of younger and hip.

Apple products: Why you should film your unboxing videos (part 1)

Update: changed title to current title from previous title - PSA: Record your unboxings so you can prove your innocence.

I bought an Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Best Buy Geek Squad Refurbished, and I had a “unique” unboxing experience. It was advertised as “Open Box Excellent,” and when I opened the outer packaging, I got excited because the inner box that holds the Apple Watch still had the white plastic seals on it, signifying a brand new, unopened watch.

I tore the tabs off, and inside the box was the charger…and no watch.

I was not disappointed as much as I should have been, but I was actually impressed. How did they seal this package back up and make it look like a brand new seal? I inspected the pull tabs on the seal and on the box, and nothing looked like it was put back together or jimmy-rigged in some way.

There was still the watch band to unbox, but this time I recorded it. The box felt suspiciously light, but the Alpine Loop is light too, so it was anybody’s guess if there was a band inside. When I pulled the sealed tab, there was an empty cardboard shell that holds the Alpine Loop.

Ouch.

The thieves have upped their game, but thankfully Best Buy is siding with the customer (me) and will be refunding me without even needing my video proving my innocence.

Not sure if other retailers/sellers will make it this easy to get a refund, but do yourself a favor and record your unboxings of any high-demand product, especially if it’s used.

The influence for the Vision Pro’s design.

It’s hard not to see the uncanny resemblance between these two products.

Take the Apple Watch, stretch it out, add a curve to it, and there you have it:

The Vision Pro.

Storing things inside Your AirPods Pro 2 case.

I ended up getting a mini workout done when I was not really expecting to at my son’s wrestling practice. Normally I just use the time to do some writing, but now I have to split the time between writing and working out due to less free time at home with the new baby.

The Milanese band is my band of choice for jogging, but I forgot to swap it out and was wearing my link bracelet. I wear the link bracelet a bit loose since it’s uncomfortable when tight, but I needed to tighten it up for the workout.

I ended up taking out one link, and storing it in my AirPods Pro 2 case. It fits pretty good inside there, and even attaches magnetically making it harder for the link to fall out. I do use the smaller sized bracelet labelled 38mm (also the same as 40mm, 41mm, and the new 42mm), but I’m confident there is enough space for the larger links to also fit.

I’m not a fan of working out with the link bracelet, but it’s doable, especially if you have storage for your extra links.

You can store one link in each slot.

The links have a strong enough magnetic connection to not fall out when turned upside down. If you drop the case though, they will pop out and fly away.