New Apple Watch looks like a late substitution

September 15, 2021

Most Apple products take at least three years to develop, including at least a couple of years of factory tooling.

So the idea that Apple had a new design planned for the Apple Watch Series 7, but shelved it at the last minute, seems a little unlikely.

But check out Killian Bell's post. He makes the case that Apple in fact might have shelved a new, harder-edged design in favor of a less-dramatic makeover.

After all, the Series 7's CPU, health sensors and other internals are almost exactly the same. The new watch doesn't even get a unique model number -- it's the same as last year's.

Killian marshals other evidence as well, indicating that something fishy happened in this year's upgrade cycle.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

Apple Watch Series 7 is not the upgrade most of us expected to see from Tuesday’s Apple event. The new model doesn’t sport the big design refresh multiple sources said was coming. It doesn’t even pack a new chip. Is this the upgrade Apple wanted to deliver this year? Or is it a last-minute substitution?

If you’re planning to upgrade to iPhone 13 this year, you should probably spend the extra cash on iPhone 13 Pro. This year’s refresh widens the gap between the different iPhone models on offer — and makes going Pro an even better decision than in previous generations.

iPhone 13 and 13 Pro aren’t compatible with cases made for the iPhone 12 series. So, if you’re preordering a new model Friday, you’ll need new accessories to go with it. Get yours from the Cult of Mac Store.

Apple’s new iPhone 13 lineup will be available to preorder this Friday, and just like their predecessors, they’re not cheap. But there is a quick and easy way you can make your upgrade more affordable. Sell your old iPhone (and other Apple devices) to Cult of Mac today and we’ll send you a fat stack of cash that you can put toward the newest model. We also have a promo code that will get you an extra $20.

Apple’s newest leather iPhone MagSafe wallet has a trick: The handset can show the user the last place the wallet was attached. This should make finding the clip-on accessory easier. But it falls short of actually building an AirTag tracker into the wallet.

Known for its impressive Arc soundbar for home cinema, Sonos now rolls out updates to its more compact and less expensive Beam, including the Arc’s Dolby Atmos 3D sound. Both soundbars support AirPlay 2 for easy Apple ecosystem connectivity.

So many devices, so many screens, so many devices with screens — how do you manage them all? Some people go to great lengths. Others ... not so much.

Tweet o' the day

One more thing ...

"On vacation recently I was reading this book by [Nobel-prize-winning physicist] Richard Feynman. He had cancer, you know. In this book he was describing one of his last operations before he died. The doctor said to him, 'Look, Richard, I'm not sure you're going to make it.' And Feynman made the doctor promise that if it became clear he wasn't going to survive, to take away the anesthetic. Do you know why? Feynman said, 'I want to feel what it's like to turn off.' That's a good way to put yourself in the present -- to look at what's affecting you right now and be curious about it even if it's bad." -- Steve Jobs

Reply

or to participate.