Apple Watch – MacRyu – The Worst Mac Blog in Singapore, and Some Say the World

First Look at the Purple iPhone 12 and the Spring 2021 Apple Accessories

May 8, 2021May 7, 2021 by Ryu

The shade of purple on the new Purple iPhone 12 is just such a fantastic color. In the whole iPhone 12 and 12 Pro lineup there is no other color that comes close to it. As mentioned in a previous post, if Apple had released this color on launch day I would not have picked blue for my iPhone 12 mini. The blue for the 12 mini is decent, but it is way too dark for my liking. I prefer something brighter or visually more striking than a dark shade of blue for my main iPhone. As far as blue on iPhones go nothing has beaten the blue on the iPhone XR even today.

But Apple also just released what was probably the best shade of blue for its accessories since they started making accessories seriously half a decade ago.

Capri Blue, which is probably best described as a more saturated version of Surf Blue, is my favorite shade of blue that Apple has released so far. It joins Amethyst as the most popular colors for official accessories this season.

Unlike Amethyst, however, Capri Blue is available on the Apple Watch Sport Band as well, so it is a double whammy of accessories to buy for blue lovers this time around.

Amethyst, along with its leather variant Dark Violet, was released to compliment the Purple iPhone 12 and 12 mini, and looks superb, probably only the second best purple Apple has ever released for accessories, after Ultra Violet a few years ago. Dark Violet, on the other hand, is disappointing. Purple dye on leather is probably way too hard to do correctly.

I also managed to take a look at the various official AirTag accessories, including the HermÃ¨s ones. I have to say, they do not feel any different in quality from the Apple leather accessories, and unless you really want HermÃ¨s, the official Apple ones will feel as premium.

Listen to my discussion of the latest Apple accessories on my brand new podcast, the MacRyu Podcast, available on the following platforms.

Things to note when using Unlock with Apple Watch (with your FaceID iPhone)

April 28, 2021April 28, 2021 by Ryu

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By now you should have heard and seen the news about the lifesaving feature in iOS 14.5 – Unlock with Apple Watch. In this age where masks are compulsory, FaceID is a pain when you are outdoors. With iOS 14.5 and a compatible Apple Watch (Series 3 and above), you can now unlock your iPhone even when masked.

Steps to enable Unlock with Apple Watch

Make sure your Apple Watch (only works with Series 3 and onwards, and SE) is on watchOS 7.4. If not, follow instructions to install watchOS 7.4 on your watch first.
Next, go to your iPhone Settings > FaceID and Passcode, and make sure the Apple Watch setting you want to use â€œUnlock with Apple Watchâ€ with is turned on. If you have “Update Needed” beside your inactive (currently not connected) Apple Watch shown, even though that particular watch is already updated, there is no need to worry. It seems to be a bug. Once the watch is connected it goes away.
Tap on “Turn on” for the following prompt
Enjoy!
Every time you unlock your iPhone, your Apple Watch will provide haptic feedback as well as a prompt to lock the iPhone down if the unlock is unwanted.

Things to take note of

Does Not Work for Authenticating Apple PayÂ

It will not work for authenticating Apple Pay to pay with your iPhone. You still have to enter your iPhone’s passcode. But since you are already wearing your Apple Watch you should just use that instead. If Apple Pay has yet to be set up on your Apple Watch, set it up now. Remember that you need add the same credit card to the iPhone and Apple Watch separate, the card you have in your iPhone doesnâ€™t appear in the Watch automatically.

Unlock will Fail if the Connection to your Watch is Weak

This is the case especially for iPhones with multiple Apple Watches paired. Sometimes the auto switching can fail or even when the correct watch is shown as connected, the Bluetooth connection might be weak. The easiest way to test this is by going into the Watch app on your iPhone and setting a random “as your current watch face”. If the watch face on your Apple Watch does not change Â immediately then the connection is not working normally. Usually it will resolve by itself in a few minutes. Sometimes it requires you to reboot both your iPhone and your Apple Watch.

Does not Work for iCloud Keychain or when FaceID is Set to Unlock/Login into Apps

If you have previously set FaceID as a quick way to login or unlock certain apps (bank apps, payment apps, etc), Unlock with Apple Watch will not unlock your app. It is strictly for unlocking the iPhone only. This means it will not work when you are trying to unlock your PayLah! app to pay at Daiso or if you are trying to login to Health Buddy by authenticating with the Singpass app. If you have not set FaceID to unlock those apps then you will need the relevant passwords you set for those apps. Or you can just enter your iPhoneâ€™s passcode. Either way it is still friction in the usage process, and prevents the some people from using those apps when they are outside for fear of CCTVs catching their passwords/codes.

Conclusion

I am trying to think of more negative points for Unlock with Apple Watch all while typing this on a train ride, but I really can not find any. This is the feature we needed all along for the past 12 months, and while it is a year late I am glad we got this after all. With the rumors of the next iPhone getting under display TouchID going away somewhat, Unlock with Apple Watch is definitely needed to survive the pandemic days going forward.

For those with older Apple Watches (Series 0, 1 and 2), while it is possible to use your Apple Watch with iOS 14, the Unlock with Apple Watch feature is a watchOS 7.4 feature. Since Series 1 and 2 can only run watchOS 6, maybe it is time to consider buying a new Apple Watch. Amazon US has the latest Series 6 40mm Product RED Apple Watch at 100USD off its MSRP of 399USD.

The Black Unity Limited Edition Apple Watch is Now Available

February 1, 2021 by Ryu

The Black Unity Apple Watch is only available this month, February 2021. It will start at 599SGD, just like all the other Series 6 Apple Watches.

The Black Unity Sport Band will be available until the end of 2021. It will cost 69SGD.

Read about the introduction here.

Apple Announces Black Unity Limited Edition Apple Watch

January 27, 2021 by Ryu

Well, this really came out of nowhere.

This is Appleâ€™s first limited edition Apple Watch since the NikeLab Series 2 Apple Watch with the Light Bone/Black Nike Sport Band.

The watch itself looks like the usual Series 6 Space Grey Aluminium watch with special engraving on the ceramic back, and will only be available in February, while the Black Unity Sport Band will also be available separately throughout 2021 if you donâ€™t buy the watch. It is likely that the packaging (boxes) will be different from the usual white (or nike black) ones, which will be of interest to collectors.

The Black Unity Sport Band is created in the same way that the 2020 Pride band was created, by fusing two different band colours into one single band. Seems like more bands created with this technique will be coming out in the future.

â€œLimited editionâ€ is extremely tempting, but I really do not need another Apple Watch (and I am out of work). Maybe I will just fork out money for the band. We will see.

They will go on sale from February 1st.

Apple Watch Series 5 Space Black Stainless Steel Unboxing

December 10, 2020 by Ryu

Look! A power brick!

The microfibre watch cover is way better than the paper one in the Series 6.

The shiny!

Not intending to use the Milanese Loop as it is known to leave permanent scratches on the SBSS DLC coating.

Yes I know. Why will I buy a Series 5 watch when the Series 6 exists?

The End of the Line for the SBSS

The Space Black Stainless Steel(SBSS) Apple Watch is (almost) no more. With Series 6 Apple retired the SBSS from the normal line (only a variant remain for the HermÃ¨s Apple Watch) and introduced the Graphite in its place. Personally I much prefer the look of the Graphite, as it shows off the shininess of the stainless steel much better than the SBSS ever could.

Weaker DLC Coating?

There have however been concerns that the Graphiteâ€™s Diamond-like Coating (DLC) is not as strong as that of the SBSS. The dlc process coatings carbon on top of the stainless steel to make it resistant against scratches, and it is the carbon that gives the SBSS and the Graphite their black color. The Graphiteâ€™s lighter color implies that less carbon has been used in its coating process, and thus the weaker resistant against scratches. Therefore the SBSS is still the choice if you want the strongest protection against scratches.

Is the weaker DLC Coating for the Graphite an Issue?

I do not think it matters. When you buy a Gold or Graphite (or SBSS) stainless steel Apple Watch. if you managed to scratch hard enough the silver underneath will show through the Graphite or Gold coatings, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to fix it. If you have the bare stainless steel you can always polish away the scratches with metal polish. The PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) and DLC (which is a kind of PVD) coatings on the Gold and Graphite (and SBSS) Apple Watches do provide a protection layer against scratches, with the DLC being the better of the two. Nevertheless if you are worried you should either buy the bare stainless steel model, or one of the aluminum ones (so your heart does not bleed everytime you get a scratch unfortunately).

The Stainless Steel Apple Watches are the Ones to Get

That said, since the SBSS may become rare going forward, I decided to purchase one for my collection (at an amazing discount from a land far away, where the sun wakes the earliest) with the help of a great friend. Looking at the watch close makes me appreciate the subtle shininess that is only obvious when you are near to it. The stainless steel Apple watches have always been the better experience, with the added weight on your wrist and the shinier look of the sapphire-infused cover glass. You feel like you are wearing a piece of jewelry and not a cheap tech toy.

Conclusion

I love the SBSS. And all my other Apple Watches. I noticed that the ECG app is on the SBSS. That is not the correct behaviour for a watch originating from Japan. Therefore it will be a mystery for me to solve in a different post.ã€€Editï¼šSolved. iOS 14.2 activated the ECG app in Japan.

Have a Series 0, 1 or 2 Apple Watch and wondering if you can use it on iOS 14? Find out here.

Apple Watch Series 6 (PRODUCT)RED Aluminum and Blue Aluminum Unboxings

November 3, 2020November 3, 2020 by Ryu

Thanks to a friend, I am able to do the PRODUCT(RED) unboxing. The blue watch I had purchased when the watch was first announced, but subsequently returned when the bundled band did not fit into the watch’s slots.

The PRODUCT(RED) Series 6

The Blue Series 6

The blue watch is very dark

I first unboxed it in a indoor environment with only artificial lighting available, and at first sight I did not like it. In most less than idea lighting, you will not be able to tell the Blue watch from the Space Grey watch. The shade of blue on the watch looks pretty nice if you are in strong, bright lighting, but for most other situations, the blue watch is going to look very understated. If that is what you are going for, the blue watch is worth considering. However, I went to the Apple Store to take a look at the PRODUCT(RED) watch when it was just out, and the blue just looked really dull next to the bright and shiny thing that is the PRODUCT(RED) watch, even in Apple Store lighting.

Band pairing is an art

Unlike the relatively safe colours out for the Apple Watch so far, the blue and PRODUCT(RED) watches will NOT look nice when paired with certain watch band colours. If you made a bad pairing, everyone is going to know that you have no taste. However, for those who are either band savvy or just plan to use the bundled band, you are going to be just fine.

Nah.

Public Service Announcement regarding the geniune Apple Sport Bands this year

…and especially this season. I was first made aware of this issue when the bundled Deep Navy sport band did not fit into my blue Series 6, and I had to return the watch. After much discussions with fellow genuine ‘Apple Watch Band masketeers’ online, we discovered that the quality control of the sport bands are extremely lacking this year, especially for the bands announced with the Series 6 and SE. The two main complaints are either the band is too thin and can not lock into place when slot into the watch, or the band is too thick and cannot even fit into the slots in the first place. There are cases where only one or two (out of three) of the sport band parts in the box have this issue, so for now the advice is to buy directly from Apple where you get the choice of returning or a direct swap (within 14 days from purchase) if you find such issues. If you buy in store and try it on there and then, you can get an immediate swap if the bands do not fit.

Cannot afford a new Apple Watch this year? Dying to find out if your Apple Watch Series 2, 1 and 0 can pair with iOS 14 phones? Find out..

The Curious Case of the Demo Apple Watch Bands

October 29, 2020 by Ryu

What we have here are two original Apple Watch Bands that have curious packaging – they are being labeled as DEMO and Demo – Not for Resale. Obviously someone either can not read English or just blatantly decided to ignore that line, if not these will not be here right now.

I have personally verified that both bands are genuine (there are a bunch of tell-tale signs for knock-offs) and unused.

The boxes themselves are void of any designs or any prints, and are completely white (save for the dirt on them). Labels are affixed on them to indicate the contents.

The first boxâ€™s label read â€œApple Watch 42mm Flamingo Sport Demoâ€ while the second read â€œ42MM Space Orange/Anthracite Woven Nylon Bandâ€ and both have â€œDemo – Not for Resaleâ€ printed on the same label. A quick check reveals that e Woven Nylon was introduced in the Fall of 2017 and the Flamingo Sport Band was introduced in Summer of 2017. So maybe the format of the label changed during the span of six months.

The contents of the boxes, however, are exactly like those of the usual retail packaging, with one exception – there is no extra slip of paper for the usual Terms and Conditions. Otherwise it looks exactly like the usual three flap packaging with the cutouts that hold the bands in.

What I have gathered online is that these demo watch bands are not officially listed in the sales system, and are offered to Apple Premium Resellers for the primary purpose of displaying them or for customers to try on. Why they are being sold without any signs of usage is a mystery, and probably has more to do with the ineffectiveness of Apple to control their third party resale channels in certain countries, as well as the integrity of the humans involved. So who gets the money from the sale? My guess is that Apple does not get a single cent from the purchase.

Are these rare? Probably not. If you know where to get them from, you will likely find a bunch of them from your usual genuine Apple Watch band sources.

I do not plan on keeping the boxes, they arrived slightly dirty and dusty, and knowing where they came from make me feel unsafe in keeping the packaging (I guess it is as dangerous as buying stuff from Amazon US). So the contents of these boxes, along with some others, will go through a soap and water cleansing regime, before being added to my growing collection of original Apple Watch Bands.

Bandbreite is a New App for All Apple Watch Owners and Anyone Fascinated with Apple Watch Bands

October 26, 2020September 25, 2020 by Ryu

Bandbreite is a brand new app for a very passionate niche – Apple Watch band collectors. While you might not need a dedicated app to track your watch bands if you only have like less than a handful of bands, Bandbreite offers both hardcore collectors and Apple Watch newcomers an additional outlet to take their enjoyment of watch bands to a higher level.

click on photos to view them in the original resolution

For the hardcore collector, Bandbreite a way to track their collection, as well as take note of the bands they are after but have yet to add to their collection.

Bandbreite also provides a stats page where collectors will be able to see an overview of their collections, including telling them what color of bands they probably prefer, how many bands they purchased in a certain year (assuming that they purchased it at time of launch), as well as an approximate of how much they spent on the bands (assuming that bands are purchased brand new at MSRP).

For the Apple Watch newcomer, Bandbreite is likely the easiest way to explore the huge collection of 423 bands (and counting) that Apple has released so far, but due to the limited time nature of most of the bands, many remained unknown to all but the most fervent of watch band collectors.

For example, do you know that the recent Product RED sport band released with the red Aluminium Series 6 is actually the fourth generation Product RED sport band?

Detailed information is also available for all the watch bands, including launch year and season, MSRP in USD, material, and even down to the model numbers for each size variant.

Green dots are also used to indicate the currently available bands in the Apple Online Store, both newly introduced bands as well as bands that remained on the sales lineup from previous seasons.

Under the New Looks section, some of the most recently introduced watch bands are featured, and it is assumed that this section will be updated regularly in the future whenever new bands are introduced.

Under curated collections, watch bands introduced at events such as the recent Apple Event in September 2020 or in special collections such as the annual Pride bands or even the Apple Employee-only Close Your Rings Challenge watch bands are featured in detail.

Bandbreite is a collaboration between Filip Chudzinski (@choreographics, who started the massive Every Apple Watch band Apple released. Ever. thread in the Macrumors forums), a designer from Berlin, Germany as well as developers Florent LotthÃ© (@flo5929), Baptiste Dajon (@baptistedajon) and Simon Botte (@simonbotte) from France, and is now available on the App Store for the absolutely wonderful price of free.

I have tested the beta of the app and was impressed, and wondered how much will the app go for, since its reach is likely to be small due to the niche of catering for Apple Watch band collectors, but there is absolutely no reason not to download the app and give it a run if you do not have to pay a single cent for it. Get Bandbreite now!

Can you pair Apple Watch Series 2, 1, 0 with iOS 14? (despite having no support for watchOS 7)

October 26, 2020September 22, 2020 by Ryu

watchOS 7 has to be the first watchOS to abandon a big portion of the Apple Watch install base. Previously watchOS 5 abandoned the first generation Apple Watches, also known as the Series 0, but the number of iPhone users who owned these first generation rarities is pretty small. Apple Watch really started becoming more popular during the Series 2â€™s life cycle, as the software started to be more refined, as well as the introduction of the Series 1 as a lower entry price point for the Apple Watch ecosystem. The Series 1 stayed in the lineup until the introduction of the Series 4, so it will not be surprising if a lot of Apple Watch owners, especially older ones, are still rocking them.

It is unfortunately not easy to find an answer to the above question (in the title) as Apple support documents donâ€™t offer a clear answer, and many self-proclaimed experts on the interwebs mostly state something along the lines of â€œiOS 14 only supports watchOS 7â€ or â€œwatchOS 6 is not supported on iOS 14â€. Many of these people likely have not tried to pair (or re-pair) a Series 0-2 to iOS 14. We know that if you already have the Series 2 paired to your phone before you update to iOS 14, it will continue to work after the update. But what most donâ€™t know is if you unpair that Series 2, will it be bricked forever unless you somehow downgrade to iOS 13? (It wonâ€™t be)

Well, the answer to the question in the title is YES. You can pair the Series 2, the Series 1 and likely the Series 0 (first generation) Apple Watch to any iPhone with iOS 14 (will try and report back if anyone is interested).

I have personally just finished unpairing and re-pairing my Series 2 (on watchOS 6) from a 8 Plus to the Xs Max, both on iOS 14, and there is no reason why the Series 1 wonâ€™t work.

I did notice something different during the pairing process, the watch will ask to enter your account password on the watch itself, and the process itself is a bit wonky compared to pairing my watchOS 7 Apple Watches, not sure if it has anything to do with pairing watchOS 6 to iOS 14 or if it was just a bug.

Nevertheless, if you are wondering about the exact same question, you now have your answer.

About that titanium Apple Watch….

October 3, 2019October 3, 2019 by Ryu

Want to know how well a particular finish (stainless steel, aluminum, etc) for iPhones/Apple Watches will hold up over time? Apple Store display units are usually the best indicator.

Raw stainless steel on the silver models get scuffed easily while the black, gold and now midnight green stainless steel models have a special coating to keep them pretty well protected against scratches.

This year is the first time since Apple last used titanium in their products almost 19 years ago (Titanium G4 PowerBook) and titanium is not known to have much resistance against scratches (camping/outdoor peeps will know).

Apple however stated that the space black titanium model has a diamond-like coating (like the space black stainless models) applied on them, while the natural brushed titanium finish has a â€œnew surface treatment that is stain and fingerprint resistantâ€.

How do they fare?

Not so well, when you are talking about the natural brushed titanium model (well Apple never said their surface treatment will prevent scratches). The space black model is much more resistant to scratches but looks a fair bit less â€œtitanium-ishâ€ than the natural brushed model.

I guess if you wanted to buy a titanium watch you are probably looking for a â€œwell-usedâ€ titanium look (like people who collect titanium utensils) in the first place.

It is worth noting that although the titanium models are priced 100USD higher than the stainless steel models, like all Apple Watch Edition models they come with a limited edition sport band each. That is a value of 49USD alone (more if you consider the fact that you canâ€™t get the bands by simply purchasing them from Apple). So the titanium models are really just 50USD or so more expensive than the stainless steel models, making them the cheapest Apple Watch Edition watches ever release.

If you always buy the stainless steel models maybe the titanium models will be a good upgrade this year.

If you like the look.