Please make it independent from your iPhone contract. Make it possible to have a watch without an existing phone contract.
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So what rumors are there for the AW6?
- Thread starter ssledoux
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Yeah. I had a Hermes AW3 which I liked. I want something beyond stainless though. Stainless is just so blaw. Love the look of the brushed titanium not so much the stainless. Cost isn't much of an issue. I stopped wearing my AW for a while when I bought myself a Rolex. I since sold it to pay closing on a home but may get another at some point or a Breitling or Omega.
I’d like them to improve the GPS. Whatever algorithms they use, mine always tells me I’ve run longer than everyone else in my group. This is problematic because I race a lot and pace/distance is really important.
I have the LTE version and I’ve read that the GPS uses towers when you have LTE on. Like, why? Just use regular GPS like Glonass.
I have the LTE version and I’ve read that the GPS uses towers when you have LTE on. Like, why? Just use regular GPS like Glonass.
Im currently on an S4 chip and it still feels laggy when launching HomeKit or podcasts from the watch
Thanks. But I would assume they would reveal whether new watchOS7 features introduced, would run on current and previous generation models?
Correct. They will go over new features of WatchOS 7 and which models get specific features.
I know Garmin watches actually tell you that the GPS signal has found.
I believe watchOS does that automatically but it would be nice to have some kind of notification (green dot or some icon?)
I guess this is more about the OS rather than the AW6 itself.
I believe watchOS does that automatically but it would be nice to have some kind of notification (green dot or some icon?)
I guess this is more about the OS rather than the AW6 itself.
Some activity apps display the GPS signal ..... I use workoutdoors and it displays the signal.
So sleep tracking is a software feature in watchOS 7. Nice to see it natively supported and with all the "wind down" features, too.
Begs the question: what will be so special about AW6? There's the blood oxygen measurement but not sure how big that'll be. Hoping to see some exciting new use cases/hardware this year after last year's AW4 rehash.
Begs the question: what will be so special about AW6? There's the blood oxygen measurement but not sure how big that'll be. Hoping to see some exciting new use cases/hardware this year after last year's AW4 rehash.
I've seen rumors that the AW4 and 5 already have the sensor, it just needs to be turned on. But, the Garmin I had used a RED sensor for the SpO2 data, and I don't know if they can "change" the color of the sensors in the watch through software, or they would need to rebuild the HR sensor on the watch. I suspect that the hardware is already there, but they're holding it as a "SURPRISE!" feature when the Series 6 is announced. I agree with the other things you'd like to see though.
For my personal needs I have exactly one piece of potential (but extremely unlikely) hardware that would make me regret buying an AW5: a sensor to non-invasively measure blood glucose. That would be a game-changer of huge scale. Once they can do that...they can then contract with insulin pump manufacturers to tie the Watch into closed-loop systems...major major major impact on the diabetes community.
Apple had been rumored to be pursuing this with the Watch (as had Google with contact lenses that tried to measure it via your tears). It was the primary reason I haven't purchased one to date: FOMO on this feature. But I don't believe they will get there (Google has already shut down its efforts). Glucose molecules are so completely nondescript, there is evidently no way to identify them from light refraction.
OR PERHAPS they haven't gotten there because I haven't purchased one yet...the Science Gods will only allow the breakthrough once I have already purchased one. If that's the case I apologize to all my fellow diabetics!
Apple had been rumored to be pursuing this with the Watch (as had Google with contact lenses that tried to measure it via your tears). It was the primary reason I haven't purchased one to date: FOMO on this feature. But I don't believe they will get there (Google has already shut down its efforts). Glucose molecules are so completely nondescript, there is evidently no way to identify them from light refraction.
OR PERHAPS they haven't gotten there because I haven't purchased one yet...the Science Gods will only allow the breakthrough once I have already purchased one. If that's the case I apologize to all my fellow diabetics!
I think what you mean to say, is the data testing is probably still at least a few years out, as that requires extensive R&D, not necessarily on a ‘technological side’ of things, but having the technology where it’s actually accurate enough where it’s useful to the user not just on a smart watch itself, but where they can actually see the results on some type of data spreadsheet.
I'm less concerned about the ability for that data to be visualized, that would be right in Apple's wheelhouse. The concern is with accuracy, accurate enough to replace all other systems in dosing decisions. Right now, the very best data you can get to make a decision is a direct test of blood glucose, which you do with a finger prick and a glucometer using disposable strips. You get used to it, but at the very least it's a pain in the neck to do.
Nowadays there are a handful of options of what's called a CGM, a Continuous Glucose Monitor. These are NOT testing your blood directly, they are testing a different fluid between your cells that has a high correlation to what your blood sugar was about 15 minutes ago. The accuracy of these has improved greatly. In fact one manufacturer, Dexcom, the acknowledged leader in the space, is considered good enough to be able to set dosing decisions. The FDA has even approved it for "closed loop" systems where a Dexcom CGM can communicate directly with an insulin pump and adjust your dose automatically without a human intermediary. Traditional CGMs also have disposable elements: the actual sensor itself, which can last up to two weeks. Then there is a transmitter with is something you just have one of and place it into the sensor.
(This harkens to Google's experiments with contact lenses. Again, it isn't your blood that would be tested directly, but a different bodily fluid that has a strong correlation.)
Each of these methods requires prescriptions that you are constantly refilling, either for sensors or for glucose meter test strips (it's fairly easy to get the actual glucose meter for free, they make their money selling you the strips).
(Back in the day, before glucose meters were so common, we used to test urine for glucose. Even then, that required single-use strips, which you had to keep refilling.)
An Apple Watch sensor that can get your blood sugar reading? Holy moly. Firstly, no tests, no finger pricks. This is like CGMs (in fact, Dexcom has a mature Apple Watch app, including a complication...if I'm wearing a Dexcom--I'm not, currently--I literally would just have to glance at my wrist to get the reading). But then also no need to refill supplies. If it's just a permanent sensor on the watch, which is measuring values by light refraction instead of directly testing a bodily fluid...all I've got to do is to wear the watch! No prescription necessary, barring some mechanism insurance companies can use to get paid off somehow (they'll think of one). One less sensor stuck to your body that runs out of lifespan, that can accidentally get caught on something and pulled away from your body. No having to rotate spots on your body, leading to some weeks where it's in a less comfortable spot. No potential interference with some kinds of wireless insulin pumps.
That's the holy grail!