Microsoft Outlook App Now Available on the Apple Watch→

As noted by The Verge, Microsoft Outlook is now available for the Apple Watch after Microsoft updated the Outlook iPhone app today. The Outlook Watch app enables users to reply to emails directly on the Watch through various quick reply options or via dictation.

Besides replying to emails on the Watch, there’s an Outlook glance which enables users to review their inbox or see what’s next on their calendar. Finally, Outlook’s custom notifications on the Apple Watch add support for archiving and scheduling emails as they arrive.

Tom Warren from The Verge tried the new Outlook Apple Watch app wrote:

By default, Outlook notifications on the Apple Watch now show a lot more of the email body instead of cutting it short after a couple of sentences. While you still can’t reply instantly from a notification, you can now tap on the Outlook icon in the notification to launch a dedicated Outlook Apple Watch app that lets you see an overview of email and reply to any messages using quick replies or dictation.

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11 Million Customers Sign up for Apple Music Trial, App Store Has a Record July→

Apple’s Eddy Cue and Jimmy Iovine spoke to USA Today reporter Marco della Cava about Apple Music’s early numbers:

One month after unveiling its new streaming music service, Apple has locked in 11 million trial members, company executives tell USA TODAY.

“We’re thrilled with the numbers so far,” says Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet software and services, adding that of that sum 2 million have opted for the more lucrative family plan at $14.99 a month for up to six people.

Whilst there are still 2 months of the Apple Music free trial period before user’s credit cards start being charged, there’s little doubt that those numbers represent a solid launch. For those curious about how those numbers compare to other services, Spotify announced in early June this year that they had “more than 20 million subscribers and more than 75 million active users”.

Cue also revealed to USA Today that July was a record breaking month for the App Store:

July also brought a fiscal high-water mark for the company’s App Store, which did a record $1.7 billion in transactions, “with particular momentum in China,” says Cue. That brings the total amount paid to app developers to $33 billion, up from $25 billion at the end of 2014.

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How Apple Watch Got Ken Robson In and Out of Hospital Fast→

MedCity News has shared the story of Ken Robson, Apple Watch user who was able to correctly self-diagnose a heart ailment thanks to Apple Watch heart rate data:

When he got to the hospital, Robson told staff that he had been tracking his heart rate on the watch, and had two weeks of back data. “Going in with the data certainly reduced my stay by a couple of days,” he told MedCity News. It also assured that he could have the operation nearly immediately.

Because the hospital could check his Apple Watch data, Robson did not have to wear a heart monitor for a week before the medical team at Scripps Mercy could confirm the diagnosis of sick sinus syndrome.

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Apple Updates TestFlight with Support for iOS 9 and watchOS 2 Betas, App Thinning

Apple has updated its official TestFlight app for iOS today, bringing support for iOS 9 and watchOS 2 betas, plus a new App Thinning feature that will allow developers to deliver slimmer apps in iOS 9.

Version 1.2 of TestFlight supports, according to Apple, “upcoming iOS 9 features”. The first beta of iOS 9 was first released in June, and, following the launch of the fourth developer beta, several members of the developer community were wondering when Apple would start allowing developers to distribute iOS 9 app betas to external testers. The release notes of the update don’t mention external testers, so it’s still fair to wonder when Apple will actually let developers expand their beta pools beyond internal testers.

Update: As confirmed in an email by Apple, TestFlight’s iOS 9 features are currently limited to watchOS 2 apps and App Thinning for internal testers only.

In addition to iOS 9 and watchOS 2 support, the TestFlight app has been updated with new notification settings. You can now turn off email and notification updates on a per-app basis – a welcome addition for those testing dozens of different apps.

TestFlight 1.2 is available on the App Store.

Graava Action Camera and watchOS 2

Graava is a new action camera that promises to automatically edit footage using sensors that include GPS, accelerometer, microphone, gyroscope, and heart rate monitor. Unlike similar solutions such as GoPro, Graava wants to remove the friction from manually picking the best footage out of a session using connected sensors to figure out what’s interesting and worth saving and what’s boring and can be discarded. Graava has opened preorders for $249 today and it ships early next year. You can read more about it at The New York Times and TechCrunch, and watch the great promo video above.

What immediately caught my attention is that Graava will rely on an Apple Watch app to monitor a user’s heart rate and detect sudden changes that may correspond to interesting moments. That, of course, would require watchOS 2, which will give developers deeper access to the Apple Watch hardware. According to Graava’s website, “Android Gear and Apple Watch equipped with heartbeat sensors are supported”, so I am assuming Graava will ship a watchOS 2 app once it launches next year.

This is another example of the kind of richer experiences that watchOS 2 will enable developers to build. Graava could also work by connecting to Bluetooth chest monitors to gather a user’s heart rate data – and they likely will – but it is far more convenient to rely on a device that is accurate enough and worn all the time and that works with a full-featured app. Even more interesting is that Graava won’t use the heart rate sensor to build a strictly fitness-related app: rather, it’ll use the data collected by it for additional context used in video editing. It’s an intriguing use case, and I’m curious to see how well Graava’s automatic process will actually work.

You can check out Graava’s website and preorder information here.

Listen to Full Beats 1 Shows Again with Beats 1 Replays

I’m not sure when Apple rolled out this change, exactly (though it appears to have gone live over the past three days), but you can now listen to several Beats 1 shows (including those by Zane, Julie, and Ebro) in full through Beats 1 Replays.

Previously, unless you listened to a show live or during its rerun twelve hours later, you were out of luck. Some of the shows on Beats 1 offered the ability to follow them on Connect and listen to the playlists of songs played during the show, but that didn’t include the complete show with DJ and guests.

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Billings Pro Adds Mobile Estimates and Apple Watch Features

I’ve used Billings for invoicing and time tracking since shortly after I first started freelancing years ago. I recently (finally) upgraded to Billings Pro, and I’ve been testing out the most recent update to the apps for Mac and iOS. The latest version brings Apple Watch support, mobile estimates, and seamless integration of all of the Billings Pro features across all my devices.

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Unlocking Doors with Apple Watch→

Here’s another example of how watchOS 2 will, potentially, improve the experience of using apps on Apple Watch. August announced an Apple Watch version of their app to unlock smart locks with a tap. Because of WatchKit 1.0, it wouldn’t be uncommon for the August app to take several seconds to launch, be slow, or occasionally crash. Exactly not the kind of experience you’d want when standing in front of a locked door that you want to open with the convenience of a smart device (just use your keys at that point).

The couple of watchOS 2 apps I’m using so far are already considerably faster and more reliable than their WatchKit 1.0 counterparts. While not completely native to the Watch, watchOS 2 apps will benefit from speed improvements besides access to sensors, and that should help companies such as August when it comes to everyday performance and enjoyment.

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