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These Technologies Could Play a Big Role in the iPhone's Future

These Technologies Could Play a Big Role in the iPhone's Future

Social distancing during the height of the pandemic in 2020 was challenging for Lucy Edwards, a blind journalist and broadcaster based in the UK. So she tried the iPhone's People Detection feature, which uses the iPhone 12 Pro's and 13 Pro's lidar sensor to detect when other people are nearby and calculate their distance from the user. 

"I'm going to have to get used to it, but I'm really excited that I can be in control again," Edwards said in a BBC video from 2020 documenting her experience. 

Lidar , or light detection and ranging, is just one example of how the technology inside the iPhone has evolved in the last 15 years. When the first iPhone launched, on June 29, 2007, it had a 3.5-inch screen that would be considered minuscule by today's standards and a single 2-megapixel camera. Now Apple's most sophisticated phones come equipped with triple-rear cameras that are advanced enough to shoot films, sensors that help people like Edwards navigate the world and powerful chips with billions of transistors. We're expecting to learn about what's next for the iPhone at Apple's upcoming event on Sept. 7. 

The iPhone often served as a catalyst for the technologies introduced within, whether it's digital assistant Siri, mobile payments or wireless charging, and helped drive the evolution of how we live our mobile lives. But in the future, the most important part of the iPhone might be everything around it. That's according to analysts who've observed the mobile industry's general trends and Apple's strategy.   

In the short term, we're likely to see incremental improvements like higher quality cameras and giant displays. But over the next decade, the iPhone could evolve into a hub for smart glasses and other devices. AirPods, Apple Watches and CarPlay-enabled vehicles may be just the start. The iPhone's core elements, like its display and charging systems, are also expected to get a significant boost. 

"The next quest for the smartphone is to figure out what it will connect to next," said Runar Bjørhovde, an analyst with market research firm Canalys. "Because the smartphone has not necessarily reached its potential yet, but as a standalone device I think the smartphone is getting closer and closer to the edge." 

Your iPhone at the center of everything

There's plenty of speculation about what's next after the smartphone. The resounding consensus seems to be smart glasses, with companies like Meta, Snap and Google all working on their own version of high-tech spectacles. 

Apple is no exception; reports from Bloomberg indicate that the iPhone maker could debut a mixed reality headset this year or next that supports augmented and virtual reality technologies. A pair of AR-powered smart glasses could arrive later this decade, according to the report. 

So what does this have to do with the iPhone? Possibly everything. Even though Apple's headset is expected to function as a standalone device, the apps and services it runs would likely stem from the iPhone. 

Think of the Apple Watch. It doesn't need a nearby iPhone to function, but a large part of its appeal involves its ability to sync closely with Apple's phone. Many of the Apple Watch's notifications are also tied to accounts and apps that were set up on the iPhone. 

Whether it's a smart headset, the Apple Watch, AirPods or HomeKit-enabled appliances, analysts expect the phone to remain at the center.  

The iPhone will likely remain at the center of the Apple experience, serving as a hub for AirPods, the Apple Watch and possibly a pair of smart glasses one day.

Scott Stein/CNET

"The phone will be the anchor," said Gene Munster, managing partner for tech investment firm Loup Ventures and a longtime Apple analyst.

But it isn't just about connecting to new personal tech gadgets. Apple is gradually turning the iPhone into a viable replacement for the wallet, weaving it even more tightly into the nondigital aspects of our lives. 

Apple has made a lot of progress on this front over the past year by rolling out new features like digital IDs for Apple Wallet and Tap to Pay, which turns the iPhone into a contactless payment terminal for merchants without additional hardware. Apple also just announced Apple Pay Later, which lets Apple Pay users split a purchase into four equal installments paid over the course of six weeks. 

"It's clear that there's a lot of momentum within financial services with Apple, and I think we will see further advancements there," said Nick Maynard, head of research for Juniper Research. 

Better lidar, more advanced AI for better spatial awareness

Making educated guesses about Apple's general direction for the iPhone is certainly easier than pinpointing specific changes that might be coming. But analysts have some ideas based on the seeds Apple has planted in current iPhones. 

Lidar will likely continue to be important as the company pushes more deeply into augmented reality. Apple added lidar on the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020 to boost the performance of AR apps, enable new camera tricks and facilitate accessibility features like the aforementioned People Detection. The technology measures distance by determining how long it takes for light to reflect off an object and bounce back. 

Yet the iPhone's current lidar sensors might not be sophisticated enough to bring Apple's augmented reality ambitions to fruition, said Munster. 

"Specifically what needs to happen is the mapping of the real world needs to be more accurate," said Munster, whose firm conducts research on topics like augmented reality, autonomous vehicles and virtual reality. "And until that happens, AR isn't really going to happen."

The iPhone's People Detection feature uses lidar.

James Martin/CNET

Lidar improves the iPhone's depth-sensing skills, but it's still up to the phone's processor to make sense of all that data. Apple has leaned into artificial intelligence -- one of Silicon Valley's favorite buzzwords in recent years -- to give the iPhone and other products more context about users and their surroundings. 

Once again, you can look to the Apple Watch to see this approach at work. Apple's smartwatch uses artificial intelligence and data gathered from its sensors for tasks such as tracking your sleep and noticing when you're washing your hands. 

Hanish Bhatia, a senior analyst for Counterpoint Research, provided a hypothetical example of how AI improvements could one day manifest in upcoming iPhones. He envisions a future in which Apple's smartphone can observe a person's habits to understand whether the phone's primary user or a family member may be using the device. 

"The way you use your phone, at what angle your smartphone is tilted ... Do you press with a particular pressure, or do you just tap it with your nails or something like that?" he said as an example. "All of these are different types of behaviors which are very unique to a user."

Bhatia's example is speculative and doesn't reflect Apple's actual plans. But with advancements in AI and technologies like lidar and ultra wideband giving the iPhone more spatial awareness, it's easy to imagine a scenario like this.

Displays and charging tech could get a big change

Perhaps one of the biggest questions surrounding Apple's future smartphone plans is whether the company will ever create a foldable iPhone. Samsung, Apple's biggest rival in the mobile space, has already launched several generations of phones with flexible designs. Motorola, Huawei and Microsoft have all followed suit, and Google is rumored to be working on a bendable Pixel. Shipments of foldable smartphones are said to have increased by 264.3% in 2021 compared with 2020, according to The International Data Corporation.

But experts like Munster and Maynard are skeptical about whether Apple will take a similar approach. Though the tech giant has filedpatents for mobile devices with flexible displays, those filings aren't always indicative of Apple's plans. Sales of foldable phones have been growing, but shipments still pale in comparison with regular smartphones. (Research firm IDC estimates that 7.1 million foldable phones were shipped in 2021 compared with 362.4 million phones shipped in just the fourth quarter of last year). And then there's the question of whether foldable devices bring anything truly new or meaningful to the smartphone experience. 

There are also challenges with creating a true glass screen that's foldable, says Munster. Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip has a glass screen, but that glass is also combined with "a special material" to "achieve a consistent hardness," CNET reported in 2020.

"The piece that's missing from my perspective is how [Apple] would actually do it," Munster said.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 3 can fold in half.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The iPhone's charging experience is probably due for an upgrade too. Between USB-C, Lightning and MagSafe, it isn't an exaggeration to say that Apple's charging options are complicated. Maynard believes pressure from the European Union and US senators could mean a switch to USB-C might be in the iPhone's future.

But more dramatic changes could also be in the pipeline. Rumors about a completely portlessiPhone have swirled for years, and Maynard doesn't think it's totally out of the question.  

"I suspect if any vendor was going to launch a fully portless system, then it probably would be Apple," said Maynard, citing Apple's decision to remove the iPhone's headphone jack in 2016. 

Wireless charging has also been a focal point for Apple in recent years, further supporting the case for a port-free iPhone. There's Apple's relatively new MagSafe chargers, and many CarPlay-enabled vehicles also support wireless connections. Apple has also patented wireless charging systems that would be built directly into MacBooks, enabling Apple's laptops to charge iPhones, Apple Watches and iPads. The iPad Pro's Smart Connector also provides a quick and easy way to attach accessories to Apple's tablet without a port. 

"The number of systems that actually 100% must have a cable are diminishing," Maynard said. 

Apple's MagSafe battery pack wirelessly connects to the back of an iPhone.

Patrick Holland/CNET

Otherwise, analysts expect to see routine upgrades to the camera in the near term. Munster says there's room for improvement in the iPhone's front-facing camera, while Bhatia expects Apple to continue to use display size and camera quality to distinguish the regular iPhones from its Pro iPhones. 

It's impossible to know what's next for the iPhone without Apple's input. But experts seem certain on one thing: Apple is laying the groundwork for the iPhone's future today. Current iPhone features, like Apple's lidar-powered accessibility tools meant to help people like Edwards, could provide a clue about what's ahead. 

"Everything we can see that they've done over the last few years is a good hint of what's coming up next," said Bjørhovde. "Because a lot of what I think they do is setting themselves up for the systems they want to integrate the iPhone into in the years to come."

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I visited Samsung's Galaxy S22 metaverse event, but it felt rushed and incomplete

I visited Samsung's Galaxy S22 metaverse event, but it felt rushed and incomplete

Samsung's Galaxy S22 reveal event wasn't just a standard livestream this year: It also took place inside a metaverse -- and I was genuinely excited to check it out. I've attended previous Samsung events in VR and found them to be more enjoyable than most other branded virtual experiences. The infamous 2016 photo of Mark Zuckerberg walking down an aisle while everyone around him is wearing a Gear VR headset is undeniably silly, but the demonstration of what could be possible from home was actually compelling.

By comparison, this 2022 Unpacked event had surprisingly little to do with Samsung and served more as an example of what not to do when using the metaverse to host a product launch.

If you saw Samsung announce an event in the metaverse and thought it meant putting on a VR headset and sitting in an audience, you're not alone. Instead, Samsung built a version of its New York event space in Decentraland, a cryptocurrency-focused virtual playground. It's technically possible to enter Decentraland with a VR headset, but the experience is barely functional and requires a lot of technical knowledge. Using your web browser alongside your mouse and keyboard, as intended by the creators, you enter Decentraland as an animated avatar you can modify, and move yourself to the Samsung 837X space to participate. 

Arriving at this space the day before the event revealed a brightly lit building and a faux pizza shop. The doors were all closed and there wasn't much to see, but there were already people lined up to see what Samsung had to offer. When I checked in again, 30 minutes before the event was to start, a handful of people waiting outside had climbed to nearly 100 that I could see. Decentraland runs 10 servers and you can only see the people on your server, but as I moved around before the event each server seemed similarly full. Roughly 1,000 people were waiting for Samsung to open the doors and show us the Galaxy S22 Ultra. 

Unfortunately for a lot of those servers, the doors didn't open on time. Many people were unable to actually enter Samsung 837X before the event started. Everyone outside the metaverse was enjoying a strange crossover with the popular TV series Bridgerton at the start of this event, while I and dozens of my fellow metazens were changing servers to find one that worked. Once a server with open doors had been located, the next challenge was finding the room inside this virtual building where the announcement event was actually streaming.

The three unlockable clothing packs you could use to equip your metaverse avatar if you completed the minigame inside Samsung's event.

Russell Holly/CNET

Inside Samsung 837X, you are presented with three rooms and a host of smaller activities to enjoy. Samsung had made special clothing for your Decentraland avatar you could only get by completing a quest in this space. Most of the space was dedicated to this quest, but in the back you could find a theater with the Unpacked event streaming. The room was a fairly generic virtual theater with a big curved screen showing the event already in progress outside of the metaverse. I was nearly 10 minutes late, and now watching a smaller version of the livestream with animated characters dancing around inside of a web browser on my laptop.

A few minutes into watching this presentation, it became clear the real reason most people were here was to unlock the virtual clothes tied to the Samsung quest. The app told me there were 96 people in the space, but the room only held 37. The novelty of the Samsung-made space was much more important than the unveiling of a new phone and tablet for a majority of those who regularly visit Decentraland.

It's difficult to feel like this approach to an event is anything other than a step backward. Back in 2016, Samsung offered the ability to watch a Galaxy Unpacked event from inside its VR headset. You put the headset on, opened the app and picked one of several positions to watch the stage from a 360-degree streaming camera. Being able to turn your head and see the audience made you feel like you were actually sitting in the audience. Not a lot of people owned those headsets at the time, but it felt like you were in a packed room and could enjoy the show.

The Samsung Theater, where I could watch the Galaxy S22 Ultra unveiling.

Russell Holly/CNET

In fairness, this 2022 event was fully virtual, so there was no live space to warp into as there was during pre-pandemic product launches. But Samsung could have made it possible to walk through a virtual store, get a closer look at the phone from every angle, or maybe even preorder the next phone using cryptocurrency. There could have been Samsung staff on hand in the space to answer questions or talk to people about what they're upgrading from and how the cameras on this new phone might have been better.

Samsung had an opportunity to make this space actually feel like a virtual version of its 837 store, but instead built a terribly rendered virtual forest to showcase its intent to plant 2 million trees as part of its sustainability efforts. For comparison's sake, the real Samsung 837 store not only sells Samsung devices but opened with a cafe on site and, at least pre-pandemic, held a running club that promoted its fitness trackers.

This could have been a lot of fun, but instead felt rushed and incomplete. It was a halfhearted attempt in a long line of cultural zeitgeist moments from Samsung, and felt more like an online version of the Yo! Noid game from Pizza Hut in 1990 than it does a glimpse at an often-promised metaversal future.

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https://pombumi.costa.my.id/

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You need to try these new Apple Watch 7 features

You need to try these new Apple Watch 7 features

After setting up your new Apple Watch Series 7 that you got this holiday season and pairing it with your iPhone, it's time to check out all the new features and tweak a few settings to make the most of your new Watch. The Apple Watch Series 7 comes with a larger screen, faster charging and a more durable design. That might not sound as exciting as the blood oxygen sensor that debuted in last year's Series 6. (Here's how the Apple Watch 7 compares to the Apple Watch 6.) But the Series 7's new features have the potential to add more convenience to a lot of everyday tasks, from checking the time to resp onding to texts and tracking your sleep. 

Apple unveiled the $399 Apple Watch Series 7 during its product launch event on Sept. 14 alongside the iPhone 13 family, a refreshed iPad Mini, and a new entry-level iPad. The new Apple Watch is a light update to the Series 6 that's ideal for people looking to replace a watch that's several years old.

Read more: Apple Watch 7 review: A slight upgrade compared to last year's smartwatch

If you're considering the Apple Watch Series 7 or already bought one, here's a breakdown of what's new and why it matters. You can also check out all the Apple Watch Series 8 rumors we've heard so far.

Apple Watch Series 7 has a QWERTY keyboard

The Apple Watch Series 7 should be easier to type on. 

Apple

The Apple Watch has a new QWERTY keyboard that takes advantage of its larger screen, which is about 20% bigger than the Series 6, allowing you to type similarly to how you would on a phone.

What's new: A full-size keyboard means that you aren't limited to sending a canned response to a text, scribbling a quick note or dictating a message, as is the case with the Apple Watch Series 6.

How you'll use it: The Apple Watch Series 7's QWERTY keyboard lets you tap each key to type, or use Apple's QuickPath feature to swipe between letters without lifting your finger. You'll still want to use your phone for messages longer than a short sentence, but it still generally makes it easier to text using the watch.

The bottom line: The Series 7's QWERTY keyboard makes it easier to send longer and more complex messages that are uncomfortable to scribble or too private to dictate. It's another example of how the Apple Watch has evolved to become better at working independently of your phone in the years since its launch. 

Third-party Apple Watch apps like FlickType already allow you to type on your Apple Watch, but having it as a native option on the watch results in a smoother experience. It also means watch owners won't have to rely on third parties for this potentially vital tool, which is important considering some keyboard apps have been accused of participating in App Store rating scams.

Read more: Apple Watch 7 upgrade: How to trade in your old watch to get the best deals

Larger screen on the Apple Watch Series 7 amps up reading

The Apple Watch Series 7's larger screen can fit more text.

Apple/Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET

The Series 7 is Apple's first major redesign since the Series 4 launched in 2018. The new watch comes in 41-millimeter and 45mm sizes for the first time, representing a shift away from the 40mm and 44mm sizes that were available on the Series 4 through Series 6. 

What's new: The Apple Watch Series 7's screen is about 20% larger than the Series 6's and more than 50% bigger than the Series 3's. The borders that frame the screen are also 40% smaller than those of the Series 6, allowing Apple to expand the screen size without making the device much larger. But don't worry, older watch bands are still compatible with the Series 7. 

How you'll use it: The Series 7's larger screen makes it better at its most important job: showing information that's easy to see at a glance so that you don't have to grab your phone. The larger screen means the Series 7 is capable of displaying 50% more text without having to scroll, making reading text messages, emails and notifications more convenient. 

There's more: Apple also updated the user interface in its apps to make better use of that larger screen. Apps like the stopwatch, activity and timer now have larger buttons, meaning it's easier to hit snooze even when you're still half asleep. You also get specific watch faces that are optimized for the Series 7's bigger display, such as a new version of the Modular face that can fit complications with more information. I've been using this new watch face to see my activity progress, the time and weather forecast at a glance.

And don't forget, WatchOS 8 introduces the ability to set Portrait mode photos as your watch face, and the Series 7's larger screen is better able to show them off.

Read more: Apple Watch Series 7 vs. Series 6: The biggest changes coming in Apple's new smartwatch

A brighter screen in always-on mode

Apple/Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET

Apple also updated the Apple Watch's display in a different way by making the screen more visible in always-on mode. It's another addition that makes it even faster to get quick bits of information from your watch. 

What's new: The Apple Watch Series 7's screen is up to 70% brighter in always-on mode when your wrist is down, according to Apple. However, Apple specifically says this applies to indoor usage.

How you'll use it: The Series 7's improved brightness means it is even easier to see information like the time, your activity rings and your next meeting without having to wake the watch's screen. It feels like a step toward making the Apple Watch's screen appear the same whether it's asleep or in use, and doing so creates a more seamless look that doesn't feel jarring when switching between awake and idle mode. 

To use this feature, you'll want to make sure the always-on display setting is turned on in the Apple Watch's settings menu. On your Apple Watch's app screen, press the settings icon, scroll down to Display & Brightness and tap Always On. From there, make sure the switch next to Always On is toggled on. 

What about battery life? You could also choose to keep this feature turned off if you want to maximize battery life, and Apple hasn't said whether the brighter always-on screen will affect the watch's power consumption. I've been wearing the Apple Watch Series 7 daily with the always-on display setting turned on, and it typically lasts for about a day and a half. But battery life will always vary depending on your usage, and activities like using GPS connectivity while running will cause it to drain faster. 

Read more: Best Apple Watch accessories

Apple Watch Series 7 charges faster than Series 6 

The Apple Watch Series 7 should charge 33% faster than the Series 6.

Apple/Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET

The Apple Watch Series 7's battery lasts as long as the Series 6, but the amount of time it takes to charge your watch has dipped. 

What's new: The Apple Watch Series 7 can charge up to 33% faster than the Apple Watch Series 6, according to Apple. It takes 45 minutes to charge from zero to 80%, and 8 minutes of charging should enable 8 hours of sleep tracking. In CNET's testing of the new Apple Watch, reviewers found this to be true. Charging the Watch for at least 30 minutes made the battery jump from zero to 54%. In comparison, the Series 6 only replenished 37% in the same amount of time. 

How you'll use it: We've been asking for more battery life out of the Apple Watch for years, but that's especially relevant now that Apple has added native sleep tracking to its smartwatches. Rather than extending the watch's battery life, Apple makes it easier to quickly charge the watch during short windows throughout the day, presumably so that you don't have to charge it overnight. The idea is that you'll be able to top off the watch's battery whenever you have a few spare minutes.

The bottom line: The Apple Watch Series 7's faster charging speed is another way in which Apple is trying to make its smartwatch a more capable sleep tracker. In addition to making the Series 7 easier to charge in a pinch, Apple also added the ability to measure respiratory rate during sleep with its WatchOS 8 update. Taken together, these improvements could help Apple catch up to Fitbit, which offers multiday battery life on its watches and more in-depth sleep metrics. 

Read more: Best Apple Watch bands for 2021

The Apple Watch Series 7 has a brawnier build

The Apple Watch Series 7 comes with tougher crystal and is dust resistant. 

Apple/Screenshot by Sarah Tew/CNET

Exercise tracking has become one of Apple's biggest areas of focus for the Apple Watch. The Series 7 is more suitable for outdoor activity since Apple claims it has a more durable build. 

What's new: The Apple Watch Series 7 is rated for IP6X dust resistance (a first) and is coated in a crystal cover that Apple says is 50% thicker than that of the Apple Watch Series 6. That means you'll feel at ease wearing it to the beach or during a hike. 

How you'll use it: The Series 7's increased durability pairs nicely with the new cycling features in WatchOS 8. The new software brings an updated version of fall detection that Apple says can tell the difference between falling off a bicycle and a different type of accident. Apple also says WatchOS 8 can automatically detect outdoor cycling workouts. (See Lexy Savvides' test of the new Apple Watch cycling features here.)

The bottom line: We put Apple Watch Series 7's durability to the test. Those who want a truly rugged watch have military-grade options from Garmin and Casio to choose from, or could opt for a rugged Apple Watch case. But these updates suggest Apple is trying to push the Apple Watch beyond basic workouts and appeal to those who might need a more durable watch for activities like rock climbing. That's the premise behind the rumored Explorer Edition, which Bloomberg reports will come with greater impact resistance and could launch in 2022.

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What the Future of Health Looks Like for Apple

What the Future of Health Looks Like for Apple

Apple's Health app keeps evolving, with aspirations to be a complete combination personal data archive, medical liaison and insight engine. But the goals, while ambitious, aren't fully realized yet. iOS 16 and WatchOS 9 are adding medication management and multistage sleep tracking to a growing list of features. But what comes next, and will it start to become a tool that interfaces with doctors even more than it has?

Apple just published a multipage health report (PDF), which aims to detail where the company sees its health focus heading on the iPhone and the Apple Watch. The report covers the app, research studies and initiatives with medical organizations.

As Google prepares to release a Pixel Watch that will connect to Fitbit's features and services, Apple looks to be strengthening its position by expanding beyond the watch to a larger spectrum of health services. Already, Apple Health and Fitness Plus are evolving into services you don't need an Apple Watch to use.

When will Health start to become an extension of how I connect with my own doctors? Will sleep tracking offer a doorway to other health insights? And why doesn't Apple have its own equivalent of the "readiness score" used by Fitbit and Oura?

Apple's vice president of health, Dr. Sumbul Desai, spoke with CNET about the goals of Apple Health and where goals are being set next. She sees the blend of lifestyle with clinical data, medication data and an increasing number of metrics in one place as helping future insights in other health measurements over time. 

"You have to do it in a really thoughtful and meaningful way," Desai said. "Because there are also correlations you can make that are incorrect. That's where the work is, making sure that when you make those connections that they are correct, grounded in the science and make sense to the user."

Medication tracking on iOS 16 looks like another step to bring medical histories onto Health.

Apple

Where does Apple Health meet your doctor?

As I've found over the last few months, over several surgeries and doctor visits, my own medical care doesn't often connect with my wearable and phone apps. Apple's been aiming to make strides to connect Apple Health with medical providers, but the framework isn't fully there yet for digital health platforms. A lot of Apple's promised benefits are in identifying long-term data patterns and insights.

"I do think how they interact with each other is really important," said Desai, who points to the new tracking of atrial fibrillation patterns over time in Watch OS 9. "We are actually taking how much time you're in AFib and correlating it to your lifestyle. How much you're sleeping. How much you're moving, you'll see the changes in AFib. If you're using Mindful Minutes, do you see a change."

Apple has tried making data sharing easier with doctors, but right now it still doesn't go far enough. At the medical group where I'm a patient, for instance, there's no obvious way to share the data I'm collecting in Apple Health through the patient portal.

Sleep tracking is gaining sleep stages in WatchOS 9. Will that bring a wave of other health insights down the road?

Apple

Sleep as the next frontier?

Apple's addition of sleep stage-based sleep tracking in the upcoming Watch OS 9 looks to close the gap on other fitness trackers like those from Fitbit, Samsung and Oura. Apple's been pulling new features for the Apple Watch from work in some of the company's ongoing heart research studies, and sleep could end up being a place that evolves next.

"What I'm really excited to learn from a scientific standpoint is, does the amount of sleep that you're getting in certain stages, like core [replenishing sleep], does that actually translate to benefit during the day when you're moving?" Desai said. "Are there certain phenotypes of certain people who have more benefit versus others? There's so much to tackle from a research standpoint there. We would never put anything out until we knew we kind of had some scientific grounding. The whole causation-correlation thing can get very tricky."

Desai suggested future research combining sleep stage data with Apple's ongoing heart and move data from its ongoing study will possibly provide more insights, "but we're still a ways away from that."

Could Apple ever develop its own readiness score?

One thing Apple's evolving and elaborate set of Health insights currently doesn't have is any sort of attempt at a distilled score, or personal health rating. Fitbit, Oura, and a number of other wearables have daily personal scores derived from a variety of individual metrics. I asked Desai whether Apple might pursue a similar idea anytime soon. While it sounds like a direction Apple Health could head in, it also seems like Apple is still trying to lock down the best path to get there.

"It's a really good question. I think the answer is, to be honest, is we don't have a firm POV yet," Desai said. "We want to understand the science behind that, and what can we understand and glean from a scientific standpoint."

Desai suggests that the health measurements, and their meanings, can vary. "HRV [heart rate variability] is a great metric. I'm super fascinated by HRV. But HRV can be changed based on multiple reasons." She suggested that Apple's eventual evolution of its insights will need to come with clear guidance, too.

"I think for us, we want to be able to provide actionable information. So to understand to do that, you actually have to be able to draw it back to, what we think is actually causing that? We are really trying to understand the science behind all of these different metrics and focus on how we provide insights that we know we can back up."

On whether Apple Health could come to other non-Apple devices

Apple's aiming for Health to be a comprehensive, secure system for anyone to use, but it still flows through Apple hardware, which means a portion of the population will always be left out. I asked Desai whether Apple Health might ever be available beyond iPhones.

"We're always looking at ways to support the ecosystem. We just want to make sure we can support that in a private and secure way. That's fundamentally what drives our decision making," Desai said. "We have a ton of things in the App Store ecosystem that are super interesting that people are doing, and we're very supportive of supporting that work.

"Honestly, we make a lot of decisions driven by privacy. And there's a lot of things we choose not to do and choose to do, based upon that."

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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Apple Watch: It's been 5 years since my original review, and it holds up

Apple Watch: It's been 5 years since my original review, and it holds up

I'd love to say that when I first put on the Apple Watch, I'd never seen anything like it before. But of course, that's not true. By late 2014 I'd been surrounded by smartwatches for a few years. So when Apple announced it was making its own watch, my thought (as so often with Apple) was: finally.

The first smartwatch I reviewed at CNET was the Martian Passport, an analog watch that could make phone calls. It sounds so primitive now, but it was cool in early 2013. The Pebble Watch followed, and the Steel version became my favorite: It was like a Casio watch turned into a useful little pager-assistant. It was simple and had long battery life, and it was great.

There were others, too: Samsung's first smartwatches were ambitious (a camera?). Google's first Android Wear watches arrived in 2014. Meanwhile, there were Fitbits and Jawbone trackers galore.

I say this to lay the groundwork for the Apple Watch and what its impact was. Like the iPhone wasn't the first smartphone, the Apple Watch wasn't the first smartwatch... but it made the biggest footprint. It was another step validating that a world of wearables was here to stay. 

I was able to wear the Apple Watch a month before it went on sale. I spent a ton of time with it, getting used to both how it handled phone calls, and the activity tracking rings. I looked at my heart rate measurements. I accidentally ordered an Xbox One with an early Amazon app.

The Watch was, much like the first iPhone, sometimes feature-limited. But it also had some features that already stood out.

My original review was updated a year later, which you can read here. Some parts have changed, clearly, and Apple has updated the OS. But I'll comment on what I wrote then, and how I felt, and how that's evolved. Quotes from the original review are in italics.

The gold Apple Watch, way back when.

James Martin/CNET

An excellent design, with luxury overtones

Apple wants you to think of the Apple Watch as fine jewelry. Maybe that's a stretch, but in terms of craftsmanship, there isn't a more elegantly made piece of wearable tech. Look at the Apple Watch from a distance, and it might appear unremarkable in its rectangular simplicity compared with bolder, circular Android Wear watches. It's clearly a revamped sort of iPod Nano. But get closer, and you can see the seamless, excellent construction.

The first Apple Watch came in aluminum, steel and ramped all the way up to a gold model costing more than $10,000. Compared to other smartwatches, it screamed luxury.

Certain touches felt luxurious, too: the fine-feeling Digital Crown, which spun ever so smoothly like a real watch part, for instance. The OLED display, which was a first for an Apple product, looked crisp and bright.

The most amazing part, maybe, were the watch bands. Apple created a really nice series of specially designed straps, from a steel link to a clever magnetic Milanese mesh that were extremely expensive and impressively engineered. 

Its watch face designs were great, too, and they integrated some information from the iPhone that aimed to add at-a-glance ease of use. There was a Mickey Mouse watch face that danced! The Solar face showing sunrise and sunset, and the astronomy face that showed planetary alignments and moon phases, felt like magic. I wanted more, but Apple's assortment of watch faces was limited, and it didn't allow for third-party watch face design. That's still the case now.

A lot of the Apple Watch reminded me of the strides Apple began with the iPod Nano, which also had watch mode... and a Mickey Mouse watch face.

Sarah Tew

New technologies at first: fantastic haptics, a force-sensitive display

All Apple Watches have a new S1 processor made by Apple, that "taptic" haptic engine and a force-sensitive and very bright OLED display, which is differently sized on the 38mm and 42mm models. The watch has its own accelerometer, gyrometer and heart-rate monitor, but no onboard GPS. It uses Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz Wi-Fi to connect to your phone or your home network. There's a built-in speaker and microphone, but no headphone jack.

As I wore the watch on the first day, I felt a rippling buzz and a metallic ping: one of my credit card payments showed up as a message. Apple's "Taptic Engine" and a built-in speaker convey both a range of advanced taps and vibrations, plus sounds. Unlike the buzz in a phone or most wearables, these haptics feel sharper: a single tap, or a ripple of them, or thumps.

Sometimes the feelings are too subtle: I don't know if I felt them or imagined them. My wrists might be numbed from too many smart devices. I set my alerts to "prominent" and got sharper nudges on my wrist.

The first watch introduced some ideas that eventually made their way to other iPhones. A "taptic engine" delivered on some amazingly refined vibration effects, ranging from a purr to a ping to a gentle tap. These were way ahead of what anybody else was doing -- and they weren't just a gimmick. The notification types associated with unique vibrations felt distinct. Sometimes, the vibrating taps on the first Watch weren't as powerful as I wanted. But with later updates, the haptics made parts of the interface seem real: virtual wheels, clicking as if moving with invisible gears.

The more advanced haptics made their way to the iPhone next, making us used to them now. Other phones, game consoles like the Nintendo Switch, and VR accessories, have evolved haptics since, but the Apple Watch was the first mainstream device that upped the haptics game.

Force Touch was another wild idea: Apple made its watch display force-sensitive, meaning a deeper press could work like pushing a button. Though this idea was refined further into 3D Touch on the iPhone 6S, 3D Touch was a technology that never became as necessary as expected, and current iPhone models have dropped the pressure-sensitive display tech completely.

The Apple Watch still has Force Touch, though, and I think it always will.

Digital Touch: I never used it much after that.

Sarah Tew

Lots of features. Too many features?

As you can see, this is a lot of stuff. Did I have fun using the watch? Yes, mostly, but there are so many features that I felt a little lost at times. There are so many ways to interact: swiping, touching, pressing harder into the display, a button and a clickable digital crown-wheel. Plus, there's Siri. Do I swipe, or click, or force touch or speak? Sometimes I didn't know where an app menu was. Or, I'd find getting back to an app I just had open would require an annoying series of crown clicks, swiping through apps, then opening the app again.

There's a reason I used the word "complicated" to describe my feelings using that first Apple Watch. Setting up bits of information, called complications, was slow and not always intuitive. Apps took a while to load, and were sometimes so slow that it was easier to check my phone instead. Quick glances and notifications, and phone calls, were fine. Apple Pay on the watch was clever, but would I use it? I wished the watch had more battery life.

I didn't like the overcomplicated feel. The design of the OS, and the card-like swappable mini-view apps that used to be on the Watch like a dock, changed over time. It's gotten better since.

Storing music on the watch, while it took a while to sync, was easier than attempts on Samsung Gear or Android Wear. Of course, I had to hunt for a good pair of Bluetooth headphones to connect with the watch.

Today I still forget to dive into and make the most of the apps on the watch. I just dusted off Walkie Talkie: it's cool. There's noise monitoring. One app lets me remote control my iPhone camera, which has been a huge help for my stay-at-home self-shot videos. The Remote app helps me when I lose the Apple TV remote every other day. 

Third-party apps, and the grid of options? It turns out I don't use them much at all. I don't dig down deep into the layers of functions. I prefer what's on the surface: watch faces, and their readouts. But I've come to appreciate the watch's surprising number of options and settings. It's better than not having them at all.

The rings were the beginning.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Fitness: The ring idea was just the beginning

The Apple Watch doesn't work any fitness miracles that the rest of the wearable world hasn't already invented, and it doesn't ship with any new magical sensors that change the game. But the Apple-made integrated fitness apps, Activity and Workout, are far and away the best fitness apps on any existing smartwatch that isn't a dedicated "fitness watch" (Samsung Gear, Android Wear, Pebble and the like). A clever three-ring method of tracking daily activity, which simultaneously measures and rewards daily calorie burn, active exercise and standing up, feels like a fusion of rewards and metrics seen on the Nike FuelBand, Jawbone Up, Fitbit and others. 

I appreciated Apple's complete-the-ring motivational activity tracker, which felt inspired by wearables like the Nike FuelBand (not surprising, since Apple's head of fitness, Jay Blahnik, arrived from Nike). For the red ring's daily goals, it's great. It felt too easy to complete the blue Stand ring, and it still does.

There are tons of fitness advancements Apple has made on the Watch in the last five years: GPS, resting heart rate, workout controls, social sharing, third-party app integration, swimming, modes for accessibility, activity trends -- and I haven't even discussed Apple's massive health aspirations like adding ECG, checking for falls, monitoring elevated or irregular heart rate or women's health tracking. There is some form of coaching and motivation, too. But I'd still love to see more of that. I hit a wall when trying to be fit, and there's only so much watches seem to help.

The first Apple Watch was more of a Fitbit. Now, it's more of a health companion. Those two worlds still feel like they need to dovetail and grow. There are missing features, too, like sleep tracking, which feels like the inevitable next step.

You still need an iPhone, just like in 2015.

Sarah Tew

It was, and still is, an iPhone accessory

Much like most other smartwatches, the Apple Watch isn't a standalone device -- it's a phone accessory. Android Wear, Samsung Gear, Pebble and others work the same way. But here, you must own an iPhone 5 or later to use the Watch. A few Apple Watch functions work away from the phone, but the watch primarily works alongside the phone as an extension, a second screen and basically another part of your iOS experience. It's a symbiote.

One thing I noted back then was that you needed an iPhone to use the Apple Watch. Unlike other wearables that can pair with Android or iOS, or even sync with a computer, the Apple Watch was always designed to live symbiotically with the iPhone.

That's still the case now. Even with independent cellular options, and an on-watch App Store, you can't use the Watch without pairing to an iPhone. And it still won't work with Android. It's a shame, because a fully standalone watch could be a really helpful tool for many people who don't have iPhones, and it could even be a phone alternative (for kids, maybe).

Apple's AirPods created a gadget trinity where the Watch, the iPhone and AirPods can all work seamlessly together. But that trinity is an expensive one. The entry price of the Apple Watch has dropped, at least. But it feels like an extension of the iPhone more than its own device, even now.

The Apple Watch Series 5: much better, with a few similarities.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Today: the best watch in a war of attrition

You don't need an Apple Watch. In many ways, it's a toy: an amazing little do-it-all, a clever invention, a possibly time-saving companion, a wrist-worn assistant. It's also mostly a phone accessory for now. In the months and years to come, that may change: with Apple's assortment of iPads, Macs, Apple TV and who knows what else to come, the watch could end up being a remote and accessory to many things. Maybe it'll be the key to unlock a world of smart appliances, cars and connected places. In that type of world, a smartwatch could end up feeling utterly essential.

I think back to what the Apple Watch was competing against back then: Jawbone, Pebble, Fitbit, Google's Android Wear, Samsung's watches, the Microsoft Band. A lot of competitors are gone now. Fitbit was acquired by Google. Samsung still has watches. Garmin makes lots of dedicated fitness watches. There are still plenty of more affordable relative newcomers, too.

The original Apple Watch, with the Pebble Steel, Moto 360 and the original iPod Nano with wristband (clockwise from top left).

Sarah Tew

In a field of fewer alternatives, the Apple Watch's consistent addition of new features and ongoing performance improvements has made it the best option. It's Apple's commitment to gradual improvements that has made it a stand-out watch now, especially compared to the struggles of Google's Wear OS.

The Apple Watch is still an iPhone accessory. And it's still not an essential product. But it's become a really fluid and useful device, one with lots of key upgrades that work, and one that's a lot easier to use.

What's the best smartwatch now? The Apple Watch. That doesn't mean I don't want to see improvements: battery life, sleep tracking, a watch face store and most importantly, Android support and true standalone function. If the last five years are any indication, Apple will tackle these problems on its own... time.

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