Why an Apple Smartwatch that Only Works with iPhone Might Face Legal Scrutiny

In the competitive world of technology and consumer electronics, product exclusivity and compatibility have become hot topics, often leading to debates around consumer rights and fair competition. Apple's ecosystem is known for its seamless integration and interoperability, but the exclusivity of certain products like the Apple Watch, which only works with iPhones, has raised eyebrows and potentially legal concerns. Let's delve into why this exclusivity might be seen as problematic from a legal standpoint.

The Issue of Anti-Competitive Practices

Why Does iOS 14 & Health App Drain Battery?

Draining your battery life with iOS 14? You're not the only owner of an iPhone with that problem.

Apple iPhone owners have complained about their battery life being dramatically shortened after updating their smartphone to the latest operating system, known as iOS 14, which launched on September 16, 2020, worldwide.

First off, installing a new OS on an iPhone triggers a lot of stuff to go on in the background, from indexing to recalibrating the battery, and this can go on for hours or even days. Not only does this consume power, but the battery recalibration can give the impression that the battery is draining more rapidly.  Add to this the dual-factor that accompanies a new release and several software updates, coupled with a ton and new functionality available that can bring further drain on an older smartphone.

My advice stays the same -- turn off the Health App don't worry about your iPhone's battery for a week or so after installing a new iOS. It takes time for things to normalize. If you go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and the message is that it is good for Peak Performance Capability, then it's either just the normal stuff going on or a bug.

I suspect that having the health app do contact tracing running the background doesn't help also.  Read more about what does the iOS health app contact tracing do? Contact tracing is part of the process of supporting patients and warning contacts of exposure in order to stop chains of transmission. It works by logging when two people have been in close proximity to each other for a substantial period of time. If one of the users is later diagnosed as having the disease, an alert can be sent to others they have recently been close to, telling them that they should also get tested and/or self-isolate.  This likely requires a lot of processing power in the background of your phone. 

Note that rolling back to iOS 13 doesn't help here because that too would be a new operating system, and would need to go through that initial setup period before things settled down.

Not only could there be bugs in iOS 14 that affect battery life, but developers have been given almost no time to release apps that are ready for iOS 14, so problems are to be expected.

So yes, I know it's annoying, but just charge your iPhone more, and keep a power bank or wireless charging pad nearby and see if things settle down after a few days.

For Apple Watch owners

I would recommend unpairing and re-pairing your watch to your phone. It will save all your faces, apps, and settings in the process and it solved the battery drain issue for me. I had to charge my watch multiple times a day after updating to watchOS 7. Then I repaired it and now I get the same or better battery life than I had before the iOS 14 and watchOS 7 updates.

Please add any additional comments or suggestions below . . . 

iOS 14 Wifi and Battery issues Continue After Bug Fix Update

On September 16, Apple launched iOS 14 for all compatible iPhones and also rolled out the iOS 14.0.1 update after just one week. Some problems that came along with the iOS 14 update were resolved by this update. But it seems the latest update has some glitches in it as well.

To fix bugs that were reported in the iOS 14 update, Apple released iOS 14.0.1. The bugs addressed in this update were: 

• Fixes a problem that could trigger your iPhone to reset the default browser and mail settings after restarting 
• Addresses a problem that could prevent displays of camera previews on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus 
• Fixes a problem that might impede the connection of your iPhone to Wi-Fi networks 
• Solve a problem that could prohibit some mail providers from sending an email 
• Addresses a problem that might prevent the appearance of photos in the News widget

To fix the above-mentioned problems, Apple has rolled out this new update, but after downloading it, the bugs still continue to pop up. There were some unfixed issues and the update came along with some new issues.

These include problems with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and widespread problems with widgets. Keyboard lag, device instability, and weak battery life are the latest bugs identified following the update. 

This is the beginning of a big update, and in the upcoming updates, there will be some bugs that will be repaired. Apple is looking forward to the 14.0.2 update to iOS that will address these problems.

Resetting network settings -- go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings -- helps some people experiencing connectivity issues, but for others does nothing other than creating the hassle of having to add back devices and networks.

Performance aside, here’s the list of devices that are supported.

Supported iPhone models

• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone X
• iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 6S
• iPhone 6S Plus
• iPhone SE (1st and 2nd generation)

Supported iPad models

• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (1st and 2nd generation)
• iPad Pro 10.5-inch
• iPad Pro 9.7-inch
• iPad (5th, 6th, and 7th generation)
• iPad mini (4th and 5th generation)
• iPad Air (2nd and 3rd generation)

Apple Watch Will Soon Measure Blood Oxygen Levels

Apple has announced the Apple Watch Series 6, the latest in its line of popular smartwatches. The Series 6 model maintains the same overall design introduced with the Apple Watch Series 4 and continued with the Series 5, but it adds a variety of new sensors to allow for things like blood oxygen monitoring and better sleep tracking.

Apple says the Series 6 can measure blood oxygen levels in about 15 seconds, using both red and infrared light. The company says it’s partnering with health networks to start large-scale studies using the new blood oxygen measurement feature, including testing to see if it can detect if a person is infected with COVID-19.

The Series 6 also comes with the new S6 processor, which promises up to 20 percent faster performance. It’s based on Apple’s in-house A13 chip and brings the first major update to the Apple Watch’s performance since the Series 4, given that last year’s Series 5 model used the same S4 CPU (rebranded as the S5 with other additions like a compass and a new display controller). Apple says it provides this improved performance while maintaining the 18 hours of battery life of the prior model. The Series 6 can recharge faster, though, going from zero to full in about 1.5 hours.