Apple Watch Hack Adds a Browser For Your Wrist 93
TechCrunch reports that the Apple Watch now evidently has an tantalizing, but unofficial, feature: a browser, created by the jailbreak developer known as Comex. "Not great" is their headline-level assessment of what it looks like to use, which can't be too surprising: even a large watch face is still a small screen, by comparison to a laptop, a tablet, or even a phone. Venture Beat's assessment is similar: "As you’d expect, it’s an awkward mess." Making hardware do things it wasn't intended to is still a worthy pursuit, though, and TechCrunch notes: Out of the box, running arbitrary code like this shouldn’t be possible — while a native SDK is inbound, only stuff built with Apple’s somewhat limited WatchKit framework is supposed to run on the device for now. Is this a subtle demonstration of the world’s first jailbroken Apple Watch?
Re: (Score:2)
Every Apple phone up to this point has been jailbroken and allowed to run third party stuff.
There are no tethered or untethered jailbreak options for the current OS 8.3.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
there will likely never be a jailbreak of 8.3. 8.4 is coming out in a month or so, and 9 will be coming out in the fall, so 8.3 will likely remain unbeatable. it looks like apple plugged existing holes that enabled past jailbreaks, so the hacker community is starting from scratch. and the cat and mouse game continues...
8.2 was jailbreaked by a Chinese hacker group. why would anybody want to install software on their phone from a Chinese hacker group? makes no sense.
Re: (Score:2)
I'd like an RSS reader for my Pebble, I can only imagine it being better on an Apple Watch.
Re: (Score:3)
Indeed, I still don't understand why anyone would want an Apple Watch.
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed, I still don't understand why anyone would want an Apple Watch.
Me either, but if people want them, there they are. And if its a mouth foaming issue against Apple, there will be plenty of Android watches.
Hell, I cant figure why anyone would even want a regular wristwatch.
Re: (Score:2)
I cant figure why anyone would even want a regular wristwatch.
Going out on a limb here, it might be to do with telling the time.
Re: (Score:2)
I cant figure why anyone would even want a regular wristwatch.
Going out on a limb here, it might be to do with telling the time.
True, but I already am surrounded by devices that tell me what time it is. The car radio display, the office, my iphone, my desktop, my laptop, my tablets, a clock in most of the rooms of my house.
One more device, and one that gets stinky if it's got a leather band, or pinches off the hair on my wrist, Or just sweaty if plastic, has about 0 added value.
Now of course watches are often used as a status symbol. but I think I'll pass on that.
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly - "smart watches" aren't particularly for telling time, they are a small display that's visible at a glance for notifications and other information you want easily. For example, my Pebble tells me about my next meeting, including drive time, which is great to be able to easily watch so that I stay on schedule. And it's an activity tracker (running Up software) so I don't need to wear a separate activity tracker band. And it tells me who's calling so that I can decide whether to accept or reject a ca
Sums the watch up... (Score:2)
"As you’d expect, it’s an awkward mess."
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
I figure they mean on any watch sized screen...not just the Apple Watch.
BIF (Score:2)
It's funny because they acknowledge that a really cool and fundamental feature
If you see a browser on a watch, they have failed.
Re: (Score:2)
It's funny because they acknowledge that a really cool and fundamental feature
If you see a browser on a watch, they have failed.
I see a browser on the Apple Watch.
Not by Apple, so somebody else failed.
But that aside: It's funny how people always point out there were smartphones before the iPhone which were just fine for web browsing - but they had a lower resolution screen than the Apple Watch, which you can't use for browsing. Errhmmmh.
Re: (Score:2)
It's funny how people always point out there were smartphones before the iPhone which were just fine for web browsing - but they had a lower resolution screen than the Apple Watch, which you can't use for browsing. Errhmmmh.
Obviously because screen resolution isn't the beginning and the end for usability.
Re: (Score:2)
It's funny how people always point out there were smartphones before the iPhone which were just fine for web browsing - but they had a lower resolution screen than the Apple Watch, which you can't use for browsing. Errhmmmh.
Obviously because screen resolution isn't the beginning and the end for usability.
You are right - that's why the first "big" Android phones actually had a lower resolution and still were so much better to use. Or something.
Re: (Score:2)
You are right - that's why the first "big" Android phones actually had a lower resolution and still were so much better to use. Or something.
Not sure why you think I'm implying that, I put it pretty simply that the notion that screen resolution is the only thing that matters for usability is pretty stupid. Just you because you have a high resolution screen doesn't mean it's automatically going to be fine for web browsing.
Re:Sums the watch up... (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been wearing one for a week, and I've really been enjoying it. Some points:
* I was really surprised at how battery life wasn't a problem at all. The first week I was reaching the end of day with 50% charge left. Definitely requires overnight charging, but other than that no battery problems. I even took the battery indicator off the homescreen cuz it wasnt an issue.
* I'm of two minds on the notifications. Good in theory. But the "wrist tap" is a little subtle for me and I often miss it. also, I wish the notification was available for longer on the screen.
* the killer killer app for me, the thing that once I tried it once became indespensible, is seeing my next appointment on my watch face. holy cow it just blows me away how handy this it. it requires a bit of work to keep your calendar up to date and consise (the entry names should be less than 16 characters), but once that's in place it's super handy.
* I like the ability to change watch faces, but it's not a big deal. I have a workday info-packed face, a weekend relaxed face and an evening chill face. no big deal, but it's nice.
* the thing is really small and light. I can easily wear it all day and not notice.
* the apps are mostly a pain in the ass. jury is out on that one.
* an exception is the watch's remote app, which among other things can control my apple tv. it's surprisingly handy! good thing, too, because I lost my apple remote about a week ago and don't know where it went!
so there you go, first impressions on apple watch.
Re: (Score:1)
* I was really surprised at how battery life wasn't a problem at all. The first week I was reaching the end of day with 50% charge left. Definitely requires overnight charging, but other than that no battery problems. I even took the battery indicator off the homescreen cuz it wasnt an issue.
I should clarify, what I mean is that you can't wear it overnight and, in terms of fitness tracking, sleep is a very important aspect. Also I found friday night when I went out after work it was dead by the time I got home, which was about 19 or 20 hours after I got up.
it requires a bit of work to keep your calendar up to date and consise (the entry names should be less than 16 characters)
I forgot to mention that's one of the other issues I had, I get lots of meeting requests that aren't sent by me which means to make this useful I would have to not just accept them but go in and edit the meeting title every time just to fit t
Re: (Score:2)
* I was really surprised at how battery life wasn't a problem at all. The first week I was reaching the end of day with 50% charge left. Definitely requires overnight charging, but other than that no battery problems. I even took the battery indicator off the homescreen cuz it wasnt an issue.
I should clarify, what I mean is that you can't wear it overnight and, in terms of fitness tracking, sleep is a very important aspect. Also I found friday night when I went out after work it was dead by the time I got home, which was about 19 or 20 hours after I got up.
Of course you can, you just charge it during your drive to/from work - or is that also part of your fitness regime? Heck, charge it while at work, have it sit right in front of you (and put it on when you leave your desk, of course).
Re: (Score:3)
Someone needs to come up with a name like the all familiar "Glasshole" but for apple watch users.
"Twat" works for me.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Interesting review, but the comment you were replying to "As you’d expect, it’s an awkward mess" was not about the Apple Watch, it was about doing a naive port of a *web browser to the Apple Watch where the *browser* was, as you would expect, useless, though an interesting tech demo.
Yeah, but I've got the killer app (Score:5, Funny)
I'm building an iPhone app that tells you (on your iPhone screen) what time it is on your Apple Watch.
It's a way to use your phone, so that you don't have to glance at your watch.
It's going to be awesome. Next I'm going to make a way to show you the iPhone alerts on your Apple Watch, on your iPhone.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm building an iPhone app that tells you (on your iPhone screen) what time it is on your Apple Watch.
It's a way to use your phone, so that you don't have to glance at your watch.
It's going to be awesome. Next I'm going to make a way to show you the iPhone alerts on your Apple Watch, on your iPhone.
I'm seeing a lot of potential here! Maybe one day we won't have to wear a watch at all to tell the time and see notifications...
Re: (Score:2)
I used to browse the web on a Palm Treo with almost the same number of pixels as the Apple Watch has. Tapping on links would suck but it wouldnt be a big deal to spin crown on it to cycle through the clickable areas of the screen. Tie it into the bookmarks on the phone and, while not the most robust thing in the world, you could at least get some light reading in.
I remember people asking about why anybody would use an internet browser on their phone when they could just use their laptop.
Re: (Score:1)
Zoom in on one section of the page, then pan around the page as the user moves their wrist around (using the gyro to detect motion). It'd be like viewing the webpage through a tiny magnifying glass!
Because all pixel sizes are equal (Score:2)
I used to browse the web on a Palm Treo with almost the same number of pixels as the Apple Watch has.
I didn't have the Treo but I seem to remember the screen being a lot larger, and it also had a keyboard too...
Re: (Score:2)
You're right about the KB, and it had a stylus as well. However, the Treo had to make compromises to display web pages due to the low resolution of the display. The same would have to happen here, and frankly you can always bring the watch closer to your face. Keep in mind Apple's Reader mode for its browser, it'd work well on the watch.
Re: (Score:2)
and frankly you can always bring the watch closer to your face.
You have an unpleasant surprise in store for you as you age. Minimum close focus gets further back, to where you really cannot just bring the tiny screen closer...
Go into an Apple Store, reading the web on that display is just not practical.
Re: (Score:2)
I read plenty of stuff off my Pebble.
Re: (Score:2)
Reading is one thing, browsing quite another...
Also worth considering - the Pebble display is 30x50mm on the old Pebble, just 20.1x23.44mm on the Time.
The Apple Watch 38mm has a 21.2x26.5mm display, the 42mm version has 2.3x30.8mm...
So the old Pebble is substantially larger than any of the new models, and somewhat easier to read as a result.
I have a Pebble Time on order, it will be interesting to compare... but I just can't see browsing on any of them at all useful beyond something like an RSS feed worth of
Re: (Score:2)
You have an unpleasant surprise in store for you as you age. Minimum close focus gets further back, to where you really cannot just bring the tiny screen closer...
This is a solved problem. Google "reading glasses" or "spectacles to correct long sightedness".
Re: (Score:2)
Back then you also had a different mobile web design standard.
It tried to stay with strict html/2 features. And was quite limited.
What would be like if you used that device today.
When I first started to use the web, I was at 800*600 at 8 bit display. I used Mosaic or Lynx. I used a slip connection to dial in at 14.4k.
And I had access to the primitive web. Most of it were links to FTP sites.
Today it is a very different web, so saying my old tech worked great 10 years ago doesn't mean it will work well today.
Re: (Score:2)
I remember people asking about why anybody would use an internet browser on their phone when they could just use their laptop.
I have an iphone, but it really isn't all that for browsing, same with Android. I suspect I'm an outlier, because I like big. I've got 2-27 inch screens at home, and will be two 30s next chance I get.
I do often use my phone to tether to my laptop.
Maybe it's presbyopia, I dunno. I do note that some smartphones are getting to the size where people look a little silly holding a tablet to their head. Like something PeeWee Herman would use.
Re: (Score:2)
I remember people asking about why anybody would use an internet browser on their phone when they could just use their laptop.
Most people didn't except in the case where they didn't have their laptop with them because it was a crappy user experience, then the iPhone came along and made the experience good. The Apple Watch needs you to have your phone with you for connectivity so I don't think many people are going to prefer browsing on a watch which is a poor experience where you have to scroll through clickable areas and can't type URLs when they can just use their iPhone.
Re: (Score:2)
I think reality is going to, again, surprise us.
Re: (Score:2)
I think reality is going to, again, surprise us.
I like the optimism but an intuitive smartphone browser solved an actual problem, an Apple Watch browser (even if it's intuitive) still doesn't solve any problem, provide any advantage or improve on any workflow. Scrolling through the clickable areas is how WAP browsing worked on my dumbphone and that is just awful.
Re: (Score:2)
I remember people asking about why anybody would use an internet browser on their phone when they could just use their laptop.
That was back when phones had a two inch screen, and it was an entirely legitimate point.
Internet browsers on a medium to large screened smartphone are usable enough, but they're still frustrating compared to a laptop (or tablet).
Re: (Score:2)
That was back when phones had a two inch screen, and it was an entirely legitimate point.
It was back when PocketPC's were at the peak, and no it wasn't a legitimate point. This was happening at the same time cameras with cell phones were being poo-poo'd because apparently everybody on this site has a good deal more pocket space than the average person.
Personally I don't know whether to attribute this to typical Slashdot contrarianism or if the expense was high enough people were going to have to wait and that was how they kept their envy under control. Probably a mixture of both.
Re: (Score:2)
Whereas today the browsing experience on an tablet/smartphone is pretty much on par with what you get on a desktop/laptop.
Right. Stop and think for a minute about why that happened.
No it was because those cameras were of such poor quality as to be almost useless
No it wasn't. The fact even the earliest shittiest cell phone camera was better than not having a camera at all. The logic was that everybody'd start carrying their camera with them at all times. That was flawed logic on day one.
You are trying really hard to evangelize this, so what is the advantage that will attract users
That is a disingenuous assumption of my motives. If I'm evangelizing anything it's objectivity. History has already told you that your assumptions can easily be wrong, this case is no different. Tech gets better, soft
Re: (Score:2)
As we have seen information becoming more rich in content and the bandwidth of mobile devices increasing we have seen screen sizes increase to accommodate that richness, not a reduction in the information to fit smaller screens.
This is plainly untrue. Not only do we have the "Reader" mode that digests the information but we've lived in the RSS age for quite a while now. We haven't even started discussing the running of apps designed for the watch. We're well beyond WAP, as you've mentioned later in your post, and it's in a perfect place to create a browsing experience for something like the Apple Watch. Even Samsung has added a wheel to their lineup for the same purpose.
The Apple Watch requires you to carry your iPhone for internet access! Which means in this case you do have the better experience with you right in your pocket!
I bolded the operative part of your statement. To answer
Re: (Score:2)
Really? That's it? The idea that the inferior watch-based experience requires both your arms makes it already a flawed and unpalatable idea, it's more difficult and, if you're carrying something, less convenient.
Heh. You're the first person I've talked to that complained about smart watches using both hands. Kudos to that. Anyway, this is exactly the benefit the watches bring and a growing number of people like it.
In case you haven't noticed we already have plenty of watches with browsers and it is a massive "do not want" from consumers. RSS headlines? Sure. Reading articles? Nope.
No, we really don't have it, yet. We're still at the vga phone camera stage. As for the massive "do not want' from consumers, you're saying that after Apple sold over a million Apple Watches.
...but if you're going to take the time to read the article associated with the RSS feed then you're going to do the trivial task of taking your phone to do so given the advantages the phone has over the watch.
If all I have to do is scroll a little further, I won't bother getting the phone out.
So your "benefit" is that you don't have to reach into your pocket and you feel that outweighs all the negatives?
All of them? No. A lot
Re: (Score:2)
I had a Sony Ericsson J300A phone at one point. It was tiny little thing, but fast for the time. Despite the tiny display, it was fine for catching up on the news and other light browsing tasks.
Of course, back then, having a "mobile site" meant something completely different than it does today. I can see the Apple Watch being fine for mobile web use in 2005.
Lynx? (Score:4, Interesting)
Maybe someone can port a text mode browser like Lynx, Elinks or W3M or something really hardcore, a command-line browser like edbrowse (http://edbrowse.org/). Then we don't have to worry about all the panning and dragging around the small screen.
Re: (Score:2)
Or go back to BBS days with 80x24 text resolution. ;)
Re: (Score:2)
Or go back to BBS days with 80x24 text resolution. ;)
Wouldn't that be unreadably small on that tiny watch face?
Re: (Score:2)
Not as small as you would think.
Back in those days the average monitor was a 12" viewable display.
I still think 80*24 will be a bit small on a watch. But 40x24 may work.
Re: (Score:2)
Oops, you're right. 40x24. Duh.
Re: (Score:2)
You're right. I meant to type 40x24. Duh me.
Re: (Score:2)
And what are you going to type on?
You could use your phone's keyboard.
WAP (Score:5, Insightful)
The return of WAP sites.
Are any of them still around?
Re: (Score:1)
Oh yeah? (Score:1)
I hacked my browser to be an Apple Watch.
Seriously (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Probably less than 1%. But that doesn't mean it's not News for Nerds. Apple has a history of introducing whole new ways of looking at hardware: the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad. Each had predecessors, of course, but when Apple introduced one the product sector took off, not just for Apple but for its competitors. Apple has a knack for finding new ways for people to interact with devices that people find appealing. The technical respects may be weaker than other competing devices, but the aesthetics drive a lo
convergence (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
I agree. I get much better results from my handheld GPS than I do from trying to use my phone for the purpose of a GPS. I don't wear a watch. But if I did, I'd probably want it to just be a watch. A Microsoft Band or FitBit, is a lot more appealing than an iWatch if I actually waned to track that kind of stuff. With the iWatch you have to plug it in every night, so it loses the ability to track your sleep. With the other options, you only have to plug it in once every few days, so you could presumably ch
I can do that with my $65 Moto 360! (Score:1)
Obligatory Dilbert (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Real world example (Score:2)
I use the browser on my Android Wear watch regularly to show transit arrival predictions from my website, TransSee [homeip.net]. I added a setting to push the header information to be bottom to get it to be easier to read.