Apple Watch and new MacBook announcement: all the news from Apple’s ‘Spring Forward’ event – The Verge

Apple’s new ResearchKit: ‘Ethics quagmire’ or medical research aid?

2015-03-10T15:44:53-04:00

Apple's ResearchKit sounds promising, in theory: the software platform is designed to let medical researchers create iPhone apps for their studies that will help them recruit participants - without said participants ever setting foot in the lab. Since recruiting patients is one of the most difficult steps in any study, this could be a significant boon to medical research.

The research apps are easy to download, and the Apple audience is very large; both are advantages for recruitment. But those things can also be ethical liabilities: both Apple and ResearchKit researchers will have to make extra efforts to ensure that participants are eligibl …

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Where are all the Apple Watch games?

2015-03-10T08:39:51-04:00

At its "Spring Forward" event, Apple showed off how some of the most popular apps will look on its upcoming smartwatch. But there was one category that was conspicuously absent: games. Despite being the most popular (and top-grossing) category in the App Store, not a single game was shown during the event. We already know that there are games in the works for the Apple Watch, but when the device launches next month, don't expect it to be packed full of your favorite iPhone time-wasters.

No fancy graphics or complicated controls

The culprit is the Apple Watch's dependency on your smartphone. On its own, it can't do much: instead, it sends inf …

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Here’s what happened to the guts of Apple’s thinnest computer in less than 5 years

2015-03-09T21:14:41-04:00

Much can be said about the things Apple's left out of its latest 12-inch MacBook with Retina Display. You don't get a MagSafe power plug, or any of the old ports from previous models (except for a place to plug in your headphones). And the front-facing camera is a step down in quality from what you get on the MacBook Air. On the flipside, the entire computer is two pounds, has a Retina Display, and promises a very reasonable 9 hours of battery life.

All in all, it's come a long way from the big generational change with Apple's previous thinnest and lightest computer, the MacBook Air. Its 2010 redesign brought over a bunch of miniaturization …

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Apple’s glowing laptop lid is no more

2015-03-09T20:07:53-04:00

While unveiling its new 12-inch MacBook with Retina Display today, Apple noted that you see its notebooks just about everywhere. And one of the things that makes it unmistakable is that glowing logo, something that's been a staple since the PowerBook days. Your screen's backlight shoots through the back, illuminating the logo, and killing two birds with one stone: you're already using that power, and Apple gets to advertise to anyone who spots your machine.

There's still free advertising

But just like getting rid of all your major (and most basic) ports and reverting to a lower quality front-facing camera, Apple's newly-redesigned MacBook br …

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Watch the Apple Watch and MacBook event in 11 minutes

2015-03-09T19:04:03-04:00

Apple's Spring Forward event was quite eventful (repetition intended). Apple TV got a big price drop and an even bigger exclusive partnership with HBO for its standalone streaming service. The Apple Watch was priced for every single tier, somewhere in the range of $349 to $17,000. And then there's that ultra-thin, minimal-ported MacBook that'll be available in gold. Catch up on all the highlights in this supercut.

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Looking for a $10,000 luxury watch? Don’t buy the Apple Watch Edition

2015-03-09T17:59:53-04:00

To help place the Apple Watch within the context of other luxury watches, we invited Benjamin Clymer, founder and executive editor of luxury watch site HODINKEE, to paint a picture of the market for us. Sure, you could spend $10,000 for an Apple Watch Edition, but you could also buy a classic Omega Speedmaster for roughly the same price - and the Speedmaster won't ever need a software update.

At today's Apple Watch announcement we learned just what it can do and how much it will cost. Comparisons between "smart" watches (about which I write maybe one-and-one-fourth days of the year) and traditional mechanical watches (about which I write so …

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Here’s how Apple’s new MacBook stacks up against the PC competition

2015-03-09T17:06:06-04:00

Apple's just reinvented the MacBook with a new design that's remarkably light, thin, and short on ports. It's shipping next month for a starting price of $1,299. The MacBook Air isn't going anywhere; it's just been refreshed with updated internals. And consumers who need maximum speed and graphics performance will want to step up to the MacBook Pro with Retina display. (The old non-Retina MacBook Pro is also still hanging around, so Apple's laptop line is growing pretty long with today's announcement.) But right now, all eyes are on the new MacBook, the new keyboard, the new "Force Touch" trackpad, the new USB-C port, and that Retina display …

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‘Gold On My MacBook’ is the perfect rap song for today’s Apple news

2015-03-09T16:53:25-04:00

There are prophets in this world. Some know it and profit from it. Some simply pretend to be one and profit from the gullibility of others. Others just haven't realized their potential (yet).

Take Trinidad James, for instance, and his song "Gold on my MacBook," from the late 2012 mixtape Don't Be S.A.F.E. To be fair, gold and MacBooks are two signs of success, so the concatenation of them in a song meant to promote financial well-being isn't all that surprising. Also, it's worth noting that at no point in the song does he ever say "Gold" or "MacBook." But if there was ever a perfect song title to celebrate today's gold MacBook announcement…

…

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The new MacBook may be the future, not the present

2015-03-09T16:45:34-04:00

The MacBook Air is, in my judgment, the best personal computer ever made. The first time I saw its current design, introduced in 2010, it felt like someone had taken a thin slab of aluminum and magically made it do computer things. Everything about the Air defies expectations: from its unmatched keyboard and touchpad to its excellent battery life and performance. Today, Apple set itself the task of outshining its greatest Mac creation with an all-new MacBook that takes the Air philosophy to its logical extreme.

Read next: 12-inch MacBook review.

The new MacBook is thinner and lighter than the 11-inch Air, but it has a bigger, higher-resolu …

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10 things you can buy instead of a $10,000 Apple Watch

2015-03-09T16:43:10-04:00

The Apple Watch Edition is certainly a fine-looking smartwatch, but with a starting price of $10,000, it's worth looking at what else that amount of money can buy to put in perspective how much it costs. Let's remember: this is a watch that will likely be out of date within a matter of years, quickly depreciate in value, and is available in equally capable and similarly stylish models for just $1,000 - even less if you're willing to deal with those plebeian sport bands! If you're considering the purchase, let us help you put the $10,000 (or more) watch in context by looking at other things that cost around $10,000.

A top-of-the-line Mac Pro: Make a video editor cry."> 20 iPad Air 2s: Give them to your family, friends, and coworkers!"> 28 Apple Watch Sports: Mount them to your walls and become a recluse obsessed with time. They're accurate to 50 milliseconds."> One year of food for a family of four: Or, one golden watch! (Image: Dmitry Kalinovsky / Shutterstock; source: USDA)'> Rolex Datejust, 36mm, steel and yellow gold: Lasts about a lifetime longer than the Apple Watch Edition."> Nissan Versa: A valuable tool for grocery shopping, sightseeing, and finding a job."> 200 Swatch watches: Don't forget to replace their batteries. (Fortunately, they'll run for two to three years each.)"> Two vacations for a family of four: Your kids will be so happy. (Image: Goodluz / Shutterstock; source: American Express)'> Fine art: Patronize the arts! This work, "Untitled, 05/2011" by Renato Orara, even depicts a fine-looking timepiece. It should last for decades, if not longer. Ballpoint ink on paper, 2011. (Source: Artsy)'> One year's rent: That watch sounds good too! (Source: YCharts / US Census Bureau)">

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