How to set up and use your Apple Watch!

Did you get a shiny new Apple Watch today?  HERE’S HOW TO USE IT!!

First things first: Make sure you have an iPhone 5, 5s, 5c, 6, or 6 Plus running iOS 8.2.

Secondly things secondly: Your watch should come with about 50% charge, but charge your watch if it needs it.

Power on the Watch by pressing the side button, and follow the prompts to select a language etc. Launch the Apple Watch App on your iPhone (it was automatically installed when you updated to iOS 8.2) and Tap “Start Pairing” on the main screen. Hold your watch up to your iPhone’s camera so the screen is aligned with the yellow outlined box on your iPhone’s screen, and follow the instructions on your iPhone screen.

If you open the Settings App on your shiny new watch, you’ll find the options to customize your brightness, sound, text size, silencing ability, and Do Not Disturb functions.

Your new best friend is the Digital Crown. Tap it to get back to the home screen, use it to zoom in maps/photos, press it in conjunction with the side button to take a screen shot, press and hold to activate Siri, and double click it to jump to your most recently visited app.

Your second best friend forever is the SWIPE! YES! Swipe up from the watch face to see what Apple calls ‘Glances’ which contains information such as calendar events, weather, heart rate, location, and the ability to access the option to ‘Ping’ your misplaced phone.

Swipe down to see your notifications. Swipe left on a notification to quickly clear it. Check your heartbeat by swiping up to expand Glances and swiping left to the heartbeat card.

Tapping is the cool guy you thought you knew that has a surprise twin brother that seems pretty cool. The Watch is pressure sensitive, so light tapping will have a different effect than if you ‘force touch’ – a slightly longer, firm press.

There are a number of uses for the force touch that become more apparent the more you play with the device. For instance in the maps app, you force touch to get to the search feature. Force touch the watch face to change its design, or on the notifications ‘red dot’ to clear them all, or on the Messages inbox to compose a new text.

In Glances, tap to get more information on any of the applications.

Raising your hand will activate the display and show you the time, the last notification if you’ve received one, or activate Siri if you say “Hey Siri” at the same time. Lowering your wrist after receiving a notification will dismiss it. Putting your hand over the watch face will silence an incoming phone call.

You can also use it to control Apple TV, which could be useful, and also could be super annoying to anyone else in the room (which, yes, can be excellent).

To use Apple Pay, double click the side button and hold the face of the watch near the card reader. POOF, MONEY EXCHANGED!

We’ll be bringing you more Apple Watch updates and user guides as we get to know more about the device, and in the mean time, you should also check out the Apple video guides here.

Happy Weekend Kids!

More Apple Watch guided videos

Want to learn more about the Apple Watch that you just received/will receive soon/will one day have? Or perhaps it’s Friday afternoon and you’re feeling a little procrastinatey, but you’ve already read the whole internet?

We got you, friend!

Apple has launched a further update to it’s Guided Tours section on it’s Apple Watch website. Now you can be guided through some super interesting things like Apple Pay, Activity apps

Check it out here on Apple’s website, or here on their YouTube channel. 

Apple Watch shipments processing!

Apple Watch orders have begun appearing as ‘preparing for shipment’ and purchasers credit/debit cards are being processed as of yesterday mid-afternoon PST.

This is in preparation for the official launch date of the Apple Watch on April 24th. (Cue streamers.)

Those quick-handed enough to pre-order within the first hour have an official shipment date of anywhere between Friday April 24th through May 8th, however many who were quick-handed enough to order within the first 5-10 minutes should expect shipment on Friday.

Those who waited to pre-order should expect their magical package of Apple joy in the mail in the coming weeks, and if you pre-order today, your shipment time is looking to extend into June and further.

There have been suggestions that the shipping wait time will be shorter than people think, which would definitely be a come up! 

Apple Watch orders will ship out from central distribution centers via Fedex and UPS. And, just to put this out there – there have been reports of people getting notification from UPS that a package from Apple is on it’s way ALREADY HOLY MOLY.

Did you pre-order? Has your order changed to processing shipment yet?

Our Apple Watch try-on experience!

The Apple Watch phenomenon has begun! We headed out this morning to capture some of the madness:

It wasn’t so much madness, actually. The retail store opened at 10:00AM this morning and we were one of about 40 people who entered the store- not all of whom were there to look at the Apple Watch… unless they were pretending and just sneaking looks. In fact, there seemed to be more employees than customers throughout the time we were there.

We had a try-on appointment, which was taken by a very nice, rather nervous Apple store employee who didn’t seem super trained on the functionality or pricing of the watch, which was unexpected, but alright, as he had a cheat sheet right there on an iPad next to the Apple Watch.

This particular store had the Apple Watch edition models in the glass display case, but none available to try on.

We tried on the Apple Watch Sport and the Stainless Steel Apple Watch with the Milanese loop band and the leather band.  The Apple store employee was only allowed to bring two watches out of his little drawer at the try-on table at a time.

Both watches we tried on were dead which wasn’t great, but we were able to play with the functionality on the Apple watch attached to the Try-on desk, and at another display section later on after the try-on appointment was over.

Our appointment lasted the full 15 minutes, and we were definitely not rushed, which was nice. The Apple Watch sport felt nice on the wrist, although we were particularly taken with the Milanese band. For those of you who may be confused -and we heard a few questions like this this morning – there is no difference in functionality between any of the watch models, instead the difference is in the metal that the watch face is made out of, and the ability to have different bands.

The larger 42mm was more pleasant to look at and use, although the 38mm size was fine, especially for a finer wrist.  The functionality of the Apple watch, limited as it was to being on a stand in the Apple Store and not connected to an iPhone, seemed pretty impressive. Very intuitive, the crown feature was great and easy to use, and we feel like it could become very much a part of your life once you started wearing it and using it everyday.

The watch has no internet browser, no keyboard function (to reply to messages and emails you can speak into the watch or choose a simple prepared answer such as ‘yes’ etc.) The watch does have Siri, you can look at your photos, scroll through emails and messages,log your exercise, check your calendar, and maps seems to work great.

The extra options in messages such as sending your friends a drawing, a tap or tap sequence or your heartbeat were all really pretty rad, but it remains to be seen how gimicky it might seem after a while, and how much it would be used.

Here are the Apple Watch Sport models in the display case –

And some of the stainless steel Apple Watches-

Amongst the customers in-store this morning, there definitely seemed to be the idea that the Apple Watch Stainless Steel models and the Apple Watch edition models were pretty overpriced, which we would agree with.

It is a pretty fun toy, and it will probably become super prevalent and successful, but getting in this early on the super expensive models (especially with the expensive bands, which will likely have cheaper copies made by other companies soon enough) might not be recommended.

It also relies very heavily on it’s link to the iPhone (although it does have limited use without it). One of iPhone Antidote’s friends really wants an Apple Watch, but she doesn’t carry a phone with her half the time. Conundrum. Who can say First world problem?

All that being said: the Stainless Steel 42mm with the Milanese band? Ummm… Our birthday is on July 1st. Just saying. Oh, and hot tip? Don’t lose your grip on the Apple Watch if and when you go to a try-on appointment. We did a pretty comical 30 second slow motion juggling act with the Stainless Steel model and the Apple guy was kinda losing his sh*t. Hilarious, but not recommended.

Have you checked out the Apple Watches today? Get a try-on appointment? Was it similar to ours? Did you drop it and run? Let us know!

Last minute things you need to know about the Apple Watch

With less than 6 hours to go until pre-orders for the Apple Watch begin, and shortly before you can try one on for yourself, here’s the last minute things you should know.

If you haven’t already, head on over to Apple’s website and check out both the available video guides and the detailed info on all models, bands and sizes to make sure you’re aware of what you’ll be dealing with whether you’re pre-ordering or planning to fight the crowds and try one on in-store.

Here’s the deal straight from the sauce on how you can experience the Apple Watch yourself before you buy:

“Customers interested in learning more about Apple Watch can visit their local Apple Store for a personalized session with a Specialist to try on, fit and size their band, and explore the amazing features of Apple Watch. Customers who want to try on an Apple Watch are encouraged to make an appointment by going to www.apple.com.”

So: encouraged. Which means you probably should if you don’t want to fight the crowds, but it doesn’t sound like it’s particularly necessary. If you’re Apple store is quiet on a certain day and a certain time, you should probably waltz on in and try one of those bad boys on!

If you’re interested in trying on an Apple Watch Edition, you’ll need to go to one of the select few stores that will carry the fancy pants watch. These are:

United States —

New York City: Fifth Avenue, SoHo, Upper West Side

Boston: Boylston Street

Chicago: North Michigan Avenue, Lincoln Park

Philadelphia: Walnut Street

Washington DC: Georgetown

Atlanta: Lenox Square

Miami: Lincoln Road

Virginia: Tyson’s Corner Center

Newark, Delaware: Christiana Mall

Bay Area: San Francisco, Stanford

Los Angeles: The Grove, Third St. (Santa Monica), South Coast (Costa Mesa)

Las Vegas: Fashion Show

Houston: Highland Village

Dallas: Northpark Center

Seattle: Bellevue Square

Canada —

Toronto: Eaton Centre

Montreal: Sainte-Catherine

More may appear over the course of the next few weeks, so keep an eye out. To check Apple Watch Edition availability in your local area, navigate to Apple’s Find Locations website, click on Sales, use your current GPS-based location or enter another one, select Watch Edition from the list of all products, and click on the Go button. A map will then display nearby Apple Store locations that will be carrying the Edition.

There is expected to be a rather large amount of interest in the Apple Watch (D’uh), creating a quite lopsided supply-demand scenario that although might make some unhappy short term, will serve Apple’s interests in the end. You want what Jim next door was somehow able to get – that kind of thing.

From Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail and Online Stores:

“We are excited to welcome customers tomorrow and introduce them to Apple Watch, our most personal device yet. Based on the tremendous interest from people visiting our stores, as well as the number of customers who have gone to the Apple Online Store to mark their favorite Apple Watch ahead of availability, we expect that strong customer demand will exceed our supply at launch,”

Remember: the launch of pre-orders is at 12:01 AM Pacific Standard Time. In  less than 6 hours. You can try to use both the online Apple Store, and the Apple Store App to secure your pre-order. The Apple website will be going down at 9PM PST to prepare for the launch.

Retail stores are undergoing an overnight remodel to prepare for the Apple Watch phenomenon.

In Australia, Apple Stores have been open since 4PM PST (9AM local time) and people have been let into the stores to view the Apple Watch glass display units. Check it out on Instagram and the live streaming app Periscope. Australians get to have all the fun! Just because they’re in the future fancy pants Australians with their cool deadly animals and awesome accents…

We’ll let you know if and when there is any more news about the Apple Watch!

Applecare for Apple Watch?

Super thrilled about buying an Apple Watch? Not so thrilled about the likelihood of you breaking said Apple Watch? Then you might want to look at getting AppleCare+.

According to sauces who are in the know (probably),  Applecare+ for the Apple Watch will be different for each model. If these sources are correct,  you’ll be looking at the below pricing:

Apple Watch Sport – $59

Stainless Steel Apple Watch – $79

Apple Watch Edition – $999 (Watch out for that jump there, it’s quite a leap.)

Pricing for Applecare+ Apple Watch bands isn’t clear yet. If you decide against Applecare+, your precious Watch will still be covered by a limited one-year warranty for hardware repairs and 90 days of complimentary support. If you’re a fancy Apple Watch Edition owner, you’ll get a two-year warranty and complimentary support.

With the purchase of AppleCare+, the warranty for aluminum Apple Watch Sport and stainless steel Apple Watch models will be extended to two years from the date of purchase, plus accidental damage will be covered. Apple Watch Edition coverage will be extended to three years with AppleCare+.

If it is similar to how Applecare+ works for the iPhone, you’re still looking at paying a service fee for the repair of any accidental damage, and not all damage is covered. You’ll be able to buy Applecare+ online and in store, but make sure you know exactly what you’re getting before you purchase it. If it’s similar to the iPhone Applecare+, you’ll have 60 days after purchasing the Apple Watch to purchase Applecare+.

And if you do break your shiny Apple Watch, and you don’t have Applecare+, make sure to check back with us, as we’ll be beginning to purchase Apple Watches in the near future!
Apple Watch buyers will be able to purchase AppleCare+ as an add-on both online and in-store. With the iPhone, AppleCare+ can be purchased up to 60 days after an initial iPhone purchase, and it’s likely Apple will adopt a similar policy with the Apple Watch.

8 Hours until Pre-order starts!

Here’s exactly when you can pre-order an Apple Watch

We’ve known for a while now that pre-orders for the Apple Watch will begin on April 10th, and now we know when on April 10th. As usual with their penchant for dramatics, Apple have made it so that those wishing to be first in line to pre-order their most personal product yet will need to be ready with their finger over their curser at 12:01 AM Pacific Time on Friday the 10th.

For those of us who are easily confused, that’s just after Midnight on Thursday the 9th. 

Sorry East coasters, this means you’re looking at a very late night/early morning, with pre-orders starting for you guys at 3:01 AM. Ouch.

The pre-orders will be going live at the same time in all of the first wave countries, meaning you have quite a lot of competition for those first Apple Watches, with U.K customers being wide eyed and well awake at their pre-order time of 8:01 AM local time, and Australians being able to pre-order at 5:01 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time.

The Apple online store will be going down at 9 PM on Thursday to prepare for the onslaught, and remember- you can also use the Apple Store App, which might  help you bypass some of the expected congestion where everyone who wants an Apple Watch is fighting you for one.

If you are able to pre-order a shiny Apple Watch, then you can look forward to getting it delivered or picking it up beginning April 24th.

If you’re not sure about this whole Apple Watch thing, you should make a try-on appointment at your local Apple Store to look at your options to see if you really want to drop a minimum of $349 on one of these bad boys. There hasn’t been any clarification yet as to when you can make your try-on appointment, but we’re going to guess that it will be either at the same time as pre-orders start (12:01AM PST) or at the beginning of business on Friday, 8:00 AM or 9:00 AM.

We’ll keep you up to date on everything we know when we know it!

Check out these Apple Watch guided tours!

Less than 3 days until the Apple watch is… kind of… released upon us!  If you’re wondering if this most personal of Apple devices is for you, you should probably check out the new video tours that Apple have just put out. 

Right now you can sit and watch pretty pictures about the Apple Watch itself, messages, faces and the digital touch function, and there are more videos forthcoming regarding Siri, phone calls, maps and a bunch of other applications. These should be released over the next 3 days.

Just because we like you, here are the first two videos! To watch the others as they get released, head on over to Apple’s guided tour page. 

The Apple watch will begin pre-orders at 12:01 AM PST on April 10th, with the actual release and start of deliveries beginning on the 24th of April. In-store try-on appointments will also begin April 10th.

How do you buy an Apple Watch?

April 10th is SUPER close!

For those playing at home, April 10th is when you can start seeing for yourself what all the fuss is about the Apple Watch, try one on, and if you like it and have some spare cash sitting around, pre-order it!

You’ll need to make a try-one appointment at a retail store, which you can do through Apple.com or the Apple store App beginning April 10th. Most try-on appointments will be maximum 15 minutes, with the exception of the Apple Watch Edition appointments which will need to be made at select stores and will last up to 30 minutes.

When you get your appointment, get thee to the Apple Store! There, you can decide exactly what kind of watch you’ll want (Apple Watch Sport, Stainless Steel Apple Watch, Apple Watch Edition), which of the 2 size options,  and with what kind of band.

So here’s the dealio: Apple will not be letting customers mix and match multiple watches with multiple bands, or re-size links on bands at their try-on appointments. Bummer hummer, but kind of makes sense, as that seems chaotic even just to type. So, they’ll instead have 18 specific Apple Watch combinations on display at the try-on tables, and 10 specific combinations at the in-store display cases.

If you see what you like, you can pre-order it on the 10th and during the next couple of weeks, but the Apple Watch won’t be launching until April 24th. That is also the date when the first deliveries of the pre-orders will occur.

Now, when it comes to the 24th, you apparently won’t be able to just pop on in to your closest Apple store and buy one, as they won’t be selling them to walk-in customers. 

You’ll actually need to make an ‘Online Reservation’ to hold a specific model at a retail store. If you walk in to a retail store wanting to buy a watch after the 24th, you’ll be invited to try one on, and then an employee will walk you through how to order it online or through the Apple Store App. This also makes sense as there is apparently going to be low inventory of the Apple Watches both in real life and kept at the store, at least initially. Supply and demand people!

If you are interested in buying an Apple Watch, you should check out the Apple website to try and get an idea of what kind of Apple Watch you might be after before your (very short) try on appointment.

Need some cash for that shiny Apple Watch? Read this!

Just look at those beauties. Shiny, functional, brand spanking new Apple Watches. Available for pre-order April 10th, with earliest delivery and purchase coming at you April 24th. SO SOON!

If you’re not looking at getting an extra large tax return this year, and you’ve decided that an Apple Watch is what you very very want yes please with a cherry on top, then you be might in need for some extra cashola to help you out with the minimum $349 clams you’re going to have to hand over.

Maybe you have a significant other who’s decided that that’s what they very very want. And if you really love them, then an Apple Watch they shall have!

Got an old, broken or water damaged iPhone lying around?  Get some cash for that stink-bomb!  We will give you up to $400 for that thing! (more for a new phone, d’uh)

It’s super simple. Go to www.iphoneantidote.com and enter in the details of your phone. You’ll receive a quote of the amount of cash we’ll pay you, then you can choose whether you want to be paid via check, Paypal or Bitcoin (because we’re fancy like that).

You can use any box you might have lying around and we’ll mail you a pre-paid postage label, or we’ll mail you a pre-paid mailer box and all you need to do is slip your old stinky phone in it and mail it away to us and wait for your cash!

BAM! Shiny Happy Apple Watch wearing person!