Technologies

Apple Wants to Make the Apple Watch Your ‘Key to the World’

Apple’s vice president of technology, Kevin Lynch, speaks with CNET about WatchOS 10 and the company’s approach to new Apple Watch features.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the tech giant’s greatest contribution to mankind will be about health when he spoke with CNBC in 2019. The Apple Watch, with its ability to measure all sorts of bodily markers, may be the biggest contributor to that mission yet. But Apple also has another important purpose in mind for its nearly decade-old smartwatch: acting as your «key to the world.»

That’s according to Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of technology, who recently sat down for a virtual interview with CNET. This direction isn’t new; Apple has been gradually extending the Apple Watch’s functionality over the years, enabling it to work as a digital key for your car and home. In fact, that goal was part of the Apple Watch from the beginning through the original model’s support for Apple Pay.

But this theme feels more prevalent than ever in WatchOS 10, the upcoming software update launching in the fall and arriving in public beta next month. The new software introduces updated widgets to help the watch surface information as needed, perhaps a testament to just how much we’re doing on these tiny wrist-worn devices today. The goal is to provide a lot of data at a glance while maintaining the watch face aesthetic, Lynch said.

«This has been a journey for us over a number of years as we really found the best path and the richest way to balance these things,» Lynch said.

watch10-mainedit-site-v3-00-01-55-10-still003

Watch this: WatchOS 10: Biggest Apple Watch Features Coming This Year

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WatchOS 10 widgets could make the Apple Watch easier to use

The Apple Watch has gained many new features and functionality since its 2015 debut, especially when it comes to health. But the general interface has largely remained the same.

That’s about to change in WatchOS 10 with the introduction of widgets, or informational cards that are accessible from the watch face with a twist of the digital crown. You’ll be able to add widgets for viewing the weather forecast, reminders and news headlines among other tidbits, similar to the iPhone. This should mean significantly less tapping and swiping would be required to set a timer or view your next meeting.

The order of these cards will contextually change depending on factors like the time of day similar to the iPhone’s widgets, which Apple calls the «smart stack.» The idea is to show the right data as you need it throughout the day. For example, the weather might appear first in the morning, while a medication reminder may surface at night.

apple watch on person's wrist — The timer widget in WatchOS 10.

Apple/Screenshot by James Martin/CNET

It might sound like a small update, yet it’s one that could make the Apple Watch better at serving up relevant information with minimal effort. When the first Apple Watch arrived eight years ago, some reviewers criticized the device’s software as being too complicated and complex.

Those concerns have seemingly faded away as the Apple Watch became more prevalent. According to Counterpoint Research, Apple accounted for 26% of the global smartwatch market as of the first quarter of 2023, more than any other company. But the arrival of these new widgets, along with other updates like redesigned apps and a shortcut that launches the Control Center menu with the side button, show that there’s still work to be done when it comes to making the Apple Watch more intuitive.

Apple’s intention to have your Apple Watch unlock the world around you has been evident for a while; it announced the ability for the watch to double as a key to your office, home or hotel in 2021, for example. That raises the question of why Apple waited until 2023 to update the interface in a way that makes relevant information more easily accessible.

Apple Pay was available even on the first Apple Watch.

Lynch said it comes down to a combination of user feedback and hardware improvements that enable the machine learning that’s necessary to power the smart stack. The company also didn’t want to change the Apple Watch’s user interface too often or in a way that would feel jarring.

«It was informed by all of our experiences that we’ve had over time, of course, about how people interact with the watch,» he said.

Apple’s approach to new features is about hardware and software

Many of the Apple Watch’s major changes come down to how the software and hardware work together. That’s especially true for the Apple Watch’s health tracking functionality, which also gets an upgrade in WatchOS 10. There are new metrics for cyclists and additional features like topographic maps in Apple Maps for hikers, a mood-logging tool and the ability to detect time spent in daylight.

In some ways, Apple takes a different approach than its competitors when it comes to how health data from the watch’s sensors is used and presented throughout the interface. Rivals like Oura and Google’s Fitbit, for example, crunch certain readings to generate a «readiness score,» which communicates whether your body is ready for a tough workout or in need of a rest day.

oura-readiness-1 — The Oura app’s daily Readiness score, a combination of multiple measurements.

Scott Stein/CNET

The Apple Watch lacks an equivalent feature in WatchOS 10, and that’s intentional. When asked about whether Apple envisions recovery-related insights like a readiness score for the Apple Watch, Lynch pointed to the company’s approach for developing new features. He said Apple’s strategy focuses on solving broad problems that impact a wide range of people, adding that the company is «optimistic» about getting new health insights from the watch’s existing sensors.

«We actually look at a combination of what we can sense and what are the top health challenges that people have in the world,» he said. «And what’s the intersection of what we can sense, and what are those issues?»

That doesn’t mean Apple will never offer a readiness score-like feature, said Deirdre Caldbeck, director of Apple Watch product marketing, who also spoke with CNET. It’s just that the company focuses its resources on features that it thinks will be universally impactful and offer actionable insights.

«In our discussions and our debates and our decision making, we do try to keep those things in mind because of course Apple Watch is so broadly applicable to so many people,» Caldbeck said.

It’s not just about the insight Apple can provide, but also how that data is presented. Lynch described the Apple Watch as a «supportive partner» that applauds your achievements but doesn’t shame you for missing your stand reminder. Oura takes a similar approach; the company previously told CNET it tries to communicate «truth» and «positivity» in its notifications. Even the nudge you feel on your wrist and the ping you hear when receiving a notification on your Apple Watch was meticulously planned.

«We designed those by actually ringing the material of the Apple Watch case with a little hammer,» Lynch said. «And we recorded the ‘ding’ noise it made so it sounds like the watch itself is being rung.»

A screenshot of the daylight detection feature coming in WatchOS 10.

Apple

But one example of how Apple is leveraging the watch’s sensors in a new way in WatchOS 10 is in the new daylight detection feature. It uses the Apple Watch’s ambient light sensor, along with input from other sensors to determine whether a person is outdoors, Lynch said. Apple is positioning this as a way to help younger users potentially prevent myopia, or nearsightedness, since the Myopia Institute says time spent outdoors can reduce the development of the condition in children.

Apple had been researching eye health and realized the Apple Watch’s ambient light sensor to help figure out whether someone is outside, Lynch said.

«We start with storytelling,» Lynch said. «We start with, ‘Here’s a problem in the world, and let’s tell each other a story around maybe how the world could be different.’ That leads us then to designing and engineering and all that stuff.»

The Apple Watch’s competition and what’s next

As the Apple Watch has evolved and gained new sensors, it’s become increasingly focused on health. But it’s also a big part of Apple’s effort to free us from screens, an objective that the company reiterated when introducing its Vision Pro headset earlier this month.

Apple seems to be succeeding at that goal so far, considering the company’s wearables business is now the size of a Fortune 150 company. Yet the competition is growing; Google entered the smartwatch space with its Pixel Watch last year, and Google and Samsung joined forces in 2021 to redesign the software that powers Android smartwatches. Samsung’s next smartwatches are expected to debut next month, complete with new software that makes sleep statistics and other health insights more prominent.

Apple calls WatchOS 10 a «milestone» for the Apple Watch. That may be telling of the smartwatch’s role in our lives at a time when we’re surrounded by an increasing number of screens and sensors. American households owned an average of 16 connected devices as of 2022, according to research firm Parks Associates.

Perhaps now more than ever, there’s a need for gadgets like the Apple Watch to help us navigate and manage those devices. WatchOS 10, with its contextual widgets, redesigned apps and ability to swap contact data with iPhones through a new feature called NameDrop, seems like an attempt to do just that.

Lynch couldn’t say what’s next when asked about other ways the Apple Watch could become a so-called key to the world around you.

But the clue could be sitting in our pockets.

«What do you use a wallet for today, and do you still have things in your wallet?» he asked. «So that would be another area to think about in terms of maybe over time, how we can reduce the amount of stuff you have to carry around with you.»

Technologies

The Future’s Here: Testing Out Gemini’s Live Camera Mode

Gemini Live’s new camera mode feels like the future when it works. I put it through a stress test with my offbeat collectibles.

«I just spotted your scissors on the table, right next to the green package of pistachios. Do you see them?»

Gemini Live’s chatty new camera feature was right. My scissors were exactly where it said they were, and all I did was pass my camera in front of them at some point during a 15-minute live session of me giving the AI chatbot a tour of my apartment. Google’s been rolling out the new camera mode to all Android phones using the Gemini app for free after a two-week exclusive to Pixel 9 (including the new Pixel 9A) and Galaxy S5 smartphones. So, what exactly is this camera mode and how does it work?

When you start a live session with Gemini, you now how have the option to enable a live camera view, where you can talk to the chatbot and ask it about anything the camera sees. Not only can it identify objects, but you can also ask questions about them — and it works pretty well for the most part. In addition, you can share your screen with Gemini so it can identify things you surface on your phone’s display.

When the new camera feature popped up on my phone, I didn’t hesitate to try it out. In one of my longer tests, I turned it on and started walking through my apartment, asking Gemini what it saw. It identified some fruit, ChapStick and a few other everyday items with no problem. I was wowed when it found my scissors.

That’s because I hadn’t mentioned the scissors at all. Gemini had silently identified them somewhere along the way and then recalled the location with precision. It felt so much like the future, I had to do further testing.

My experiment with Gemini Live’s camera feature was following the lead of the demo that Google did last summer when it first showed off these live video AI capabilities. Gemini reminded the person giving the demo where they’d left their glasses, and it seemed too good to be true. But as I discovered, it was very true indeed.

Gemini Live will recognize a whole lot more than household odds and ends. Google says it’ll help you navigate a crowded train station or figure out the filling of a pastry. It can give you deeper information about artwork, like where an object originated and whether it was a limited edition piece.

It’s more than just a souped-up Google Lens. You talk with it, and it talks to you. I didn’t need to speak to Gemini in any particular way — it was as casual as any conversation. Way better than talking with the old Google Assistant that the company is quickly phasing out.

Google also released a new YouTube video for the April 2025 Pixel Drop showcasing the feature, and there’s now a dedicated page on the Google Store for it.

To get started, you can go live with Gemini, enable the camera and start talking. That’s it.

Gemini Live follows on from Google’s Project Astra, first revealed last year as possibly the company’s biggest «we’re in the future» feature, an experimental next step for generative AI capabilities, beyond your simply typing or even speaking prompts into a chatbot like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. It comes as AI companies continue to dramatically increase the skills of AI tools, from video generation to raw processing power. Similar to Gemini Live, there’s Apple’s Visual Intelligence, which the iPhone maker released in a beta form late last year.

My big takeaway is that a feature like Gemini Live has the potential to change how we interact with the world around us, melding our digital and physical worlds together just by holding your camera in front of almost anything.

I put Gemini Live to a real test

The first time I tried it, Gemini was shockingly accurate when I placed a very specific gaming collectible of a stuffed rabbit in my camera’s view. The second time, I showed it to a friend in an art gallery. It identified the tortoise on a cross (don’t ask me) and immediately identified and translated the kanji right next to the tortoise, giving both of us chills and leaving us more than a little creeped out. In a good way, I think.

I got to thinking about how I could stress-test the feature. I tried to screen-record it in action, but it consistently fell apart at that task. And what if I went off the beaten path with it? I’m a huge fan of the horror genre — movies, TV shows, video games — and have countless collectibles, trinkets and what have you. How well would it do with more obscure stuff — like my horror-themed collectibles?

First, let me say that Gemini can be both absolutely incredible and ridiculously frustrating in the same round of questions. I had roughly 11 objects that I was asking Gemini to identify, and it would sometimes get worse the longer the live session ran, so I had to limit sessions to only one or two objects. My guess is that Gemini attempted to use contextual information from previously identified objects to guess new objects put in front of it, which sort of makes sense, but ultimately, neither I nor it benefited from this.

Sometimes, Gemini was just on point, easily landing the correct answers with no fuss or confusion, but this tended to happen with more recent or popular objects. For example, I was surprised when it immediately guessed one of my test objects was not only from Destiny 2, but was a limited edition from a seasonal event from last year.

At other times, Gemini would be way off the mark, and I would need to give it more hints to get into the ballpark of the right answer. And sometimes, it seemed as though Gemini was taking context from my previous live sessions to come up with answers, identifying multiple objects as coming from Silent Hill when they were not. I have a display case dedicated to the game series, so I could see why it would want to dip into that territory quickly.

Gemini can get full-on bugged out at times. On more than one occasion, Gemini misidentified one of the items as a made-up character from the unreleased Silent Hill: f game, clearly merging pieces of different titles into something that never was. The other consistent bug I experienced was when Gemini would produce an incorrect answer, and I would correct it and hint closer at the answer — or straight up give it the answer, only to have it repeat the incorrect answer as if it was a new guess. When that happened, I would close the session and start a new one, which wasn’t always helpful.

One trick I found was that some conversations did better than others. If I scrolled through my Gemini conversation list, tapped an old chat that had gotten a specific item correct, and then went live again from that chat, it would be able to identify the items without issue. While that’s not necessarily surprising, it was interesting to see that some conversations worked better than others, even if you used the same language.

Google didn’t respond to my requests for more information on how Gemini Live works.

I wanted Gemini to successfully answer my sometimes highly specific questions, so I provided plenty of hints to get there. The nudges were often helpful, but not always. Below are a series of objects I tried to get Gemini to identify and provide information about.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 26, #1407

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,407 for April 26. Hint: Fans of a certain musical group will rock out with this puzzle.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle isn’t too tough. The letters are fairly common, and fans of a certain rock band might get a kick out of the answer. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There is one vowel in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: Start letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with the letter C.

Wordle hint No. 4: Rock out

Today’s Wordle answer is the name of a legendary English rock band.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a violent confrontation.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is CLASH.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, April 25, No. 1406 was KNOWN.

Recent Wordle answers

April 21, No. 1402: SPATE

April 22, No. 1403: ARTSY

April 23, No. 1404: OZONE.

April 24, No. 1405: GENIE

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Don’t be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don’t contain Z, J and Q.

Some solid starter words to try:

ADIEU

TRAIN

STARE

NOISE

Technologies

T-Mobile Adds New Top 5G Plans, T-Satellite and New 5-Year Price Locks

The new top unlimited plans, Experience More and Experience Beyond, shave some costs and add data and satellite options.

Just two years after expanding its lineup of cellular plans, T-Mobile this week announced two new plans that replace its Go5G Plus and Go5G Next offerings, refreshed its prepaid Metro line and wrapped them all in a promised five-year pricing guarantee.

To convert more subscribers, the carrier is also offering up to $800 to help customers pay off phone balances when switching from another carrier.

In a briefing with CNET, Jon Friar, president of T-Mobile’s consumer group, explained why the company is revamping and simplifying its array of mobile plans. «The pain point that’s out there over the last couple of years is rising costs all around consumers,» Friar said. «For us to be able to bring more value and even lower prices on [plans like] Experience More versus our former Go5G Plus is a huge win for consumers.»

The new plans went into effect April 23.

With these changes, CNET is already hard at work updating our picks for Best T-Mobile Plans, so check back soon for our recommendations.

More Experiences to define the T-Mobile experience

The top of the new T-Mobile postpaid lineup is two new plans: Experience More and Experience Beyond.

Experience More is the next generation of the Go5G Plus plan, which has unlimited 5G and 4G LTE access and unlimited Premium Data (download speeds up to 418Mbps and upload speeds up to 31Mbps). High-speed hotspot data is bumped up to 60GB from 50GB per month. The monthly price is now $5 lower per line than Go5G Plus.

The Experience More plan also gets free T-Satellite with Starlink service (the new name for T-Mobile’s satellite feature that uses Starlink’s constellation of satellites) through the end of 2025. Although T-Satellite is still officially in beta until July, customers can continue to get free access to the beta starting now. At the start of the new year, the service will cost $10 per month, a $5 drop from T-Mobile’s originally announced pricing. T-Satellite will be open to customers of other carriers for the same pricing beginning in July.

The new top-tier plan, Experience Beyond, also comes in $5 per line cheaper than its predecessor, Go5G Next. It has 250GB of high-speed hotspot data per month, up from 50GB, and more data when you’re traveling outside the US: 30GB in Canada and Mexico (versus 15GB) and 15GB in 215 countries (up from 5GB). T-Satellite service is included in the Experience Beyond plan.

However, one small change to the Experience plans affects that pricing: Taxes and fees, previously included in the Go5G Plus and Go5G Next prices, are now broken out separately. T-Mobile recently announced that one such fee, the Regulatory Programs and Telco Recovery Fee, would increase up to 50 cents per month.

According to T-Mobile, the Experience Beyond rates and features will be «rolling out soon» for customers currently on the Go5G Next plan.

The Essentials plan is staying in the lineup at the same cost of $60 per month for a single line, the same 50GB of Premium Data and unlimited 5G and 4G LTE data. High-speed hotspot data is an optional $10 add-on, as is T-Satellite access, for $15 (both per month).

Also still in the mix is the Essentials Saver plan, an affordable option that has ranked high in CNET’s Best Cellphone Plans recommendations.

Corresponding T-Mobile plans, such as those for military, first responders and people age 55 and older are also getting refreshed with the new lineup.

T-Mobile’s plan shakeup is being driven in part by the current economic climate. Explaining the rationale behind the price reductions and the streamlined number of plans, Mike Katz, president of marketing, innovation and experience at T-Mobile told CNET, «We’re in a weird time right now where prices everywhere are going up and they’ve happened over the last several years. We felt like there was an opportunity to compete with some simplicity, but more importantly, some peace of mind for customers.»

Existing customers who want to switch to one of the new plans can do so at the same rates offered to new customers. Or, if a current plan still works for them, they can continue without changes (although keep in mind that T-Mobile earlier this year increased prices for some legacy plans).

Five years of price stability

It’s nearly impossible to think about prices these days without warily eyeing how tariffs and US economic policy will affect what we pay for things. So it’s not surprising to see carriers implement some cost stability into their plans. For instance, Verizon recently locked prices for three years on their plans.

Now, T-Mobile is building a five-year price guarantee for its T-Mobile and Metro plans. That pricing applies to talk, text and data amounts — not necessarily taxes and other fees that can fluctuate.

Given the uncertain outlook, it seems counterintuitive to lock in a longer rate. When asked about this, Katz said, «We feel like our job is to solve pain points for customers and we feel like this helps with this exact sentiment. It shifts the risk from customers to us. We’ll take the risk so they don’t have to.»

The price hold applies to new customers signing up for the plans as well as current customers switching to one. T-Mobile is offering the same deals and pricing to new and existing subscribers. Also, the five-year deal applies to pricing; it’s not a five-year plan commitment.

More money and options to encourage switchers

The promise of a five-year price guarantee is also intended to lure people from other carriers, particularly AT&T and Verizon. As further incentive, T-Mobile is offering up to $800 per line (distributed via a virtual prepaid Mastercard) to help pay off other carriers’ device contracts. This is a limited-time offer. There are also options to trade in old devices, including locked phones, to get up to four new flagship phones.

Or, if getting out of a contract isn’t an issue, T-Mobile can offer $200 in credit (up to $800 for four lines) to bring an existing number to the network.

Four new Metro prepaid plans

On the prepaid side, T-Mobile is rolling out four new Metro plans, which are also covered by the new five-year price guarantee:

• Metro Starter costs $25 per line per month for a family of four and there is no need to bring an existing number. (The cost is $105 the first month.)

• Metro Starter Plus runs $40 per month for a new phone, unlimited talk, text and 5G data when bringing an existing number. For $65 per month, new customers can get two lines and two new Samsung A15 phones. No autopay is required.

• Metro Flex Unlimited is $30 per line per month with autopay for four lines ($125 the first month) with unlimited talk, text and 5G data.

• Metro Flex Unlimited Plus costs $60 per line per month, then $35 for lines two and three and then lowers the price of the fourth line to $10 per month as more family members are added. Adding a tablet or smartwatch to an existing line costs $5. And streaming video, such as from the included Amazon Prime membership, comes through at HD quality.

See more: If you’re looking for phone plans, you may also be looking for a new cell phone. Here are CNET’s picks.