Apple Watch

Since last October, getting the designer Apple Watch from Hermès required a visit to the store. Not just any store either, as the exclusive Hermès collection was only carried at a limited number of locations. This has all changed, with the collection now available on the Apple Store online and at Hermes.com. These unique versions of the Apple Watch are the result of a partnership between Apple and the Paris-based luxury goods manufacturer.

It looks like Santa delivered a lot Fitbit tracking devices this Christmas. The free Fitbit iOS app topped Apple’s app chart on Christmas Day, according to QZ. The sudden explosion in Fitbit app downloads suggests that a lot of people were activating a new fitness tracker on December 25th. The Fitbit app has also been one of the most downloaded health and fitness apps in all of December, according to App Annie. This could spell trouble for Apple who was also pushing their own wearable device this Christmas, but it is impossible to tell since neither Apple or Fitbit have publically reported sales.

Apple is hot on the heels of Fitbit for the top spot in the worldwide wearables market, according to IDC. The Apple Watch has seen a slight bump in sales from an estimated 3.6M units in Q2 to 3.9M in Q3. This makes Apple the number two wearables vendor worldwide after Fitbit, with Chinese vendor Xiaomi finishing third, and newcomer XTC helping knock Samsung out of the top five.

Apple is now accepting orders for its official Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock. The new charging dock is available through apple.com or at Apple Retail locations.

The dock allows you to charge your Apple Watch while laying down or on its side. Charging the Watch while on it side allows you to access the Nightstand mode found in watchOS 2. This allows you to use your Watch as an alarm clock while it is charging overnight.

It should come as no surprise that Apple is working on the next generation Apple Watch. A report detailed by MacRumors indicates Quanta Computer has confirmed development of an upgraded watch coming late in the second quarter of next year. With the initial release planned for June 2016, production can then ramp up later in the year to fulfill demand. Rumors have pointed to several hardware and software improvements in the Apple Watch 2.