At today's "California Streaming" event, Apple announced a new USB-C Apple Watch charging puck designed specifically with the Series 7 models in mind.
Priced at $29, the Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C cable can charge an Apple Watch Series 7 33 percent faster than the standard Apple Watch charging puck, reaching an 80 percent charge in 45 minutes.
We wanted to make charging your Apple Watch utterly effortless. And now, it charges up to 33% faster when paired with Apple Watch Series 7, so you can reach 80% charge in about 45 minutes. Simply hold the connector near the back of the watch, where magnets cause it to snap into place automatically. It's a completely sealed system free of exposed contacts. And it's very forgiving, requiring no precise alignment.
To enable the faster charging speeds, the Apple Watch Series 7 has an updated charging architecture inside. The fast charging technology is limited to the Series 7 for this reason.
The new Apple Watch charging puck can be purchased from Apple's website starting today, but the Apple Watch Series 7 models won't be launching until later this fall. When available, the Apple Watch Series 7 will likely ship with the new fast charging cable as it has the same price point as the standard cable.
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:14 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
CarPlay Ultra...
As we wait for WWDC to kick off next Monday, Apple today announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards, recognizing apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.
The 2025 Apple Design Award winners are listed below, with one app and one game selected per category:
Delight and Fun - CapWords (App) and Balatro (Game)
Innovation - Play (App) and PBJ -...
Saturday April 11, 2026 9:07 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the AirPods Max 2 received more attention, Apple also released a second pair of headphones last month: Nike Powerbeats Pro 2.
Nike Powerbeats Pro 2 are the same as the regular Powerbeats Pro 2, except they have a two-tone design consisting of black and Nike's signature Volt neon green-yellow color. The headphones were released on March 20 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., and a ...
Thursday March 26, 2026 11:12 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
In addition to indicating that a new full-sized HomePod is in the works, and that the foldable iPhone will likely ship later than the iPhone 18 Pro models this year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said he does not expect any major design changes for the next-generation Apple Watch models coming later this year.
Gurman revealed all of this information in a live Q&A call today on the Bloomberg...
Tuesday March 24, 2026 10:02 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released watchOS 26.4, the fourth major update to the watchOS 26 operating system that came out in September. watchOS 26.4 comes a month and a half after Apple released watchOS 26.3.
watchOS 26.4 can be downloaded for free on an iPhone running iOS 26.4 by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update, or initiating an update in the Settings app on the...
Thursday March 19, 2026 3:10 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple's current blood oxygen sensing implementation in the U.S. does not infringe on patents owned by Masimo and Apple will not face a revived import ban, a U.S. International Trade Commission judge said this week (via Reuters).
After Apple was found to have violated Masimo's patents related to blood oxygen sensing, the Apple Watch faced a U.S. import ban that caused Apple to briefly pause...
As if 33% matters, especially when most people charge their Apple watch at nighttime.
Actually, I bet that the vast majority (>95%) charge their watch at nightime
I'm going out on a limb but I think more than 5% wear it at night for sleep tracking or even more so the vibrate alarm function. Much better way to wake up than a noise alarm IMO. Especially if you have a partner who wakes up at a different time.
