On its 2nd anniversary the Apple Watch continues to define its identity

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Today marks the Apple Watch 2nd birthday as it began shipping on April 24, 2015. Since then, Apple's newest product category since the iPad has evolved from an adjunct of the iPhone to a notable standalone fitness and health tracker as well as a key player not just in the smartwatch market but in the overall watch market.

Having used the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Series 2, there are key features that it delivers which few other wearables can offer. The ability to take and make calls when the iPhone is in your bag or pocket is convenient. Tracking fitness goals is also habit-forming and keeps active people on their toes. Being able to use Apple Pay without reaching for a phone is transformative, so it getting tickets and QR codes right out of your Watch. 

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Instagram now has 700 million users, with 100 million added since December

Facebook-owned photo sharing app Instagram now boasts 700 million active users, with 100 million coming on board since December. Instagram has added various new ways to share photos, boomerangs, videos as well as stories. 

Facebook bought Instagram for 1 Billion when it realized it could not compete with the popular photo sharing app. Since then, Instagram's evolved by emulating features found on other popular image sharing services, most notably Snap.

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‘Super Mario Run’ gets first update on Android

Nintendo just updated the Android version of Super Mario Run to bring a bunch of new features to the game. Version 2.1.0 introduces Google Play achievements, an increase to the maximum number of Toads that can live in your kingdom (it now stands at 99,999), and the ability to find friends from your Nintendo account. Aside from that, Nintendo now lets you show off your customized Mii character from Miitomo for your player icon. The game also gets “other changes and improvements” according to its changelog.

Source: GSMArena

‘Carpool Karaoke’ series launch gets delayed to ‘later this year’

Apple’s first original TV series, Carpool Karaoke: The Series, was supposed to come out this month. But it looks like that isn’t happening. The series’ debut is pushed back to “later this year.” A premiere party for the shows was supposed to happen last month but that got postponed. It was pushed to Monday but got pushed back again because of the delay of the show’s launch. Apple won’t say what’s been causing the delays.

Carpool Karaoke: The Series stars the likes of James Corden, Will Smith, Alicia Keys, Seth MacFarlane, Chelsea Handler, Blake Shelton, John Cena, to name a few. Taken from the “Carpool Karaoke” segment from The Late Late Show with James Corden, the new show will have 16 half-hour episodes and will “surprise fans” as they see “big stars belting out tunes one lane over.” When it premieres, the show will be exclusively available on Apple Music.

Source: MacRumors