Apple Weekly News Roundup: Apple Watch Details Emerge, and More

With the Apple Watch set to be officially announced at Monday's "Spring Forward" media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, there was a lot of chatter last week about previously undisclosed features of the much anticipated wearable.

Spring Forward at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

The Apple Watch's battery life has been a major concern of investors and consumers alike from the very beginning, and it was compounded when Apple admitted having difficulties with powering the device. Eventually Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) official word was that the watch would make it through a full day of typical usage before needing to be charged. A recent report from

TechCrunch claims that battery issues have been improved further - it is now rumored that a full day of normal usage will take the watch down to 25% battery, and that it will take about two hours to fully recharge it. It also supposedly manages notifications with battery life in mind - notifications cease once the watch is off the wrist or when it reaches 10% battery.

Another report from Tech Crunch places a yet-to-be announced port where the bottom strap connects. The port could potentially be used to access the watch's operating system and be used for diagnostics or accessories.

It was also reported last week that, like the iPad and iPod, the Apple Watch can come with a custom engraving. The option would allow for further personalization, but may not be available by launch time.

Aside from the Apple Watch, there were several other notable items last week:

Amidst the Apple Watch frenzy, a rumor finally surfaced regarding the next generation iPhone. The so called iPhone 6s will likely ship with 2 GB RAM (as opposed to the present 1GB) and could possibly come with a pre-installed SIM.

Apple is in talks with HBO to potentially launch a subscription based streaming service by early April. The service, known as "HBO Now," would be available for about $15 a month, and would be distributed via third party services such as Apple TV, Roku, etc.

Rumor has it that Apple may be looking to update the iPad mini. Sources say the company may soon release an "iPad mini 4" with an A8 processor and 802.11ac Wi-Fi, like the new iPhones.