Wearable

Garmin has unveiled the tactix 7, available in Standard, Pro and Pro Ballistics models. Starting at US$1,099.99, the tactix 7 rises to US$1,599.99 for the Pro Ballistics Edition. All models have 1.4-inch displays, long battery life and access to the Connect IQ store.

The GTS 2 Mini is a better-priced example of Amazfit's popular line of health- and fitness-tracking smartwatches. Now, the brand has announced a re-release for this product, with new colors and slightly modified specs this time around. It will go live via its Indian-market sales channels later in India.

Samsung has released a new update to the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic, still the only smartwatches with Wear OS 3. This month's update arrives as R8xxXXU1FVC8 and contains a few minor changes.

A new trademark application has offered an insight into the future of Huawei wearables. Filed with the EU, the Watch Buds would be Huawei's first smartwatch with built-in earbuds. While the idea is not new, no other major smartwatch manufacturer has sought to combine the two product categories to date.

Reportedly, Apple has rethought its AirPods strategy after lower than expected AirPods 3 sales. While the AirPods Pro 2 is tipped to launch later this year, Apple will not repeat the move of continuing to sell the original AirPods Pro alongside its new earbuds, as it has done with the AirPods 3.

Almost four years after the Vivosmart 4 made its debut, Garmin finally looks set to bring its successor, the Vivosmart 5, to the market. A new leak has now revealed major details of the upcoming fitness render, including renders showing its design, and new features.

360 Audio is a new feature baked into the flagship Galaxy Buds Pro earphones at their launch, and is touted as Samsung's answer to the Spatial Audio found in some Apple audio products. It is also available to the Galaxy Buds Live and Buds2, thanks to these TWS earbuds' latest software update.

The Garmin Forerunner 955 has leaked again, three months after its first appearance on Garmin Australia's website. The smartwatch could launch as soon as this month and should be available in a Solar variant.

A retailer has leaked the Momentum True Wireless 3, Sennheiser's next flagship TWS earbuds. The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 will arrive in multiple colours and for a competitive price.

The Polar Pacer Pro has leaked, seemingly the more expensive version of the upcoming Pacer smartwatch. The Pacer and Pacer Pro may share quite a few features, although the Pacer Pro may arrive with more premium materials.

Garmin has issued a new update for the Fenix 6 series that introduces plenty of changes to the former flagship smartwatch. Rolling out as version 20.82, the update adds support for Connect IQ system 5 and an Endurance Horseback Riding Activity, among other changes.

Thanks to its latest software update, the Forerunner 945 has gained several features from the Fenix 7. The update, which arrives as software version 9.56, is available to download now from Garmin’s website.

Today might be April 1, 2022; however, the potential for privacy incursion that has grown with the rise of smart tags is no fooling matter. Google certainly seems to think so, at least, as it might be working on a way to set an Android phone to alert users to the presence of unfamiliar wireless trackers in a way that doesn't require a dedicated app.

Is it a prank?...is it a meme?...or is it an opportunity to become a beta-tester for Razer stuff? According to a new page on the OEM's site, it's all of those things at once. The company has even made a video clip for its alleged "HyperSense" gaming suit for the metaverse in order to make its new initiative as fun as possible.

Health wearables company BioIntelliSense has launched a new device, the BioButton Rechargeable. You can stick the gadget on your chest to measure over 20 vital signs. Algorithms then process the collected data to look for early signs of illnesses or other changes in your health.

The new collection of limited-edition products that arrived earlier today is the result of Skullcandy's collaboration with sunglasses brand Pit Viper and includes the popular Grind, Push Active, and Dime TWS earbuds with a new design. The first 100 purchases will come with a pair of Pit Viper sunglasses.

Afon has shared some intriguing news about its work on a non-invasive continuous glucose monitor (CGM). The company had previously hinted that progress had been made on the Afon blood sugar sensor, and it now appears that positive accuracy results produced by the CGM mean it could be the pain-free game-changer that is hoped for by millions of diabetics.

The watchOS 8.5 update appears to be breaking fast charging on the Apple Watch Series 6 and Watch Series 7. Experiences vary, but some third-party chargers have stopped working completely.

Polar has another smartwatch in the works as it looks to return to its Pacer brand. The Polar Pacer will launch in multiple colours and with a design that draws similarities with the Vantage V2. The Polar Pacer could be closer to the Polar Unite in price, though.

Dyson has gained plenty of attention with the Dyson Zone, a pair of headphones that have a built-in air purifier. While novel, it appears that the technology behind the wearable is outdated and does not reflect current public health practices post-pandemic.

Huawei has issued a new update to the Watch GT 2 globally. According to Huawei, Lite OS 11.0.15.10 makes modest improvements, reflected in its 80 MB file size. Huawei is distributing Lite OS 11.0.15.10 now through the Huawei Health app.

The high-end D2 Mach 1 is the latest aviation smartwatch from Garmin. The wearable has an expensive finish with a titanium bezel and a sapphire lens. The device has many features designed for pilots, including maps, weather reports and information about your destination airport.

Despite having about three days left until its global launch at the time of writing, the OnePlus 10 Pro has appeared as a product listing posted by an online German retailer. This leak may definitively spoil the OEM's reveal as to how much its new flagship phone will cost in the country. Meanwhile, the company has teased a new colorway for its most premium TWS earbuds.

Google has requested FDA approval for Fitbit's passive heart rate monitoring algorithm. The technology was found to detect cases of atrial fibrillation with 98% accuracy in a recent study of Fitbit users. The data was collected using PPG technology built into Fitbit devices.

APK files from the Fitbit app suggests that three new smartwatches could be released by the Google-owned company, with none of them featuring WearOS. The rumored devices could include the Versa 4, Sense 2 and Luxe 2 models, based on evidence such as display resolutions.

Update version 11.0.15.10 for the Huawei Watch GT 2e smartwatch is rolling out to customers in China. The new firmware includes the preinstalled AutoNavi maps app and improvements to the device's sleep monitoring. It is anticipated that the update will be released in waves, becoming available to global customers later.

OnePlus is rumored to have already started production of the OnePlus Band 2 and the OnePlus Watch 2. No specifications have been leaked for either wearable, but with production beginning, both the OnePlus Band 2 and OnePlus Watch 2 should soon make an appearance in markets in Asia and Europe.

Withings has released an update for its ScanWatch. Version 2421 includes several new features, such as a workout mode and an activity reminder. Withings is also rolling out more widely its 10:10 hands feature, which makes it easier for you to see the digital screen on the watch.

Oura has announced that there are now one million users of its ring fitness tracker. The Oura Ring Generation 3 was released late last year with heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking features. In the same statement, the company said it was working on several new features to release this year, such as Workout Heart Rate.

Garmin is taking more steps to reduce the costs of OLED displays in its smartwatches. Purportedly, the company's patented technology could so make its OLED displays more efficient than the ones in the Venu 2 Plus.

The Apple Watch Series 3 is allegedly heading for its product cycle end-of-life according to a well-known analyst. The third-generation smartwatch has served Apple well since its release in 2017 but is expected to be discontinued when the Apple Watch Series 8 and watchOS 9 become fully available.

Qualcomm has unveiled a new program by which it will invest as much as US$100 million in developers or companies involved in the metaverse industry. The new fund is associated with other projects including Snapdragon XR Platforms, XR Labs Europe and the Snapdragon Spaces developer platform, the latter of which has also just been taken up by Square Enix as the studio works on its extended-reality (XR) portfolio.

The Apple Watch has no ports, rendering it impossible to force it into a hardware recovery mode. Thankfully, Apple has finally addressed this shortcoming of Apple Watches with watchOS 8.5, which is available to download on the Watch Series 3 through Watch Series 7.

Wear OS 3 is still not ready for existing smartwatches, but more screenshots of the upcoming OS have emerged. Google's next smartwatch OS will launch with a next-generation Google Assistant, among other changes from Wear OS 2.

The GT Neo3 is currently being touted as the first ever Realme phone to launch with its latest 150W charging tech. However, the OEM has also now suggested that there might be a second variant with a slower, yet still new to 2022, 80W standard instead. Then again, fans of speed may still be happy with the phone's also-hyped "Le Mans" colorway.

Visionox has reportedly introduced its latest display development as a "world-first", as it is a type of AMOLED designed to reduce power consumption through attaining ultra-low refresh rates, but does not rely on typically high-end LTPO technology to do so. This new display panel type could thus allow the smartwatches of the future to feature always-on displays at a lower cost.

Zepp Health, the owner of the increasingly popular fitness-tracking wearables brand Amazfit, has now released its fourth-quarter (4Q2021) and full-year earnings report for 2021. It claims revenues of nearly 6.3 billion yuan (or about US$985 million) for this year, about 27% of which came from 4Q2021. Despite these impressive figures, however, the company has seen the impact of global events over the last ~12 months.

Carl Pei's latest tech company, Nothing, has just revealed the date and time for its first product event since that for its inaugural ear (1) TWS buds. Apparently, that event was just a warm-up for the OEM's upcoming keynote, now scheduled for late March 2022. To date, there are already strong hints that it might introduce a new mobile device.

The latest member of the 1More ComfoBuds series may be Mini - however, according to the OEM, this does not stop them from also being "Mighty". It asserts that the new TWS earbuds are the smallest of their kind with active noise cancellation. The Minis are also rated for up to 24 hours of battery life and IPX5 ingress-protection.

Xiaomi has revealed the Buds 3T Pro, a premium pair of earbuds that cost €169. The Buds 3T Pro supports ANC, Qi wireless charging and the LHDC 4.0 codec. Xiaomi sells the Buds 3T Pro in Carbon Black and Gloss White colourways.

Xiaomi has released the Watch S1 series outside China. Only available as a 46.5 mm smartwatch, the Watch S1 and Watch S1 Active have a large AMOLED display, over 100 fitness modes and dual-band GPS, among other features. The Watch S1 series starts at €179 and supports Mastercard payments via NFC.

Xiaomi has set a date for launching the Watch S1 Active globally. In the meantime, Amazon has already begun accepting pre-orders, confirming its price and when it will ship in the process.

The possible design of the Mi Band 7 may have leaked in what could be a major redesign of the Mi Band series. Meanwhile, Xiaomi has certified the Mi Band 7 in Belgium and Indonesia, signifying a global launch for the upcoming fitness tracker.

The Dexcom G7 continuous glucose monitor (CGM) could finally be close to a European launch. A Google search for the G7 device reveals Dexcom had already prepared a CE Mark-approved landing page for the successor to the G6. Approval in the US from the FDA seems likely after a recent Dexcom G7 clinical study yielded promising results.

Rockley Photonics has partnered with Medtronic, a medical device company. Rockley and Medtronic will collaborate in bringing the Bioptx biomarker sensing platform to market, which takes the form of a wrist-based device. The Bioptx biomarker sensing platform can measure core body temperature, hydration levels and blood pressure non-invasively, among other capabilities.

HTC's VIVE is at SXSW 2022 to introduce its latest initiatives and projects in its main space, virtual reality (VR). This includes the announcement of its new metaverse platform for concerts, BEATDAY, to launch via the new Focus 3 headset. VIVE will also outline how it sees its VR tech fitting into other industries such as healthcare and smart-car UX going forward.

The Blade 100W is the latest power bank from Baseus. It is markedly light and thin for its category, yet is rated to charge devices such as MacBook Pros at their full rate on the go. It also drops to 65W for certain other laptops, or into a "low current mode" for smaller objects such as wireless earbuds or peripherals.

The upcoming Xiaomi Watch S1 Active has been leaked in full, including its product feature list, rendering set, and price tag for the European market. While much of this information has already been leaked online, the somewhat high price for the Xiaomi Watch S1 Active is apparently now confirmed.

Google has received approval for a patent for skin interface technology. The filing suggests that Google might use this tool to control earbuds and smartwatches through tap and swipe gestures on the skin near the gadgets.