Wearable

Headed for general sale on May 19, the Mi AirDots 2 SE is Xiaomi's latest set of TWS earbuds. Sporting 14.2 mm drivers, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and up to 20 hours battery life among other features, the AirDots 2 SE costs just CNY 169 (~US$23.80).

Fitbit has announced that its own-brand ventilator has been sent to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for testing. Despite being known for wearables, this company has also recently devoted some of its resources to the production of this new item, which is to be used in the treatment of Covid-19-affected patients.

Realme CEO Madhav Sheth recently confirmed the existence of the Realme Watch and Realme TV. The two products are set to launch in India on May 25th, offering an alternative to the Apple Watch and premium Android smart TVs.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 5 has now been certified by the Taiwan National Communications Commission, and there are new rumors arising in regard to the upcoming wearable’s potential price and release date. The Xiaomi Mi Band 4C is also apparently almost ready for market; the rebranded Redmi Band is expected to be cheaper than the Mi Band 4.

1More has introduced its new Dual Driver ANC Pro Wireless In-Ear Headphones. This new product is not truly wireless, but does improve on its predecessor through the addition of Bluetooth 5.0 and a Wind Noise Resistance mode on top of its active noise cancellation (ANC) spec. The buds are also rated for twice the battery life of their previous generation.

Huami has been teasing a new product on the Chinese social network Weibo in the form of a sporty smartwatch. The somewhat rugged-looking Amazfit Ares is scheduled to be launched on May 19 and offers a host of features for smartwatch users, such as dozens of sport modes and a specialist fitness tracker.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 5 has been confirmed to be arriving in 2H20, Gizchina reports. Confirmed by Hung Wang, CEO of Huami, the Mi Band 5 is thought to have a larger display than its predecessor.

With the NoiseFit Endure, you get an inexpensive smartwatch with not only 20 days of battery life, but also with IP68 certification and a heart rate sensor. The NoiseFit Endure also has a 1.28-inch circular LCD panel, over 100 watch faces from which to choose and nine sports modes for fitness tracking.

Huawei wearables will no longer work unless you download HMS via the AppGallery instead of the Google Play Store. Unintentional or not, people are unhappy about it.

Is it a coincidence that multiple OEMs are now activating the Sp02 sensors in their smartwatches via an update? After Huawei did so with the Watch GT 2, Honor has now rolled out an equivalent firmware update for the MagicWatch 2 that enables blood oxygen saturation monitoring.

Sony has introduced new completely wireless in-ears, which have strong features and one of the largest batteries of all TWS. The waterproof, durable earphones are perfect for athletes, but the feature set also makes them interesting for everyone else.

Recent FCC documentation shows that Apple has what appears to be Powerbeats Pro 2 in the works. They have now picked up further certifications that probably put them close to an unveiling. Therefore, they may be launched in the US, Korea and Malaysia at the least.

It will soon be possible to charge appliances using your smartphone's NFC chip. The Global NFC Forum just approved a standard that allows for wireless charging at 1W via the medium. It is meant for devices such as smartwatches, wireless earbuds, and fitness trackers that require low power.

More and more Android OEMs are also releasing wearables these days; now, it seems that Vivo is about to join them. A Twitter leaker claims to have found images, apparently derived from a "patent", showing that this company has designed its first-gen smartwatch.

A blog post on the Steam website has announced the sudden cancellation with immediate effect for SteamVR support on macOS. Instead, Mac users have been directed to use what are now legacy builds of the platform as Steam now switches its full support focus to both Windows and Linux.

Three supposed images of the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 wearable fitness tracker have been leaked. The images originate from a popular Chinese social networking site and feature the wearable in switched-on and turned-off states. There is a distinctly visible capacitive button taking up a good portion of the narrow-bezel display.
Noted Xiaomi tipster believes the images are fake.

E-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart will now be allowed to resume operations in orange and green zones in the Indian subcontinent. People residing in red zones will have to wait till their region is upgraded to green/yellow or until the nationwide lockdown measures are lifted on May 17th.

Sony has reportedly filed a patent for a pair of truly wireless (or TWS) earphones. However, successors to the well-received WF-1000XM3s they are most likely not: they have a more original design that incorporates a large attachment on which physical controls are found.

Apple has published a consolidated report of its financial performance in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q2020). It shows an overall increase in revenue of about 1% compared to the same quarter of 2019; however, when these figures are divided into the categories of products and services, one has made a loss.

While Sony is putting the finishing touches to the WH-1000XM4, Microsoft has been spotted certifying new Surface Headphones. Possibly called the Surface Headphones 2, the noise-cancelling headphones will offer up to 20 hours of battery life, improved head tracking, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and aptX support. There will be no design changes for the new Surface Headphones, though.

Priced at US$112 and £89.99 in the UK, the Huawei FreeBuds 3i is the AirPods Pro on a budget. Featuring Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), three microphones and silicone ear tips, the FreeBuds 3i doesn't half look like original AirPods too.

JBL has introduced another set of TWS earbuds as it continues to assert itself in an already extremely competitive market. Promising excellent sound quality, long battery life and many exciting features, the JBL Live 300TWS miss out on one crucial function.

An XDA contributor claims to have "exclusive" access to info on Realme's 2nd-gen wearable. This product will apparently simply be called the brand's Watch, as with other OEM's answer to Apple's device of this category. The new leak apparently consists of renders and several UI snapshots.

Some new TWS earbuds from Apple have passed through Federal Communications Commission (FCC) testing. These products are not new AirPods, however: their new certification lets their Beats branding slip, in addition to the fact they closely resemble the existing Powerbeats Pro. Therefore, they are most likely to be a 2nd generation of the same.

Following a lengthy wait, Amazfit has released its first smartwatch with a curving display onto the market. Well, more or less: it is being offered as a reward as part of a new Indiegogo campaign. The device starts for US$149 and is currently slated to ship in August 2020.

The Realme Buds Wireless are of the 'neckbud' form-factor. Now, it seems the brand has a Pro variant of the same ready to go. A product under this name has been spotted in the hands of Singaporean and Taiwanese regulators ahead of their launch.

Today, (April 27, 2020) a new app for Google's Pixel Buds 2 went live on the Play Store. It was even more unexpectedly followed by the TWS earphones themselves on the Mountain View giant's store. They support OEM-specific features such as Instant Translation, Assistant integration and Adaptive Sound.

Apple Watch is by a long way the world’s most popular smartwatch and it is now five years old. To mark the occasion, one of the former lead designers for the Watch has taken to Twitter to reveal some behind the scenes details never before revealed.

Huawei has ditched the design of the FreeBuds 3, according to leaked renders of new TWS earbuds published by WinFuture. Featuring a white design, silicone tips, ANC and a compact charging case, the FreeBuds 3i will likely be pitched as AirPods Pro competitors.

Said to be launching on May 6 in Germany, the Surface Earbuds are rather late the party. Announced last October for US$249, it seems that their delay has coincided with a price cut. The Surface Earbuds will not come cheap, though.

Magic Leap has announced that it is cutting staff and reorienting from a consumer focus to an enterprise focus. The company blames COVID-19 for at least some of its woes but the reality is that it never really gained traction as it has thus far overpromised and underdelivered.

Update: Amazfit has finally announced a launch date for the X: April 28, 2020. This 92-degree curved wearable was first introduced as a concept device in 2019. Now, however, it is ready to become a reality via its upcoming Indiegogo campaign.

It seems likely that Xiaomi will release the very affordable Redmi Band onto the European market as the Mi Band 4C. The fitness tracker has been spotted in registration certificates as the Mi Smart Band 4C, but some detective work has unearthed the evidence that points to this wearable simply being a rebranded Redmi Band.

The Indian government had released new guidelines that allow online shopping sites to get up and running in the country once again. These measures, which permit order fulfilment as usual nationwide with certain necessary caveats, were to take effect from today (April 20, 2020). However, the authorities have now chosen to reverse this decision.

Adequate hand hygiene is one of the everyday measures recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to help combat Covid-19. Accordingly, Samsung has developed the ‘Hand Wash’ app for its watches. It promotes this activity through regular reminders, a tracker and a corresponding watch-face.

Huami has confirmed that the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 is still on course to launch later this year and that the working relationship between the two companies is as strong as ever. Recent rumors had suggested that Xiaomi was considering taking its considerable investment out of Huami, which could have scuppered plans for the Mi Band 5 wearable.

The Note 20s are YOBYBO's latest go at revolutionizing the TWS earbud form-factor. They have a unique asymmetrical shape that extend out of the wearer's ear while in use, as well as an equally innovative square charging case with a case rated to be up to 50% that those of competitors. They are available via their new Indiegogo campaign.

The latest variant of the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ are hailed as some of the best non-ANC TWS earbuds out there. However, they are also affected by the potential for severe wind-noise during voice calls. Their latest firmware update is touted to fix this problem.

OnePlus has unleashed new versions of its wireless earphones alongside its new 8-series of flagship phones. This new generation has an improved range of color options compared to its predecessors. It also features low-latency connections and a battery that can support up to 20 hours' worth of playback.

We have now reached a part of April 2020 increasingly regarded as "iPhone SE 2 Week"; however, this has not stopped the new Apple Watch rumors coming thick and fast. They now point to a new form of authentication for this device, as well as the ability to detect anxiety as well as blood-oxygen levels in the user. There may also be new case-variants in the offing.

The Watch GT 2 has been well received, but the lack of blood oxygen saturation monitoring was an oversight. Now, the smartwatch can finally use its Sp02 sensor courtesy of a software update, six months after launching.

Recently spotted Bluetooth certificates have indicated an upcoming announcement of two new products from the Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi: the Redmi AirDots 2 and the Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones. The first Redmi AirDots have been called a cheap AirPods killer and offered active noise cancellation and Bluetooth 5.0 support.

Casio's upcoming addition to the G-SHOCK line has heart-rate tracking functions for the first time. The watch's new sensor is also joined by others to track fitness-related activities while in use. It is also a Bluetooth device, with its own app to display its measurements and manage notifications while training.

Razer is now making face masks. Likely a temporary move during the COVID-19 pandemic, the move follows on from it redesigning its logo to promote social distancing.

The Redmi Band is now available through an online retailer for the low price of US$19.99. The cheap fitness tracker comes in a choice of four colors and is even waterproof. Unearthed BIS and Bluetooth certifications for the new Redmi Band from Xiaomi have indicated that the wearable will soon be made available in India.

Fancy a cheap pair of Apple AirPods rip-offs? Well, Xiaomi has you covered with the Mi Air 2S. The TWS earbuds offer up to 24 hours battery life, support for the LHDC codec and wireless charging. Likely sold as the Mi AirDots Pro 2s in other regions, the Mi Air 2S indistinguishable from the Mi AirDots Pro 2.

Following in the footsteps of Xiaomi and countless other Android OEMs, POCO has confirmed that it is developing a set of TWS earbuds. Understandably, the news has got POCO fans excited.

Live images of the upcoming Redmi Band from Xiaomi have made their way online, and the fitness tracker looks surprisingly good considering its ridiculously low price point. The Redmi Band features a 1.08-inch color LCD screen and will initially cost 95 yuan (US$13) before rising to 99 yuan (US$14) upon wider retail release.

The Xiaomi subsidiary Haylou, pronounced "Hello", has released a new smartwatch, the Solar. While the Haylou Solar is not a solar-powered smartwatch as its name suggests, it still packs some impressive tech for ~US$20.