Wearable

Misfit, the American wearables manufacturer, has unveiled official details about the upcoming Vapor 2 smartwatch. The wearable will come in two different sizes and feature a phone-free music player, a standalone GPS, and it will have a built-in heart-rate sensor. This useful device is currently advertised at a starting price of US$249.99.

The music streaming service Spotify has finally pushed an update for the app used on Android smartwatches. This version takes on the functions users formerly had to turn to 3rd-party solutions for. For example, the new Spotify for Wear OS has an actual set of music controls, and also syncs speakers with them.

The American telecommunications company Verizon will be offering the new Palm “mini-smartphone” device that has been developed by a start-up backed by the huge Chinese multinational, TCL. The diminutive companion gadget has been designed to be used in conjunction with an existing larger smartphone. The Palm is expected to be made available in November, with a price starting at US$349.

The memory found in typical RAM and storage components - DRAM and NAND respectively - may drop in price, particularly as we move into 2019. This is based on new research by DRAMeXchange. This group claims that prices for this technology has not grown in 2018 Q3 as it normally does.

KRY, a company that describes itself as a "digital healthcare provider", is the world's first group to offer treatment for public-speaking phobias in VR. This form of therapy is to be made available to adults of 18 and older. It involves doing therapeutic 'exercises' using a VR headset worn at home.

A developer has created an app that can test the 60fps rendering capabilities of the S4 SIP, the processing platform found in the 4th-gen Apple Watch. He has reported that the watch equals the iPhone 6S in this test. The watch also used less than 70% of its processing power while running this app.

The third generation of the Huawei Watch, which may be named the Watch GT rather than the Watch 3, is the subject of new image leaks at WinFuture. The watch may have a larger display than its predecessor, and may have more than one version. It has also reportedly been approved by the FCC.

A Russian engineer claims to have invented an "exoskeleton" that allows the walker to walk up to 3 times their normal possible range. This device, the Kineticstep, reportedly augments or supports normal walking motions with specific engineering breakthroughs. It is mainly directed at people with walking difficulties or impairments.

At the end of September, Google updated Wear OS with a few Google Fit features and a new notifications system that brings browsing, dismissing, and shortcuts. A trip assistant is now available with Google Assistant as well, and it also includes suggestions for restaurants. Thanks to this update, Wear OS devices get "proactive and personalized help."

Evan Blass, a noted tech leaker, has now confirmed that LG will be launching its latest Android wearable, the Watch W7, alongside the V40 smartphone this Wednesday. While the watch will use mechanical hands and watch movement to extend battery life in a low-powered mode to extend battery life, it's unlikely that the Watch W7 will see much market penetration.

When compared to the regular Galaxy Watch, the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Golf Edition comes with the Smart Caddie app that has a database with information about no less than 60,000 golf courses worldwide. This limited edition wearable succeeds last year's Gear S3 Golf Edition and, for now, it can only be found in South Korea.

Xiaomi's affordable Mi Band 3 fitness tracker with an OLED touchscreen is finally ready to hit the Indian market. This smart wearable is water resistant at up to 165 feet and features an autonomy of up to 20 days. Indian customers will be able to get it for the equivalent of less than US$30 starting September 28.

Facebook and RED have launched the jointly developed Manifold 360-degree VR camera. What sets the camera apart from the competition is its ability to create fully immersive content with full 6DOF support.

Razer's new Ifrit headset is designed to be an unobtrusive audio solution for game streamers. While the headset looks sleek, there's little word on the actual quality of its earbuds and microphone. The Ifrit is on sale now for $99.

Providing health- and wellness-related services to a crowd of over 65 million active users worldwide, Samsung Health has just been updated to version 6.0. This major release comes with a redesigned interface, updated tools, as well as a whole new range of personalization options.

The new Montblanc Summit smartwatch is scheduled to arrive in October, and what we already know is that it uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 SoC. Unfortunately, most other details — including its price — have yet to be revealed, but it will probably cost more than US$1,500 (the launch price of the model currently on the market).

The Snapdragon Wear 3100 is likely to feature in many next-generation wearables. Qualcomm held a launch event for it yesterday (September 10, 2018). The company claimed it will bring improvements in battery life and usability. The Wear 3100 is also to be used by new, high-end players in the wearables game.

The wearables market grew 5.5% from Q2 2017 to Q2 2018 mainly due to large growth in developing markets. Apple continued its dominance and enjoyed a 38% year over year growth. Xiaomi came in a close second. Fitbit was a big loser, seeing a year over year decline of 22%. While the future of wearables is still in flux, the market is far from dead.

The Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL's progress toward official release is gathering speed. Following their application to the FCC, they have now been sighted on the website of the Taiwanese NCC. However, this new documentation is relatively low on new details about the phones.

Apple's next-generation iPhone and Watch have been leaked in press renders. Said to be called the iPhone XS, the new iPhone is depicted in Gold while the new Apple Watch Series 4 confirms rumors it would pick up a larger display.

Ticwatch is the increasingly familiar smartwatch-related brand of Mobvoi. Its latest model is the Ticwatch Pro, a watch with premium materials. In addition, it has both LCD and AMOLED displays. The company claims that this will help the Pro's battery last longer.

Skagen has released its second-generation smartwatch. The new Skagen Falster 2 maintains the style of the original, but adds more functionality so that it can compete with the best on the market.

The new WSD-F30 is a rugged outdoor smartwatch from Casio. The WSD-F30 is about 4 mm thinner than Casio's other rugged smartwatches but manages to run for longer, thanks in part to a new "Extend Mode" setting that shuts off some wireless radios. Casio has yet to announce pricing or a release date.

The Garmin vivofit jr. 2 is a fitness tracker for kids that comes with Disney Princess-themed bands and a mobile app capable of offering an interactive experience which includes popular characters such as Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Mulan, and Rapunzel. This smart wearable is already available for US$79.99.

Revealed alongside the Galaxy Note 9 earlier this month, the Samsung Galaxy Watch LTE is now available for pre-order. Priced at US$379.99 (42 mm in Rose Gold or Midnight Black) and US$399.99 (Silver), this smartwatch is designed for T-Mobile and will begin shipping in the first week of September.

A number of variations on the same device are specified in a newly-secured approval from the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). The document's repeated references to "watchOS 5" increase the probability that the certification is for the upcoming Apple Watch refresh.

Apple has filed a patent that may contribute to the voice assistant Siri's functionality in the future. It may impart the ability to recognize different voices and attribute them to corresponding users on new versions of the software. This could give the assistant software a much-needed boost in its relevant marketplaces.

The event that provided the Galaxy Note 9 with its debut also introduced the Galaxy Watch, Samsung's new smartwatch. This device, like the latest Note, uses Bixby as a virtual assistant. The new Galaxy Home smart speaker also runs Bixby.

Although the recent official teasers have not revealed what is this all about, insiders familiar with the matter revealed that Qualcomm will launch a new mobile chip on September 10. As its alleged name suggests, the upcoming Snapdragon Wear 3100 is the successor of the Snapdragon Wear 2100, which was released two years ago.

A tech website claims to have found an invitation sent to content creators in Canada relating to the Pixel 3. If this leak is genuine, the new Android device's release will take place in October. However, the leak's contents fail to mention the other products rumored to also be included in the next Pixel line.

Fitbit seems to be preparing the launch of a new smart wearable that is supposedly going to debut at IFA 2018 as the Fitbit Charge 3. The leaked images reveal a few interesting details, such as the replacement of the physical button with a touch area that could bring in the tap actions currently available for the Alta and Alta HR.

The processor supplier MediaTek have posted an increase in second-quarter profits; however, its sales may have been unchanged compared to last quarter. Accordingly, the company's CEO has predicted a slight downturn in MediaTek's main market for the rest of 2018.

Huawei is set to release the latest version of its TalkBand. The TalkBand 5 can be worn as a watch, but also features a pop out ear piece for taking and making calls on the move.

The innovative stacked display design developed by Mobvoi for the upcoming TicWatch Pro should provide a substantial battery life boost. While in standard mode, the battery may last around 2 days, but there is also an Essential mode that completely disconnects the OLED screen and turns off the Wear OS, leaving only the black/white LCD active.

A new paper compiled by LG and Google researchers stipulates that the human eye has a resolution of about 9600 x 9000 pixels with a FOV of 160 x 150 degrees. The new LG OLED VR screen is not there yet, but i certainly seems to be the best on the market right now, with its 4800 x 3840 resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, and a 120 x 96 degrees FOV.

The Relay secure smartphone for kids by Republic Wireless is so secure that it does not feature a display. This accessory can be considered a basic phone with tracking capabilities for kids, as it features nationwide 4G LTE connectivity, as well as WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated GPS, NFC contact sharing, and even a smart assistant.

AsteroidOS, best described as an open source alternative to watchOS and Wear OS, launched its first stable release yesterday. Designed by a small group of developers and open to the public, the OS can run on a few Wear OS-compatible smartwatches, including devices from LG, Asus, and Sony.

A patent has been granted to Apple for an “electronic device having display with curved edges.” The patent was filed in January 2016 and features a number of images that could easily be described as potential smartwatch displays. Producing a circular smartwatch would be something of a design departure for the Cupertino-based company.

More than one year since the arrival of Google Assistant to smart wearables thanks to Google Wear 2.0, Wear OS receives a whole new set of features for smartwatch users. The highlights of this update include Google Assistant smart suggestions, spoken replies to queries, as well as more than one million actions.

Sony's futuristic Xperia Ear Duo headphones are now up for pre-order in the US. The headphones allow listeners to hear both music or voice overs at the same time as being able to hear ambient sounds around them.

The Oculus Go standalone VR headset has officially been launched and is available for immediate purchase. The Facebook-owned company is shipping the headset to 23 countries starting today, from US$199 for the 32 GB model.

According to an exclusive report that recently surfaced online, the LG Watch Timepiece runs Wear OS and combines a quartz movement watch with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100-powered smart module that features a circular 1.2-inch LCD display with a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels. This wearable could be announced this week and might hit the market in June.

The second-generation Spectacles camera glasses by Snapchat no longer feature a yellow ring that alerts people and can also shoot images, not just video. Capable of shooting underwater, this new accessory also comes with faster syncing, a slimmer frame and charging case, prescription options, and a price of US$149.99.

According to a report, Intel is planning on closing down its New Devices Group. This particular division of the chip-making giant was involved in developing wearable projects. One of these projects was called “Superlight” but was better known to the outside world as the Vaunt smart glasses. It seems the state of the smart-glasses market prompted Intel’s withdrawal.

Fitbit’s Versa smartwatch is available for pre-order and offers an interesting alternative to the market-dominating Apple Watch. For a start, there is the price: The Fitbit Versa costs US$199.95 and the Apple Watch Series 3 has prices starting at US$329 (from the Apple Store). Fitbit claims the Versa has a battery life of over four days, which certainly beats out the 18 hours that Apple advertises for its Series 3 (GPS) wearable.

Samsung’s wearable, the Gear S2, has received a new software upgrade from the South Korean manufacturer. The user interface has been overhauled, the Samsung Health widget has been enhanced, and the watch can be used in conjunction with the Gear VR headset and PowerPoint presentations. The update can be accessed through the Samsung Gear app.

The Mondaine Helvetica Regular has just been unveiled in Basel and will hit the market by the end of the month for a price of around US$640. Compared to its predecessor, it features a smaller case and can receive notifications. Since it is not a regular smartwatch and has a limited set of features, the battery lasts for about two years.

Having received the "Best Mobile Innovation for Payment" award at the annual Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO Awards) earlier this year, Samsung Pay has just reached Italy. This mobile payment service works with quite a few Samsung devices, including the new Galaxy S9/S9+ flagships.

Since Vladimir Putin will be in charge for a few more years, it looks like Telegram might end up being blocked in Russia. A set of laws introduced back in 2016 required Telegram to give the government a way to decrypt all user conversations, and they received a fine of US$14,000 for failing to do so. Now, Telegram users in Russia should prepare for the worst.

Estimated to begin reaching its first owners in about a month, the US$749.99 Garmin tactix Charlie is a premium GPS watch that features a 1.2-inch sunlight-readable display with domed sapphire lens, GPS with GLONASS support, as well a rugged design. Its battery can provide up to 12 days of autonomy in smartwatch mode, 20 hours in GPS mode, and 35 hours in UltraTrac battery saving mode.