Smartwatch

YouTube Music is no longer exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Google has only released the app to Wear 4100 and Wear 4100+ smartwatches, but it can also be sideloaded to older smartwatches running Wear OS 2.

Mobvoi has changed its tune about the TicWatch E3 and TicWatch Pro 3 again, confirming that the company never sold either smartwatch with the Snapdragon Wear 4100+. The company is yet to explain why it thought it could get away with claiming that it was shipping the pair with a more capable SoC.

The popular health and fitness tech brand Amazfit has confirmed the existence of third generations for its GTR and GTS flagship smartwatch lines. These potentially powerful and advanced wearables are now also set for launch during a global product event, scheduled for October 2021.

The Watch Free is OPPO's latest fitness tracker, and is equipped with an AMOLED display at a decent price. It supports up-to-date features such as over 100 sports modes and tracking for various health metrics. The new tracker-style wearable also offers something new the OEM calls its "eSports Mode".

OPPO is slated to debut the new K9 Pro smartphone later in September 2021. Now, it has emerged that the OEM will also premiere a new smart screen during the same event, not to mention a new wearable. They might emerge as mid-range examples of their respective categories.

Xiaomi has now affirmed that it has a second-gen round-faced smartwatch ready to launch, and that it will be called the Watch Color 2 in its native China. This potentially substantial upgrade compared to the original Color is now set to debut alongside the OEM's latest smartphone sub-brand soon.

Samsung has released another edition in the Galaxy Watch 4 series, having already unveiled a Golf Edition in South Korea. The new model comes with a 'premium rhodium-plated finish', two straps and will cost an eye-watering £729 or US$799.

Anatel and the FCC have revealed that Amazfit is preparing to release next-generation smartwatches. If last year's release schedule is anything to go by, it should not be too long before Amazfit announces the GTR 3 and GTS 3.

Mobvoi is now advertising the TicWatch E3 and TicWatch Pro 3 as featuring the Snapdragon Wear 4100+, an SoC also found in the Fossil Gen 6. All evidence points to Mobvoi pulling the wool over people's eyes, unfortunately.

According to two leakers, Huawei will launch several new smartwatches in Q4 2021. Reputedly, the company is readying the Watch D, Watch GT 3 and Watch FIT 2. While the latter two are successors to current smartwatches, the Watch D will be Huawei's first that can monitor blood pressure levels.

Mobvoi may have silently upgraded the TicWatch E3 and TicWatch Pro 3 to a different Snapdragon Wear chipset. There is no official confirmation from Mobvoi, but all its marketing materials reflect the change.

An Italian YouTuber has revealed Mobvoi's next TicWatch Pro smartwatch. The device contains a few changes from last year's TicWatch Pro 3, including a refined design and an improved SoC.

Google seems determined to make its own Pay app the main equivalent of Apple Pay on Android. To this end, it has secured support for the often-contactless method from a number of additional banks in 9 countries worldwide. Most of them are located in Switzerland.

Huawei has started distributing some hefty updates for the Watch GT 2 and Watch FIT this month. The September 2021 updates also bring several security-related improvements to both smartwatches.

The Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 have gained a new feature, albeit only for Fitbit Premium members. Both smartwatches can now track your noise levels as you sleep, and how loudly you are snoring, too.

The first traces of a Huawei Watch D smartwatch have emerged online. The details arrive after a Huawei executive hinted in May that the company would launch a new smartwatch in 2021 that could measure your blood pressure without needing any special equipment.

Polar is developing a sensor to measure blood sugar levels via sweat. The company hopes to integrate the non-invasive sensor in a smartwatch to provide real-time monitoring.

Samsung has unveiled a new version of the Galaxy Watch 4. The new model offers practically the same specifications as the regular Galaxy Watch 4, but with a few software adjustments aimed at golf fans.

OPPO launched a first-gen premium smartwatch in 2020, then followed it up shortly afterward with a version certified to generate on-wrist electrocardiograms. This spec allowed the device to compete with the latest Apple Watches of the time. Now, a famous leaker asserts that an edition of the OPPO Watch 2 with the same ability is coming up.

Dizo is Realme's latest sub-brand for 'ecosystem' devices, mostly lifestyle wearables thus far. To this end, a Watch 2 and Watch Pro under this new name have been unveiled. They offer large displays and health-tracking tech such as SpO2 monitors, although the Pro has more sports modes and a larger battery. They will sell in India via Flipkart from late September 2021.

Xiaomi has introduced the Mi Smart Band 6 NFC globally, having initially announced the fitness tracker in March. The Mi Smart Band 6 NFC supports contactless payments thanks to a Xiaomi and Mastercard partnership while retaining all the features of the original Mi Smart Band 6.

Apple has announced a refreshed Watch Series 7 with a 1 mm larger display, new case colors, and watchOS 8. The new Watch Series 7 is now much more durable, includes new fitness apps such as Mindfulness, and riding fall detection. The Watch Series 7 also charges 33% faster compared to the Watch Series 6.

Several reports have indicated that Apple would have problems producing its next-generation smartwatch in time for its September 14 launch event. Reportedly, Apple has now overcome these issues, providing it with enough stock for launch day.

YouTube Music can finally be installed on Wear OS 2, despite Google and YouTube's intransigence. Officially, only Wear OS 3 supports Google's music streaming service, so just the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.

Fossil has done some optimising of its Gen 5 smartwatches, apparently. In an attempt to free-up memory and improve performance, the company has deleted about two-thirds of the watch faces that were previously available. To its credit, Fossil has added two watch faces in place of those that it has removed.

Apple has announced its annual September hardware event under the motto 'California Streaming'. The company is expected to unveil at least the iPhone 13 and Watch Series 7, which should both feature design changes from current models.

Millions of Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 sales around the globe have helped the Chinese OEM pip Apple for the top position in the table of world’s largest wearable band vendors in the second quarter of 2021. However, Apple is in a very strong position thanks to high sales of its Watch Series while there is a gloomy forecast for basic smart bands.

Apple is covering all its bases for its proprietary M chips, and is now looking into alternatives to ARM's core IPs in the eventuality that Nvidia manages to finalize the deal. A new job posted by Apple hints at the possibility that future Macs and iPhones could integrate RISC-V technology.

Huawei has introduced gesture controls to the Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro, its first smartwatches running Harmony OS 2. The new control features will be available via an update for both smartwatches.

OnePlus has released a new software update for its first-gen Watch. This new firmware adds Spotify playlist syncing to the wearable for the first time, as well as a real-time navigation display. The OEM has also prepared some new watchfaces for the device.

According to reports, the next Apple Watch will not support blood pressure monitoring, as the Galaxy Watch4 series already does. Blood sugar, blood pressure and body temperature tracking will be available on future Apple Watch devices though, starting as soon as next year.

The Snapdragon Wear 5100 may feature the same CPU cores as its predecessors, contrary to previous rumours and leaks. LPDDR4x RAM support could be headed to the Wear 5100 though, which would offer some performance improvements compared to the LPDDR3 RAM in recent Snapdragon Wear SoCs.

Samsung has released the second firmware update to its two new smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic. The update brings with it a few handy new features, but owners are already complaining about overheating issues and short battery life with LTE models.

It has been reported that the Apple Watch Series 7 has suffered a setback during production. It had been rumored the Series 7 Watch would be released in September but Apple is yet to announce an official release date. New colorful fan-made concept renders of the Apple Watch offer an idea of what fans can expect.

The Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches are the world's first wearables to rock the Plus version of the Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform, and are also the first of their brand to offer blood-oxygen measurements. They come in a variety of styles and materials, some of which are available to order in the US from now.

Tim Cook could be planning one more major product release as Apple CEO before stepping down from the role. The report comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman who said Cook may step down before a share deal matures in 2025.

The Fossil Gen 6 wearables are smartwatches that have leaked extensively in terms of putative specs and design choices, although the OEM has been able to keep the date of their unveiling a mystery thus far. However, it has now released an email to its subscribers that drops heavy hints that the devices will make it to a launch before September 2021.

Google may have sparked some dissatisfaction by announcing YouTube Music for wearables, then confirming that it is compatible with smartwatches capable of running the latest Wear OS 3 version only. A mobile security analyst has tried what is probably one of the most effective work-arounds for this potential problem, but ultimately came up unsuccessful in this effort.

While the expected announcement of the Apple Watch Series 7 is still a few weeks away, Chinese copycats have already started selling smartwatches that precisely replicate the design of Apple's latest wearable. Even though the marketing images look great, these cheap knockoffs from China are often of inferior quality.

Honor unveiled the Watch GS 3 a few weeks ago, with the company highlighting the smartwatch's industry-leading heart rate monitor. While the company has not launched the Watch GS 3 yet, it has finally shown how the wearable looks in the flesh.

According to a new report, Apple plans to adjust the sizes of the Apple Watch this year. Reputedly, the company has decided to release larger models, with the 38 mm size of previous Apple Watch generations not set to return.

The Fitbit Charge 5 has arrived and for just US$179.95. The new Fitbit Charge is thinner than its predecessor, while retaining week-long battery life and adding more health-tracking functionality. The Fitbit Charge 5 even has a brighter display that is a colour AMOLED panel, too.

YouTube Music has arrived on Wear OS, bringing offline downloads to the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. There are numerous drawbacks to Google's music service on Wear OS though, including performance issues and the inability to stream anything.

A marketing video for the Fitbit Charge 5 tracker has been leaked onto social media. The promo clip reveals a lot of pertinent details about the Fitbit Charge 5, including its price, release date, and key features. These include a built-in GPS, ECG app, EDA sensor, and a host of tools for keen fitness users.

The Galaxy Watch4 and 4 Classic still have a few days to go before reaching their new owners. However, that has apparently not stopped them from receiving an OTA update already. This new firmware is rated to optimize stability and performance on the new wearables as they start to go to work tracking a user's health.

Haylou has announced another new smartwatch, following the RS3 earlier this year. The Haylou RT2, also called the Haylou LS10, has a chic design, IP68 certification and a reasonably large battery, among other features.

Xiaomi has only released the Mi Band 6 NFC in China so far, with the non-NFC model the sole option for fans outside of the company's home market. A new certification suggests that Xiaomi could be about to bring the Mi Band 6 NFC to more markets, though.

Zeblaze has started selling the GTR 2, a successor to the affordable GTR. The 44 mm smartwatch has a 1.28-inch display, a Bluetooth 5.0 modem and is compatible with Android or iOS devices.

Chargeasap has launched successors to its super-charged Flash power bank via Indiegogo. The OEM asserts that the new Pro series incorporates its forebear's best attributes, a 100W USB-C Power Delivery (USB-PD) 3.0 output suitable for MacBook Pros included, albeit with upgrades such as more type-C ports and a very Apple-specific variant this time around