Smartwatch

Samsung has two new wearables in store for us, the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch Active 4. Both smartwatches are expected to be launched sometime in Q2, 2021, and will likely be the first Samsung devices to run WearOS instead of Tizen.

Oppo released its Band fitness tracker last year in China, where it is available in two styles. However, the company has finally decided to bring the affordable device to a wider audience with a global launch, which is planned for March 8.

The Amazfit T-Rex Pro has featured in an unboxing video that shows off all of the features of the upcoming military-grade smartwatch. The T-Rex Pro utilizes software based on real-time operating system (RTOS) and features a BioTracker 2 PPG optical sensor and SpO2 blood-oxygen level measurement all for €169.90 (US$203).

The Apple Watch, Huawei Watch GT and Galaxy Watch lines helped their respective OEMs maintain their leading positions in the smartwatch space in 2020. This was a year in which the market showed relatively little growth, although its premium segment enjoyed a "significant" uptick.

Users in Germany can now use their Samsung Galaxy smartwatches to make purchases via Samsung Pay. A one-time setup is required via a linked Android smartphone. After that, one only requires to enter a PIN to authenticate every transaction. Only a handful of Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch models support it, for now.

Initial findings within One UI 3.1 have seemingly confirmed rumours that Samsung plans to switch to Wear OS this year. According to kernel source code, Samsung is working on a new Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Watch Active device codenamed Merlot that runs Wear OS.

Motorola's next smartwatch will feature the latest Snapdragon Wear 4100 SoC, which remains criminally under adopted by Wear OS smartwatch manufacturers. The circular smartwatch will also support GPS, NFC and 5 ATM water resistance.

Images and specs for the Amazfit T-Rex Pro rugged smartwatch have been leaked, indicating that the new Amazfit wearable is likely to be launched soon. The Amazfit T-Rex Pro looks very similar to the non-Pro model but offers at least one new color choice, greater water resistance, and access to the BioTracker 2 PPG health utility.

According to a roadmap published by CE Brands Inc, Motorola plans to release at least three smartwatches in 2021. A Moto G smartwatch for June has been mentioned, as have the Moto Watch and Moto One for July.

According to reports, OnePlus will launch the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9R, OnePlus 9 Pro and the OnePlus Watch later this month. Apparently, it has been confirmed that the hardware event will not occur until late March, but OnePlus will make some sort of announcement on March 8. OnePlus has hinted at its upcoming Hasselblad partnership, too.

Huami is a wearables OEM that has built a market leadership worldwide, mainly through the popularity of its Amazfit devices. Now, the company has announced that it will be known as Zepp Health from now on. This wholesale re-brand is intended to consolidate its position across all its businesses going forward

A new version of the TTGO T-Watch is here, and it comes with a microphone. The additional component allows Lilygo's smartwatch to be controlled by voice input, improving its versatility. The new version of the TTGO T-Watch retails for under US$30.00 on AliExpress.

Newer smartwatches may have superseded the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch Active, but that does not mean that Samsung has forgotten about them. On the contrary, the two smartwatches have received features that were previously found on the Galaxy Watch 3.

The Zeblaze Vibe 3S HD offers a round display, good battery life and plenty of other features. However, it is also an unashamed copy of the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro.

More news about the Xiaomi Mi Band 6, which will likely be known as the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 for the global market, has been discovered via the Mi Fit app. It seems the Mi Band 6, which is expected to come with a built-in GPS, will allow wearers to reply to SMS messages and may even offer increased functionality for popular messenger services.

The Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro already has many compelling features, including a SpO2 sensor and up to two weeks of battery life, to name but a few. However, the smartwatch can now reply to SMS, thanks to a new app.

Samsung has added some new features to the Galaxy Watch 3 and the Galaxy Watch Active 2, its current flagship smartwatches. Unfortunately, one such feature requires you to have a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, which seems unnecessary.

Recent leaks have supplied possible evidence of a successor to the popular, affordable Mi Band 5. Now, a new tip asserts that the wearable has been registered with Indonesian and Indian authorities, suggesting it may debut soon in those markets, at least. It also seems to spill the 6's model number, if no additional specs for the putative fitness tracker.

More evidence of Samsung's foray into the augmented reality (AR) market has emerged, in the form of a new video that might be marketing material for its first-gen Glasses. They are apparently pitched at use-cases such as gaming and content consumption as well as virtual conferencing and presentations. They may also work as sunglasses and have a virtual DeX modes.

According to a new report, Samsung has two new Galaxy smartwatches in development, model numbers SM-R86x and SM-R87x. These smartwatches may be Samsung's first to run Android since 2013, with a pivot to Wear OS apparently on the cards, too.

Rollme has just launched the Hero, its latest smartwatch with a completely bezel-free display. This is joined by a nano-SIM card slot for 4G/LTE connectivity in this wearable, not to mention up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Not only that, but it boasts an unusually large 1,600mAh battery rated for up to 10 days on power-save mode.

The GSMA has announced that it is currently considering running its flagship conference live and in Barcelona once again, albeit with up to 50,000 in-person attendees. Meanwhile, its Chinese counterpart, MWC Shanghai, is slated to begin on February 23, 2021 with 20,000 such attendees and in accordance with anti-Covid-19 health checks. Its success may determine whether MWC 2021 will return to something like "normality" this year.

Garmin has unveiled the Enduro, a new smartwatch with up to 65 days of battery life. The Enduro has such long runtimes thanks to solar charging technology. Still, it is more than capable in other areas, including GPS tracking, NFC contactless payments and all the fitness functionality one could expect from a Garmin.

Xiaomi has added several features to the Mi Watch with this month's software update. One of the highlights is Amazon Alexa support, as is the inclusion of a camera shutter button. V1.2.52 is hitting devices globally now as an OTA download.

Images of the OnePlus Watch's probable design have been published online, courtesy of the German Patent and Trademark Office. The images show two designs, which are seemingly sports and luxury models of the same smartwatch.

The Deauther Watch V3 is an intriguing smartwatch. Based on an ESP8266 board, the device can hack Wi-Fi networks and can even create fake ones. The Deauther Watch V3 also has a 1.3-inch OLED display and is orderable for US$65.00.

The LS02 smartwatch from Haylou has a simple design and is aimed at price-sensitive buyers. The smartwatch, which has a 1.4-inch display and up to 20 days of battery life, is now orderable for US$25.99, or under US$20 if you are happy to have the device shipped from China.

The market research group Above Avalon has studied the fortunes of the Apple Watch series up to 2020, and has put the number of its adopters at 100 million. This would make it the OEM's fourth biggest product, with iPhones, iPads and Macs the only lines to sell better than these wearables. Should this trend continue, they may in fact be able to overtake the PCs by 2022.

Facebook is planning to expand its hardware ambitions further according to a report from The Information. Facebook is said to be working on a smartwatch along with its own operating system for mobile devices as it looks to diversify while also bolstering the anonymized aggregated data it collects from its users.

The Watch GT 2 series debuted in 2019, so it was only a matter of time before information about a new series of Huawei smartwatches appeared. According to a well-informed source, the Watch GT3 and Watch 3 will feature a host of impressive hardware, and will be part of a major Huawei hardware refresh this year.

The Gocomma W5 retails for a mere US$63.99, and yet it features LTE and GPS connectivity. The W5 has a 1.54-inch display and runs Android 9.0 Pie natively.

Huawei has rolled out a new update to its most-expensive smartwatch, the Watch GT 2 Pro. The update brings plenty of improvements to the device, including the ability to set a password. 11.0.4.22 also optimises the Watch GT 2 Pro in multiple areas.

RedMagic is a brand based on Android gaming phones with the specs and design required for players in this arena. However, it is now slated to branch into smartwatches in 2021, something confirmed by a new FCC listing. It is a round-faced wearable with an AMOLED display and heart-rate monitor.

The S21 is a surprisingly comprehensive package, with Lemfo having equipped it with an LTE modem, GPS and a heart rate monitor, among other features. The S21 supposedly runs Android 10.0 and can access the Google Play Store too, for better or worse.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 has received many new features, including support for the company's SmartThings platform. The update, which is rolling out now, should also improve the smartwatch's reliability and stability.

Mobvoi's latest update for the TicWatch Pro 3 has not only added four new features to its popular smartwatch, but six improvements and a few bug fixes too. The update is rolling out now to smartwatches globally.

With the S2, Lenovo has created an affordable smartwatch that includes a lot of features. The Lenovo S2 has a 1.4-inch touchscreen, a real-time heart rate monitor and a purported battery life of up to 7 days.

The January 2021 update has brought new features and improvements to the Huawei Watch Fit, one of the Chinese company's cheaper smartwatches. The Watch Fit can now measure SpO2 levels periodically and manually split workout routines, among other changes. The update is rolling out now via the Huawei Health app.

SQFMI has released the Watchy on Crowd Supply, having sold out of the open-source smartwatch on Tindie. The Watchy, which was an e-Paper display, can be ordered from US$50 and will begin shipping in May. SQFMI is offering the Watchy with CNC and injection moulded cases this time around.

The Huawei Watch GT 2e has received a new feature courtesy of its latest software update. Huawei also claims that the update improves system stability and fixes some known issues that the Watch GT 2e had.

SQFMI has brought its open-source smartwatch to market, and for just US$44.99. The Watchy features an e-Paper display and features an ESP32 processor.

The tipster Digital Chat Station claims to have found new premium phones from Meizu on the 3C regulatory website. One might be called the 18 and support 30-watt (W) charging, while the other might be a 40W 18 Pro. However, despite these specs, it is said that the company will follow Apple and Samsung's example in leaving the necessary power bricks out of their retail boxes.

The FCC has published another Amazfit smartwatch certification, albeit one that currently goes by two names. The smartwatch, which has model number A2013, is either the T-Rex Pro or the T-Rex 2. Regardless, the upcoming smartwatch will have a round screen, GPS, automatic training detection and will support music playback.

Apple has launched a limited edition Apple Watch celebrating Black Unity. The Watch, along with several other product initiatives have been launched to coincide with Black History Month.

The Huawei Watch GT 2 has gained some new features courtesy of its latest software update, despite its release in October 2019. The latest firmware, which Huawei has called v1.0.11.20, is a 24.11 MB download and is rolling out to smartwatches now.

The Samsung Health Monitor app has finally acquired the CE mark of approval in Europe. This means that the Galaxy Watch3 can finally use its electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood-pressure monitoring features, as can the Galaxy Watch Active2, across the European Economic Area (EEA). This is also true of the UK, UAE, Chilean and Indonesian markets.