Wearable

Garmin has rolled out a new beta update for various smartwatches, including the Fenix 7 and Fenix 7 Pro. Issued as Beta Version 15.68, the new update contains 40 changes from Garmin's last stable update, including 13 new features.

Certifications at bodies, including the NRAA and the EEC, have revealed a new Redmi smartwatch. Details of the Bluetooth wearable remain unclear, including an official launch date. The mysterious new model would follow the Redmi Watch 3 series, which launched globally earlier this year.

A new Xiaomi smartwatch, currently called the Wrist ECG and Blood Pressure Recorder, has been teased on social media. This is the first wearable of its kind from the company, with medical device certification in China. The watch’s bracelet mimics a regular blood pressure cuff for accurate readings.

Amazfit has officially launched its Active and Active Edge smartwatches. The rectangular Active model is available globally, while the rugged Active Edge is currently only on sale in the US. The new wearables come in multiple colors with features including GPS tracking and the AI-powered Zepp Coach.

Oura has revealed three new features to help you monitor and reduce stress with its smart ring. The tools are named Daytime Stress, Reflections and Stress Resilience, with varying release timings and methods. Oura also revealed a new Brushed Titanium finish for its Horizon smart ring.

The Garmin D2 Mach 1 Pro smartwatch is now available in countries worldwide. The aviator wearable has a titanium bezel and a built-in flashlight with adjustable brightness. Other features include aviation weather, offline maps, a Pulse Ox sensor and Garmin Pay contactless payments.

CheckMag The Huawei Band 8, the Huawei Watch Fit SE and the Amazfit Band 7 are the lightest fitness trackers and smartwatches that we have tested over the course of the last 10 months. In this short piece, we briefly revisit their features, their strong sides and their shortcomings, of which there are many.

The Amazfit Active and Active Edge smartwatches have been leaked in Brazil following a teaser image posted by Zepp Health on social media. The new wearables will be officially unveiled in October. The Active is a rectangular wearable with Bluetooth calling and music playback, and the Active Edge is a round watch with up to 16 days battery life.

Xiaomi has confirmed its intentions to offer a new smartwatch alongside the Xiaomi 14 series later this week. Arriving as the Xiaomi Watch S3, the smartwatch will feature many elements of other recent Xiaomi smartwatches but with an innovative and customisable design.

Suunto has a new smartwatch on offer that is also suitable for long and demanding off-road tours. The model was created in collaboration with outdoor company Mammut.

Edifier asserts that its second-gen NeoBuds Pro pack a patented form of active noise cancellation (ANC) that should block a greater and broader range of unwanted sounds than the average pair of TWS earbuds. The Pro 2s are also rated for spatial audio, a low-latency gaming mode and the LHDC 5.0 codec as well as LDAC and SBC. The NeoBuds Pro 2 also offer over 20 hours of estimated battery life for under US$150.

So far, Garmin has only distributed its ECG app to three countries, including the US. Following this week's expansion to Epix 2 Pro, Fenix 7 Pro and Venu 3 series smartwatches, some intrepid owners have already got ECG functionality working in the UK and Europe with a few temporary tweaks.

The Amazfit Falcon has a new firmware update, currently rolling out to the wearable. The latest software was announced on social media and contains various new features and improvements. For example, you can now view offline maps in a new Maps App, and the Zepp Coach workout records have been enhanced.

The Garmin Beta software version 26.79 is now available for Fenix 6, Enduro and MARQ smartwatches. The update brings new Device Settings Backup, Connect IQ Rating and OTA update tools. Plus, the Ski and Snowboard activities have been adjusted to improve the accuracy of the data collected.

Garmin has released a new beta update to the Instinct 2 series, bringing them up to v14 builds. Rolling out as Beta Version 14.05, the update contains various changes, with nearly a dozen for all eligible smartwatches.

It seems that Garmin is preparing to release new dive computer smartwatches under its Descent series. Next up are Descent Mk3 smartwatches, which will be available in two sizes with optional Subwave technology support.

Meta Quest 3 is a new VR headset designed primarily for an immersive gaming experience, but is being utilized by early buyers in public spaces for very different purposes. The unusual use of Quest 3 suggests that Mark Zuckerberg's plan to make virtual reality headsets attractive to the masses may be working.

Google has now released Wear OS 4 for the first Pixel Watch. Not only does the new version of Wear OS finally add a backup and restore feature, but it also should improve battery life and performance through a reworked watch face format. Unfortunately, Google has locked several software features to the Pixel Watch 2, including new watch faces.

The Amazfit GTR 3 Pro and Amazfit GTR 3 Pro Limited Edition smartwatches are currently discounted at Amazon. Customers in the US and the Netherlands can save up to 33% on the list price. Features of the wearable include a round AMOLED display with up to 1,000 nits brightness and a BioTracker 3.0 PPG sensor.

TCL has spun RayNeo off into a dedicated company that produces AR and XR products. One of the company's first products is the RayNeo Air 2, a pair of XR glasses that will be available soon with Sony Micro OLED displays for under US$300.

TCL has now opened pre-orders for the RayNeo X2 in China, a pair of AR glasses that the company showcased in January during CES 2023. The RayNeo X2 should eventually receive a global release too, potentially after the RayNeo Air 2 becomes available outside China.

Several new features from Garmin and two new smartwatch models are rumored to be in the works. As reported by the5krunner, from an unknown source, improvements will be made to Garmin Connect, new health tracking tools will be added, and additional workout personalization will be made possible.

Huawei has unleashed its latest flagship TWS earbuds on markets such as Germany today (October 18, 2023). The "Intelligent ANC 3.0" accessories are touted as even more stylish and comfortable than ever before, and to have up to 31 hours of battery life. They have launched at a price of US$212 and are bundled with the chance to get the OEM's latest fitness tracker as well at a potentially significant discount.

German semiconductor and IoT systems giant Infineon, in collaboration with adidas, has made the Lighting Shoe prototype to showcase its sensor and power systems technology. The shoe, based on the adidas originals NMD S1, uses MEMS microphones and a microcontroller to ‘listen’ to music and create striking lighting effects in sync with the beats. Unfortunately, there are no plans to bring it into production.

Qualcomm and Google has announced that RISC-V-based wearables with all the benefits of Wear OS might be on the cards in the near future. The two OEMs are currently collaborating on such a new platform with the emerging alternative to ARM and software support for the same. This new version of Snapdragon Wear might be just the tip of the iceberg for the wider integration of RISC-V throughout the entirety of Android devices.

The FDA has cleared Garmin to roll out ECG app support for a slew of new smartwatches. Still limited to three countries, the ECG app is now available across numerous recent Garmin smartwatches, including the Fenix 7 Pro, Fenix 7S Pro and Fenix 7X Pro.

Suunto has launched the Race smartwatch, a wearable to monitor your race progress and training. Features of the gadgets include an AMOLED display with up to 1,000 nits brightness and a maximum battery life of 26 days with power-saving settings. Other tools include an AI coach, GPS tracking and offline maps.

Leica has announced the new ZM 11 mechanical watch, which carries the same iconic design DNA as its cameras, and has a dual-layered dial inspired by the play of light and shadow. The three variants feature a titanium or steel case and a Swiss-made mechanical movement with 60-hour power reserve. It will be available in November, starting at US$6,775.

A Sleep Pulse Ox widget is now available for some smartwatch owners in the Garmin Connect app. The tool lets you track several sleep metrics, such as Avg SpO2, Low (SpO2) and Avg HR. Plus, a mysterious Events section has been added, which could be used in the future to help users detect sleep apnea.

The Garmin public update version 14.68 is now available to all owners of various smartwatches, including the Fenix 7, Fenix 7 Pro, Epix 2, Epix 2 Pro, Enduro 2 and Quatix 7 models. The latest software brings new features to the devices, including a Gaming App, Golf enhancements and weather forecasts for multiple locations.

The Apple Vision Pro has arguably failed to raise early-adopter enthusiasm as a high-end virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR) platform. However, Apple might still hold out hope for less indifference to its successor, which is said to come with a vanilla counterpart that might drum up more support (and purchases). It is now thought to do so by launching as more of a hybrid between an iPhone and a Meta Quest 3.

World Rugby is introducing smart mouthguards with in-game alerts to detect high acceleration events that could result in concussion. This will help pitch-side doctors assess the severity of individual impacts as well as monitor long-term effects in players. An initial €2 million is being invested towards adoption of the new technology, supplied by Prevent Biometrics, and debuting this month in the WXV elite women’s competition.

Garmin has released a trio of new MARQ 2 smartwatches. All sold under the MARQ Carbon Collection, the smartwatches feature a 'unique Fused Carbon Fiber build' with a higher price tag to match.

Qualcomm has revealed that it will cut over 1,200 jobs, or those of about 2.5% of its current employees, later in 2023. All of the affected staff members are located in the same region, although they will be obliged to leave their posts in two different facilities within it. Nevertheless, the OEM has announced its intention to keep investing in different business areas at around the same time.

Honor has introduced the Watch 4 Pro, a new smartwatch with a 1.5-inch LTPO AMOLED display set within a stainless steel case. The Honor Watch 4 Pro also has an eSIM, GPS and NFC, as well as precise heart rate and SpO2 sensors, among other features.

Polar has finally replaced its Vantage V2 smartwatch series. In its place arrives the Vantage V3, which comes in Sky Blue, Night Black and Sunrise Apricot colour options. All available for US$599.95, the Polar Vantage V3 has a large AMOLED display, dual-frequency GPS and over a week of battery life, among other features.

Supersapiens has updated its iOS app to support glucose monitoring directly on the Apple Watch. The new 3.1.1 update can replace the watch face with readouts such as glucose level, trends, and sensor status from the Abbott Libre Sense Glucose Sport biosensor. The Libre Sense Glucose sport is recommended only for athletes and not for medical diagnosis or monitoring of diabetes.

The Garmin Venu Sq Music smartwatch is discounted at Amazon in the US, the UK and EU countries such as the Netherlands as part of the Prime Big Deal Days event. The wearable lets you track your health and fitness with other everyday tools, such as music playback and contactless payments.

Garmin has discounted its Forerunner 745 smartwatch in the US as part of the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days event. The wearable is also reduced in price at Amazon in EU countries, including the Netherlands and France. The Forerunner 745 has been designed for runners and triathletes with GPS tracking and various tools to help you improve your fitness.

OnePlus' inaugural Watch launched to limited critical acclaim on its launch. Nevertheless, a second generation is now projected to be on the way. It is believed to debut in 2024, and may be intended to accompany the OEM's next flagship smartphone, as it mirrors the 12's camera hump in terms of design language.

CASETiFY has partnered with Nothing to recreate the latter's signature Glyph lighting system on some of the former's latest cases. However, they are not for the Phone (2), or even the Phone (1), but for the newest top-end iPhone instead. The cases debut alongside the inaugural Nothing x CASETiFY Mini Pouch, which is for the brand's Ear (2) TWS earbuds in that instance.

The Garmin Beta 16.10 software is now available for the Venu 2, Venu 2S and Venu 2 Plus smartwatches. This is the first update from the 16.xx series, with the 15.xx round ending several weeks ago. The changelog for v16.10 is relatively small, with bug fixes and a Text Language update.

Garmin has pushed another beta update for the Fenix 7 series and its equivalents. The new update is rolling out as Beta Version 14.68 and is designed to resolve various outstanding bugs, including those that could cause system crashes and synchronisation issues.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is estimated to affect about one billion people worldwide, and is currently associated with the risk of developing severe cardiovascular and neurological disease. Samsung has announced that its Galaxy Watch series is now officially approved to detect symptoms of the disorder in users, thereby possibly increasing their chances of early diagnosis.

Huawei has opened orders for the Watch Ultimate Design, an 18K gold version of the Watch Ultimate. Previously known as the Watch Ultimate Gold Edition, the Watch Ultimate Design retails for nearly €3,000, making it one of the most expensive smartwatches around.

Amazfit has started selling the Active, a mid-range smartwatch with a 1.75-inch AMOLED display. Offered with up to 14 days of battery life, the Amazfit Active also supports GPS services and weighs less than 25 g before a strap is factored in.

The Garmin Venu Sq 2 smartwatch can now receive the Public Beta version 2.56 update. The software includes various improvements and bug fixes, alongside sensor hub and graphics updates. Version 2.56 is a Release Candidate, meaning an identical update will soon be available to all owners of the Venu Sq 2.