Smartwatch

Evan Blass has tipped that Google will be unveiling a Pixel-branded smartwatch alongside its next-generation Pixel 3 handsets. Expected to be launched in early October, it will be the first smartwatch launched by Google as a direct competitor to the highly successful Apple Watch.

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.

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.

After big names like Amazon, eBay, and Twitter discontinued their apps for Apple Watch, the time has come for Instagram to do the same. The Instagram app for Apple's wearable will no longer provide a standalone experience once users upgrade to version 39 on iOS, and it will be replaced by various notifications.

More than a year since the launch of a new flagship smartwatch, Samsung is on its way to bringing the Gear S4 at IFA. A recent unofficial report reveals that a wearable codenamed "Galileo" and bearing the SM-R800 model number is under development and will be released in the last quarter of this year.

Apple is currently working on an all-new design for its market-leading Apple Watch. The new watch will feature a 15 percent larger display and slicker look, marking the first redesign since its launch in 2015.

The Palm Pre could be set to make a comeback to the US market later this year, if a fresh rumor is accurate. The device is expected to be designed and manufactured by Chinese company TCL, which is behind the most recent BlackBerry devices currently on the market like the BlackBerry KEYone.

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.

One year after the introduction of the WSD-F20, Casio unveils the Pro Trek WSD-F20SC "adventure smartwatch" at the ongoing Baselworld 2018 trade show that focuses on wearable technology. Compared to its predecessor, the WSD-F20SC also comes with a sapphire crystal display that can easily handle scratches and bumps, as well as a durable Field Composite band.

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.

Thanks to serial leaker Evan Blass, we now have a look at the next high-end BlackBerry-branded device set to hit the market. Manufactured for sale in the subcontinent, the new Ghost Pro from Optiemus is set to be a premium bezel-less design.

Last week, Fitbit started to roll out the firmware version 27.32.4.19 to the Fitbit Ionic smart wearables. This update is based on Fitbit OS 2.0 and includes Fitbit Today, described as "an updated on-device dashboard that keeps you informed about all of your health and fitness data," support for Deezer playlists, a new set of control gestures, various changes to the interface, and more.

If the latest rumors turn into reality, Android Wear will change its name around 4 years after its release. In addition to the new name, Google's upcoming Wear OS should also feature a new, colorful logo similar to the one currently used by Google Assistant. However, this change was spotted in the latest 12.5 beta for Play Services, so nothing is official yet, but we will probably see it happening in May at Google I/O.

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.

Fitbit has announced a special Adidas Edition of its recently released Ionic smartwatch. This is the first result of a collaboration between both companies. The Ionic Adidas Edition features a watch face designed by Adidas, a unique band, and a built-in Adidas Train application.

The AirPower wireless charging mat was originally announced in September, 2017 at an Apple media event. According to reports, this handy device could be shipped by the American tech giants in March. The mat uses the Qi standard for wireless power transfer and should have multi-device charging capability. There has been no official confirmation from Apple yet.

Apple Inc. has been enjoying tremendous success in the global watch market according to analysts. Shipment data suggests the Cupertino-based company is now beating out famous brand watchmakers such as Swatch and Rolex with its series of smartwatches.

Google is planning on bringing its Google Assistant service to a large number of new countries and the voice assistant will also support multiple new languages in 2018. The company has announced this during a presentation at the Digital New Initiative Summit in Amsterdam.

Huawei's upcoming smartwatches could be able to detect writing movements performed in mid-air using fingers. This new gesture control method has been described in a patent dated July 2016, so it might become reality pretty soon.

The Amazfit Bip Android Wear smartwatch was launched in China last year, and now it can be pre-ordered in the US for less than US$100. This smart wearable with an impressive battery life is expected to start shipping in the US next month.

The new Skagen Falster smartwatch runs Android Wear and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip. Depending on the strap/color combination, it can be purchased for US$275 or US$295.

The latest developers beta for Apple's WatchOS 4.3 brings back Apple Music integration, improved fitness information in the Siri watch face, and a new portrait charging mode. Apple's WatchOS holds a 57 percent share of the smartwatch market.

Fitbit, which acquired the Pebble brand in 2016, has announced that they will support the Pebble smartwatch line until June 20th, 2018. In other words, support for Pebble services and devices will end on June 30th of this year, marking the end of an era.

The TAG Heuer Connected Modular 41 is not only a smaller variant of the popular Connected Modular 45 smartwatch, since it also doubles the amount of memory and storage space, and features a 326 ppi AMOLED display with a resolution of 390 x 390 pixels.

Ressence has revealed the world's first mechanical watch that is able to pair with a smartphone. The Type 2 e-Crown was developed with the help of Nest co-founder Tony Fadell and is currently being shown as a concept.

Casio introduced a new smartwatch, GPS watch, and action camera, all of which have a rugged design intended for heavy outdoor use.

The BLOCKS Core modular smartwatch that started as a Kickstarter crowdfunded project is now available for anyone with full Android 8.0 Oreo onboard and support for Amazon Alexa voice commands.

The new Garmin Forerunner 645 Music is a GPS running watch with Garmin Pay support that features an integrated music player for enjoying their favorite songs without having to carry a smartphone.

Although the Apple Watch already features heart monitoring capabilities, the tech giant headquartered in Cupertino is currently testing a smartwatch that sports an EKG capable of detecting some cardiac problems before they become serious.

The Huami AmazFit Smart Sports Watch 2 is only available in China for the moment, but Xiaomi plans to launch it for the Western markets under the AmazFit Pace 2 name later on. The successor of the popular Amazfit Pace comes with a more sturdy body and upgraded processing power, along with a new Watch 2.0 version. There is a premium US$200 version that adds a leather strap, while the standard version costs US$140.

Google has revealed the list of Android Wear devices that will be getting an update to Android Oreo. The upgrade looks more about bringing the Wear base OS inline with the Android smartphone OS, rather than bringing major new features.

Next to Android 8.1 Oreo, Google intros the Go edition, which is a variant of its mobile operating system that comes with a lighter set of Google apps and has been optimized to work on devices with 512 MB to 1 GB of memory.

The successor of the Vapor is now official as the Misfit Command and can be pre-ordered starting at US$112.49. This hybrid smartwatch comes with a regular cell battery that can last up to an entire year.

Children's smartwatches have been found to have glaring security holes, some of which can present a serious threat to the safety of the children that wear them. These security issues, along with privacy concerns, have led German officials to ban the sale of children's smartwatches.

Unveiled back in January, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100-powered Misfit Vapor smartwatch with Android Wear 2.0 onboard is now up for pre-order and scheduled to start shipping on Halloween.

The Huawei Watch 2 Pro came out of the blue and, for now, it is only available in China. This round Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch features an eSIM slot and is IP68-certified for protection from the elements.

According to a new report, HTC is planning to launch a Plus-size model of its flagship U11 smartphone. The device will also be the first from HTC to feature a bezel-less design.

If the rumors coming out of Taiwan are true, HTC has reached an agreement to sell its mobile division to Google. Set to be announced tomorrow, the deal could also mean the end of HTC-branded devices.

*Update in article regarding T-Mobile speeds* Apple Support has told a customer than the LTE versions of the Apple Watch 3 will only work within the country of purchase, meaning those outside the ten supported countries can't import an LTE model. It also means that the LTE functionality won't work while traveling, even if the destination is a supported country. Meanwhile, T-Mobile has said they will throttle the Apple Watch 3 data speeds down to 512 Kbps.

Apple has officially launched the Watch Series 3 during its September 2017 keynote. The new Watch now sports LTE connectivity with a host of new fitness features and will be launching on September 15 with prices starting from US$329.

The Huawei Band 2 Pro which was announced back in July, is now available in the United States via Amazon at US$69. The fitness wearable features an integrated GPS to track activities such as running and swimming without the need to carry your smartphone with you.

Chinese researchers have been able to launch malicious voice command attacks on every major voice assistant including Siri and Alexa. Using ultrasonics, the researchers were able to hack devices with any victim completely unaware that their device had been compromised.

The Fossil Q Venture and the Q Explorist are now finally available in select stores and online as the first full-round touchscreen smartwatches from this brand. Both have a Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip under the hood and run Android Wear 2.0 out of the box.

The all-new Vivoactive 3 GPS smartwatch is Garmin's first device to come with Garmin Pay support for both Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards. It can be acquired already starting at US$299.99.

Apple has sent invitations for its iPhone 8 launch event, which will be held for the first time in the Steve Jobs Theater inside Apple's 'spaceship' campus.

Although this touchscreen smartwatch was announced back at CES and was supposed to hit the market by the end of this summer, Misfit has just confirmed that the US$199.99 wearable is facing a two-month delay.

Featuring a rugged, sweatproof design and customizable fit, Fitbit's first Bluetooth headphones integrate Waves MaxxAudio technology and can be pre-ordered already for US$129.95.

Fitbit's first smartwatch comes with its proprietary operating system, NFC and Bluetooth connectivity, Pandora Premium support, smart notifications, improved sensors, extended battery life, and is expected to hit the market in October.