Photo credit: Jake Sworski
The 2019 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place on June 3rd, and one of the most anticipated announcements will be watchOS 6. However, designer Jake Sworski gives us a preview of this refreshed operating system for the Apple Watch ahead of its reveal. Featuring various new watch faces, a sleep tracking function, an improved activity ring, nutrition app, and lots more. Read more for a video and tons of additional pictures.
Photo credit: Lets Go Digital
It’s only a matter of time before foldable smartphones and smartwatches merge into a single device, like this bendable Samsung Galaxy creation you see above by Lets Go Digital. Last year, Samsung Electronics filed a patent with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) for a ‘Shape retaining structure of electronic device and electronic device including same,’ and it was just published on March 7, 2019. Simply put, it can bend in one direction and curls up so you’re able to wear it on your wrist. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: CNET
If the Apple Watch is a bit to robust for your needs, there’s the all-new Fitbit Versa Lite. Priced from $159.95, it features all the core fitness and smart features of Fitbit Versa, such as activity / sleep / heart rate tracking, notifications, apps and even a 4+ day battery life. You’ll be able to choose from several bold color choices and an easy one-button design. Read more for another hands-on video, additional pictures and information.
First unveiled at IFA 2018, the Nubia Alpha’s latest prototypes sport a four-inch, 960×192 OLED display, which is currently the “largest wearable flexible screen in the industry,” according to Visionox, the screen’s manufacturer, and it’s protected by a heat-resistant polymer called Polyimide. It features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, Bluetooth, WiFi, 4G eSIM support, a 5-megapixel camera, and a 500mAH battery, good for between one and two days on a single charge. Read more for a hands-on video and additional information.
Photo credit: CNET
How about a foldable smartphone that can bend around your wrist and double as a smartwatch? TCL’s next device could function just like that. This concept is nothing new, as Lenovo came up with a similar idea back in 2016, but nothing really came of that concept, but it does provide insight on the bending function as well as the user interface. Read more for a video of that device in-action and additional information.
Sony’s Wena straps transforms just about any watch into a smartwatch that can be used for notifications, fitness tracking, and even contactless payments. They come in Active ($450) and Pro ($510) styles with the former consisting of silicone material, while the latter, a metal strap, which can be attached to luxury watches, Rolex included. The Pro features a 20mm band in silver or black, but can be used with watches that have 18mm, 20mm or 22mm lugs. Read more for another video and additional information.
Before smartwatches, there was the gesture-controlled, touchscreen Casio AT-552 Janus. That’s right, the AT Janus models (AT-551 and AT-552) included an eight-digit touchscreen calculator where the entire display could be used to ‘write’ the number or calculator function. The watch would recognize what had been written by the user’s fingertip and perform the calculation. Read more for the full demo video.
Louis Vuitton has officially unveiled their new line of Tamour Horizon connected smartwatches with Google’s Wear OS installed: the Tambour Horizon Monogram Eclipse, Tambour Horizon Matte Black, Tambour Horizon Monogram Brown, and the Tambour Horizon Pure White. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset, each watch features a 42mm circular case, 1.2-inch AMOLED touch display and water resistance up to 30 meters. Prices start at £2,125 ($2,805 USD) and top out at £3,685 ($5,102 USD), while a charger will set you back an additional £93 ($123 USD). Read more for a video and additional information.
The Apple Watch has more or less kept the same design since it was first launched nearly 4-years ago in April 2015, and some have been asking for a round design since the beginning. Introducing the Apple Rope Watch by industrial designer Dongwook Yoon which shows just that. In addition to the round face, there’s also a lasso-style strap for easy wear and removal. Read more for additional pictures.
Fossil Group Inc announced today that it would sell its intellectual property related to a smartwatch technology currently under development to Alphabet Inc’s Google for approximately $40-million, and will send a portion of that R&D team currently to the search giant, with the deal expected to close at the end of January. “The addition of Fossil Group’s technology and team to Google demonstrates our commitment to the wearables industry,” said Stacey Burr, vice president of product management at Google’s Wear OS, a smartwatch platform. Read more for an in-depth look at the latest Wear OS features.