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Tech NewsCESThese Are the Wearables That Stood Out at CES 2021
Usually, when people think of wearables, their mind conjures an image of a smartwatch. Fair! But at CES, wearables are a much, much broader category. They include everything from “hearables” and smart rings, to futuristic proof of concept devices that may never actually see the light of day. While CES 2021 was an all-digital experience, … Continued
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Tech NewsCESThis Nifty Strap Lets You Control the Apple Watch With Gestures
Controlling an object with a hand gesture sounds more like Jedi wizardry than a real-life possibility. But after watching a CES 2021 demo of the Mudra Brand, I have to admit that perhaps this tech isn’t as far-fetched or gimmicky as I previously thought. The Mudra Band looks pretty much like any smartwatch band would, … Continued
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Tech NewsCESThe Taint Bandaid Is Real Now
Last year, nestled among the booths at CES Unveiled, an untouched veggie platter, and hordes of tired tech journalists, I stumbled upon the taint bandaid. At the time, the taint bandaid was more concept than actual product—as are many gadgets shown off at CES. Morari Medical, the company behind the taint bandaid, had a fairly … Continued
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Tech NewsGiz AsksAre Wearables Accurate at Detecting Calorie Burn?
It’s easy to attribute omnipotence to one’s devices. I’d hate to know what my iPhone knows about me. That said, there are still aspects of existence that Silicon Valley has yet to quantify (though not, I’m sure, for lack of trying). Calorie-burn might be one of these. While countless apps/devices profess to track it with … Continued
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Tech NewsCESFossil Dependably Brings a Bunch of Smartwatches to CES, But Not the One I Want
In the before times, you could always count on Fossil to bring a massive amount of smartwatches to any trade show. Were most of them gussied up versions of Fossil watches for other brands under their umbrella? Yes, absolutely. But after a year of ups and downs, it’s nice that even a pandemic can’t seem … Continued
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ReviewsWearablesSmartwatchesThis Smartwatch Is the Definition of Overpriced
Smartwatches have only gotten more affordable in recent years, and budget options under $200 can be surprisingly full-featured, especially if you don’t mind sacrificing sophisticated health features. So when a $350 smartwatch like the Zepp Z debuts, it has to deliver on multiple levels to make it worth the extra splurge. Unfortunately, it just misses … Continued
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Tech NewsAppleLeaked Prototype Photos Offer Rare Glimpse at Early Apple Watch
The Apple Watch has become an iconic smartwatch, but things could’ve turned out very differently. Leaked images of what appears to be an Apple Watch prototype show just how far it has come since its early days in development. Apple prototypes are extremely rare. These particular images were posted by Twitter user @AppleDemoYT and initially … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsWear OS Fans Shouldn’t Get Too Hyped Over an LTE Fossil Watch Just Yet
My biggest beef with Fossil’s latest smartwatch, the Gen 5E, was that it felt like a filler for the holiday season—something to pad out Fossil’s extensive catalog of Wear OS watches until it could release a new army of wearables powered by the new Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform. Now, a recent FCC filing hints that … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsA New Fitness Tracker Sensor Can Learn and Recognize Almost Any Activity
Depending on the sport, different athletes rely on different exercises during their fitness routines and while fitness trackers have gotten smarter, they can generally only recognize a handful of motions like swimming, riding a bike, or running. Bosch has developed a new self-contained chip that can be taught to recognize any activity using AI, so … Continued
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ReviewsWearablesSmartwatchesThe Amazfit GTR 2 Raises the Bar for Budget Smartwatches
Generally speaking, budget smartwatches tend to keep things simple. You usually get one advanced feature, cheaper materials, a fuzzier display with big bezels, and a barebones companion app—basically, a fitness tracker in a smartwatch form factor. The affordable Amazfit GTR 2, however, blows up that formula. For $180, you get on-demand SpO2 readings, two voice … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsDating Is Bad Enough Without Adding Wearables to the Mix
To a certain degree, using smartwatches and fitness trackers to quantify the body’s response to external factors makes a lot of sense. For instance, researchers are studying to see if wearables can identify infectious diseases, and on a more personal level, you can measure the effects of your own fitness routine. But, uh, we don’t … Continued
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Tech NewsNewsApple Fitness+ Is Officially Launching on December 14
When first announced back in mid-September, Apple promised its subscription Fitness+ service would launch before the end of the year. Just a few weeks before 2020 (finally!) draws to a close, Apple has revealed that Fitness+ will officially be available starting on December 14. After the official reveal, Apple went quiet on its new subscription … Continued
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ReviewsWearablesFitness TrackersNurvv Run Made Me a Faster Runner, but I Don’t Know if I’m a Better One
I’ve never been a particularly fast runner. As a wearables reviewer, that kind of bugged me because so many running apps and smartwatches are geared toward helping you get faster. But no matter how many interval runs, fartleks, or tempo runs I did, I struggled to shave off more than 20-30 seconds off my time. … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsIf You Bought a Fitbit Sense Recently, You Should Check Your Email
The Fitbit Sense is the company’s most ambitious smartwatch in a long while—in large part because the device was the first Fitbit with FDA-cleared ECGs. However, it appears the company is now contacting some Fitbit Sense owners for replacements, citing an unspecified “hardware issue” that may impact its ECG feature. The news first surfaced in … Continued
