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ReviewsAccessories & WearablesFinally, a Wear OS Smartwatch I Don’t Absolutely Hate
There’s no getting around it: The Suunto 7 smartwatch is a big, beefy boy. Giant smartwatches can be polarizing, but in a world of aggressively mediocre Wear OS devices, the Suunto 7 is a refreshing reminder that the Android watch platform doesn’t have to suck as hard as it currently does. So what’s different about … Continued
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ReviewsAccessories & WearablesFor $350 the Moto 360 Should Be Much Better Than It Is
There’s nothing wrong with the new, rebooted Motorola Moto 360. There’s just nothing special about it either. To get why that’s disappointing, it helps to revisit the Moto 360’s past. When it launched in 2014, the original Moto 360 was one of the most popular Wear OS (then Android Wear) smartwatches. It was the first … Continued
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Tech NewsHeart Rate Limitations Show Why You Shouldn’t Get Your Medical Advice From the Apple Watch
The Apple Watch is the smartwatch to beat. It’s massively popular, has a full range of features, and compared to some of its competitors, leads the way in rethinking how wearables can function within the health sector. During the Apple Watch portion of Apple events, you can generally expect a feel-good reel of real-life users … Continued
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Tech NewsIt Is the Year 2020, and Timex Just Got Back Into Smartwatches
Timex is well-known for its low-tech watches, but the company doesn’t immediately come to mind when you think of smartwatches. That’s because it’s been a hot second since the company put out anything worthwhile in the category. Well, 2020 is a new year, and Timex is looking to get back into the game with a … Continued
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Tech NewsEU Warns Google Buying Fitbit Presents a Major Privacy Risk
It wasn’t too long ago that Google announced it had plunked down $2.1 billion to acquire Fitbit. While the news was welcomed by some, many others raised the question of what would happen with all that health data Fitbit had collected. You can count the European Data Protection Board among the latter. At its 18th … Continued
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ReviewsAccessories & WearablesUnder Armour’s New Smart Sneakers Are Ugly as Sin But Good for Running
Last year I reviewed Under Armour’s HOVR Infinite shoes, which sync with your smartphone to offer running data from the built-in Bluetooth chip. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed working out in them. I expected the shoes to be more gimmick than substance, but the personalized gait-coaching actually helped me shave two … Continued
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ReviewsAccessories & WearablesThe Best Thing About This Smartwatch Is the Strap
There’s no shortage of stylish Wear OS watches—it’s literally Fossil’s main reason for existing at this point. The company and its small army of designer brands make up the bulk of Android-friendly smartwatches out there. The problem is, they’re all functionally interchangeable. They run the same software, sport the same features, with maybe one or … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsStop Trying to Clone the Apple Watch
At this point, there’s no denying the Apple Watch is the smartwatch to beat. It’s feature-rich, massively popular, and when you wear one, it confers a certain sensibility about you, the tech-savvy consumer. But for the love of everything holy, can other smartwatch makers please stop trying to shamelessly ape the design? The latest offender, … Continued
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ReviewsHey, Look! Another Fitness Tracker For Your Finger, Now With a Button
Smart rings have a few advantages over more common wrist-worn wearables. For starters, they can be more discreet, fashionable, and comfortable to wear while sleeping. The main issue is there aren’t as many of them out there—much less ones that offer the same breadth of features as wristables. That’s why it’s nice to hear about … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsWatch This Veteran Collapse on Antiques Roadshow When He Learns His $345 Rolex Is Actually Worth $700,000
There’s rarely as satisfying a moment on TV as watching someone strike it rich on Antiques Roadshow when a random item turns out to be worth a fortune. That’s exactly what happened on this evening’s episode when an Air Force veteran learned a rare Rolex he’d never worn was worth upwards of $700,000. The episode … Continued
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Tech NewsGyms Now Offering Perks for Working Out With an Apple Watch
The plan is that soon you’ll be able to waltz into a gym, connect your Apple Watch to a treadmill, and earn cash back or a free watch just for showing up. There’s not even a catch, supposedly. If you already own an Apple Watch, a new program Apple launched with select gyms will offer … Continued
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ReviewsAccessories & WearablesThis Posture Gadget Shamed Me Into Sitting Straighter But I’m Still a Gargoyle
I’ve always been a sloucher. It’s impossible to be a tech blogger, curled over a keyboard most hours of the day, and not have terrible posture. I only realized how big of a problem it was after a recent yoga class. While lying down in corpse pose, the class instructor walked past, looked at my … Continued
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Tech NewsMaybe We Shouldn’t Go Bananas Over Smart Contacts Just Yet
Imagine plopping a contact lens in your eye, and instead of just seeing better, you could see an enhanced view of your environment. That’s what Mojo Vision is saying their new prototype smart contact lens could do. Eventually. It sounds like a concept straight out of a sci-fi movie. But whereas anything is possible in … Continued
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Tech NewsPhilips Accuses Fitbit and Garmin, Its More Successful Competitors, of Stealing Its Wearable Tech
Philips is accusing two of the highest profile players in the wearables market, Fitbit and Garmin, of stealing its propriety technology, and it wants the companies to be brought to justice. Specifically, it is asking for Fitbit and Garmin, along with three other companies, to pay tariffs or be subjected to an import ban. The … Continued
By Jody Serrano -
Tech NewsGadgetsYour Earbuds May Soon Be Able to Track Your Blood Pressure
Over the past few years, it’s clear that wearable makers are setting their sights beyond heart rate tracking. More smartwatches and fitness trackers sport SpO2 sensors, for example, as a means of either monitoring for sleep apnea or keeping tabs on stress. But if there’s one ailment most wearable companies are stumped by, it’s blood … Continued
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ReviewsASICS’s New Smart Shoes Roasted My Running Form
Despite putting in a lot of hours pounding the pavement, I have never been the fastest runner. It’s not for lack of trying! I do fartleks, interval runs, tempo runs—you name it. I read an absurd number of articles about proper running form, and hyper-obsess over minute differences workout-to-workout from running watches and my UA … Continued
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ReviewsIt’s Not CES Without Yet Another Million Fossil Smartwatches
Look, it’s not a tech trade show if you aren’t bombarded with a small army of Fossil smartwatches. The wearable hype may have died down at CES since its heyday in 2014, but you can always count on Fossil and its umbrella of trendy designer brands to bring more smartwatches than you know how to … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsWithings’s Latest Smartwatch Doubles Down on Medical Wearables
Last year, Withings wowed at CES with a hybrid smartwatch that could also take your ECG. That was no small feat, considering it came just months after Apple made waves with the same feature on the Series 4. This year, it’s doubling down on ‘medical-grade’ hybrid smartwatches with the ScanWatch, which can take ECGs and … Continued
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Tech NewsThis Is the Decade Smartwatches Actually Became a Thing
Over the past ten years, smartwatches have gone from futuristic tech relegated to sci-fi flicks to something so common, it’s not a surprise to multiple people sporting them on your daily commute. These wrist-sized computers can’t do quite as much as your smartphone, but these days the modern wristable can do everything from tracking your heart … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsGarmin Will Charge You an Extra $450 To Buy Its Luxury Smartwatch Collection in a Wooden Box
Garmin’s MARQ line was designed to bridge the gap between highly functional smartwatches and luxury timepieces made with high-end materials. And for those who’ve struggled with choosing which design to splurge $1,500+ on, Garmin has now packaged almost the entire line in a fancy wooden box that will set you back $10,000 for the entire … Continued