smartwatches

Although it almost sounds like something from the distant past, Motorola has actually been an important part of the mobile industry's history that goes beyond just smartphones. Despite its much-ridiculed "flat tire" design, the Moto 360 was the first smartwatch to dare to have a circular body instead of the easier square chassis. Like other smartphone makers, Motorola stepped back from making wearables but it seems it is now coming back with not one but three smartwatches this year.

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Smartwatches are rather curious little gadgets that are like miniaturized and watered-down versions of our smartwatches. For better or worse, that means that smartwatches can't really use the same interaction conventions and UIs that are almost second nature on smartphones. While touch screens and buttons are always an option, Google has been pushing for more hands-free controls on Wear OS using Google Assistant. Unfortunately, an important part of the process has been broken for months before the company committed to working on a fix.

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Omate is back with another Nanoblocks smartwatch for kids, this one featuring 4G LTE connectivity and a software SIM. The new O6L Pro model is visually similar to the 3G version of the Omate x Nanoblocks smartwatch the company introduced back in 2018, but with updated tech that powers a number of features, including video calls, messaging, and more.

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Samsung was actually the first manufacturer to come out with an Android-based smartwatch even before there was Android Wear, now Wear OS by Google. It used a modified version of Android that, unfortunately, meant Samsung had to do things its own way yet again. Eventually, it decided to just ditch Android altogether, aside from at least one model, and created its own experience around Tizen OS. Now, however, a single rumor has users taking sides on whether Samsung switching to Wear OS is a good thing or not.

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Wear OS by Google, formerly Android Wear, also by Google, still leaves some things to be desired but no one can deny how it opened up the smartwatch market to more players. While it ironically seems to have pushed away smartphone makers, it invited traditional watchmakers to the party. That includes ones that make super-expensive luxury watches like Hublot who is bringing a Bing Bang e Premier League edition to fans of football or, as it is known in the US and some parts of the world, soccer.

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Bugs in consumer electronics, especially in smart devices, have almost become a fact of life but most of those can thankfully be fixed by a software update. Unfortunately, there are times when the bugs also hit some hardware component that then requires some fix or replacement. That seems to be the case with the Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch SE that suddenly refused to charge when they enter Power Reserve mode. Fortunately, Apple is offering to repair those smartwatches for free if they exhibit these symptoms.

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One of the benefits of the openness of the Android platform is that users technically aren't limited to getting apps just from Google Play Store or any app store for that matter. At their own risks, users could simply "sideload" or install APKs for apps that are distributed outside of those channels. That feature has more or less also been available on Android's wearable version but Google is soon making a major change that would make sideloading Wear OS apps next to impossible.

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Fitbit today announced a new collection of features that will be rolling out to users over the course of the month. Chief among these new features is expanded access for free users to Fitbit's Health Metrics dashboard. After launching last year on the Sense and Versa 3, soon Fitbit says that Versa 2, Inspire 2, and Charge 4 users will get that functionality as well.

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Samsung has launched a new firmware update for the Galaxy Watch 3. The update adds the SmartThings Find app to the wearable that helps users to find a lost smartwatch. The update also adds some other notable fitness features fans will appreciate.

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Smartwatches are a dime a dozen these days but, despite being targeted at the general population, some would point out how they seem to be designed more for males or at least those with larger wrists. Even those that are explicitly marketed to be for women still share the same watch and strap sizes as other models. That may be the issue that Garmin will be addressing with a new Lily smartwatch that is seemingly designed for those who prefer smaller, more discreet wearables.

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Apple has launchd a new limited-edition Black Unity Collection, marking Black History Month 2021 with a special Apple Watch and matching band. The Black Unity Apple Watch Series 6 will come with an exclusive Unity watch face and a Black Unity Sport Band with the colors of the Pan-African flag.

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Although smartwatches are a dime a dozen these days, some still prefer smart bands not just for their simplicity but also for their discreetness. That's not to say that these fitness-centric devices are less featured than their smartwatch cousins, especially this upcoming product from Xiaomi. According to the latest leak, the company's next Mi Band will be chock-full of features that it would almost qualify as a smartwatch, one that even has Amazon's AI assistant on board.

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