Wearable Computing & Fashion - Page 3

Apple has long been rumored to be working on taking the Apple Watch Ultra and adding a new microLED display to the mix, replacing the OLED panel that is currently being used. There were recent claims that Apple had ditched the project, but now it appears these reports might have been a little premature.

Now, rather than being canceled, a new report claims that Apple is actually very much hard at work on getting the matter sorted - with some saying that Apple ash multiple internal teams working on microLED projects.

Previously, a report claimed that OSRAM had announced that a "cornerstone project" of its own had been unexpectedly canceled. It was then said that the project was actually one that related to the Apple Watch Ultra but now both DigitTImes and ETNerws say that while Apple may have pulled the plug on plans to use an OSRAM LED chip, that doesn't mean that it's the end of the road.

If your fancy new smartwatch or ring claims that it can measure your blood glucose levels without piercing your skin, it might be lying to you. Or, at the very least, providing results that shouldn't be used to inform your decisions in terms of medication. That's according to a new FDA safety warning which suggests that such devices might not be quite so smart as they claim.

With smartwatches already hugely popular and smart rings now expected to boom in popularity, there are plenty of eyes on such technology. Oura's smart rings are the best on the market right now and Samsung's Galaxy Ring will be officially unveiled later this year. Apple was also recently tipped to launch its own smart ring sooner or later, and blood glucose monitoring is something that people seem to really need, especially if they're diabetic.

But knowing how much glucose is in the blood normally means pricking a finger, and that isn't something rings can do for obvious reasons. Non-invasive checks are where technology is going, but the FDA isn't convinced. No smartwatch or ring has been cleared by the FDA to do such a thing, but that doesn't mean that they aren't available. Apple is thought to be trying to make blood glucose monitoring a feature of future Apple Watches, but it hasn't done so to date.

The Apple Watch is currently the only wearable that Apple makes, and while it also happens to be the world's most popular smartwatch that isn't where Apple intends to stop. With talk of the global smart ring market exploding in the coming years, a new report claims that Apple is ready to get involved with its own entry - the wearable that we'll all call the Apple Ring until told otherwise.

The Apple Ring will likely go up against competing products from the current market leader, Oura, as well as Samsung and others. Samsung teased the Galaxy Ring last month and is set to officially unveil it later this year. Now, an ET News report claims that Apple is set to join the fold and has already been applying for patents that relate to such a device.

Citing Business Research Insight, the ET News report claims that the smart ring market is set to increase from $20 million last year to a huge $197 million by 2031. With such a figure in mind, it's perhaps unsurprising that Apple is eyeing a slice of the pie.

If you're the proud owner of an Apple Series Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 and have found that your smartwatch has been doing strange things, you apparently aren't alone. In fact, the issue is so widespread that Apple is aware of it and is already investigating what's happening and how it can go about fixing things.

The issue, MacRumors reports, is that some of the very latest Apple Watches are suffering a touch-related issue that causes some models to recognize touches on their display even though nobody has actually touched them. The result is "ghost touches" that cause apps to misbehave.

The MacRumors report cites an internal memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers this week that says some users are reporting that Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models are causing issues. The Apple memo says that this can cause some APple Watch models to jump around erratically or just behave in an unexpected manner. Examples of issues experienced include some Apple Watches placing calls unexpectedly or users being unable to correctly enter their passcode because the watch's display misinterprets real taps.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the best Apple Watch on the market right now and one of the best smartwatches, period. But there are still places where it could be improved and reports have long suggested that Apple intends to turn its attention to microLED as an upgrade for its display. But a new report hints that previously suggested release schedules might turn out to be optimistic.

There had been some suggestion that Apple would switch to microLED Apple Watch displays in 2026, with research firm TrendForce saying so throughout 2023. Some other sources had pointed to the switch happening as soon as next year, but a new report says that neither timing is likely to happen and that potential Apple Watch Ultra buyers should look to 2027 instead.

That's according to a report by The Elec which says that problems relating to the manufacturing costs and production yields associated with new microLED Apple Watch Ultra displays could see the launch delayed into 2027.

If you're an Apple Watch owner you're going to get a new software update within the next few weeks, but before that can happen it's been made available to developers to ensure that mode testing is done before the big release. That watchOS 10.4 update isn't expected to bring a huge number of new features to Apple Watch owners, but there's something for emoji fans to look forward to.

In terms of those new features, the software has only just landed so we might find new tweaks and improvements over the coming hours. However, right now, it's believed that the new emojis are the biggest change here. There have been a number of new additions including a lime, a brown mushroom, a phoenix, and a broken chain. Two new shaking heads have also been added to cover the "yes" and "no" movements.

Those who are registered developers can now download the new watchOS 10.4 update via the usual methods. That involves using the Watch app on the iPhone the Apple Watch is paired with and then choosing the Software Update section. The Apple Watch will need to be on the charger and have at least 50% battery charge at the time of the update otherwise it will not commence.

Apple has been told that it has to stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 smartwatches in the United States all over again. The news relates to an ongoing legal dispute over the use of blood oxygen-sensing technology that is used in those two models.

That technology has already been found to infringe upon a patent owned by the medical device firm Masimo, a company that Apple was once said to have tried to buy. A ban was previously ordered before Apple was able to get a stay on the ban while the initial stages of its appeals process were underway. However, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit declined Wednesday to grant Apple a longer pause.

Apple had to briefly stop selling the affected Apple Watches over the Christmas period before the stay was applied, but the ban will once again begin tomorrow which means that Apple Stores and Apple's online presence will have to stop selling these models at that time. An import ban will also come into effect. That means that while third-party retailers can continue to sell the wearables, they will not be able to replenish their stocks once they run dry.

Buying an Apple Watch in the United States is easier today than it might have been if a ban on Apple's best wearables had gone ahead. That ban was paused after Apple appealed a decision to ban its Apple Watch in December, but now the UInternationla Trade Commission has formally opposed the stay, saying that Apple's arguments against a ban are weak.

The original ban kicked in on December 25 after the Biden administration chose not to intervene following a decision to ban the watches over patent infringements. Those infringements are over patents relating to health technology created by Masimo and a legal battle has been underway for years. At issue is the blood oxygen monitor used in the Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Series 9, and slightly older models not including the Apple Watch SE - that model doesn't have the blood oxygen monitoring technology and is not affected as a result.

Apple briefly paused sales of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9, before it was able to get a stay on the ban that runs until January 15 at the earliest. That's when arguments from all parties will be taken into account, and a ban could be reinstated as a result.

The Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Ultra 2 look almost identical and are both made from titanium, Apple's latest material of choice. But where the iPhone 15 Pro comes in multiple colors, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is only available in the same natural color that the previous model shipped in. There were rumors that might not have been the case, but ultimately the natural color was all that we got.

However, the story has been given additional credence today following the leak of an Apple Watch Ultra band that appears to have black hardware, the kind that would be used on an Apple Watch band that was going to be fitted against a black titanium Apple Watch Ultra. The band itself looks to be genuine and matches other Apple Watch Ultra bands, with the only difference being that black hardware.

The source of the leak was X user DongleBookPro and as ever, it's important that we take these kinds of leaks with a pinch of salt. But the band does appear to be what the leaker says that it is.

There are a lot of useful new inventions being unveiled at this year's CES, including this interesting new silent mask by Skyted.

It brings the mask-wearing reality of travel and discretion together to create a mask to reduce sound, allowing users to have near-private conversations. Skyted launched its Kickstarter campaign at CES earlier today for its new noise-reducing mask that would allow users to speak freely about anything anywhere without the worry of others eavesdropping, preserving privacy and confidential information.

Kickstarter has already smashed its goal of only $8,800, earning a total of $54,000, showcasing that it is a concept that has got many people's attention. This mask isn't made to completely mute you to the world around you and won't allow you to scream at the top of your lungs without receiving some weird looks. However, it will reduce your sound by 25 decibels, so when speaking at normal volume, the people around you won't be able to hear you.

SENSHOMI is a newly established brand. From my communication with founder Jacob, I learned that they spent nearly a year polishing the product and only launched it on Amazon and TikTok at the end of this year.

Jacob believes that men are inherently rational, and the choice of clothing should be like choosing a computer. We need to start with the specs. What specs should we pay attention to for a good laptop, and what specs should we pay attention to for a high-quality T-shirt? In addition, a good technological product should have a special function. For these reasons, SENSHOMI was born. Let's take a look at the next two t-shirts in the TechTee Pro series launched by SENSHOMI.

TechTee Pro E is a polymer nano-material dip-dyed on 100% cotton fabric. It uses the hydrophobic principle of lotus leaves. When liquid stains slip onto clothes, they will be aggregated into small water droplets to prevent the leaked water from staining the clothes. Forming stains, it has the effect of protecting liquid stains and can keep the T-shirt in a very clean state. At the same time, because it is a dip-dyed fabric, the clothing still has good softness and breathability.

Following a ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC), Apple had to stop selling its flagship Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the Apple Watch Series 9.

The banning of the two aforementioned Apple Watch's was a result of a dispute between Apple and medical technology company Masimo, which were debating the ownership of the blood oxygen sensor technology within both of the devices. The ITC announced its ruling back in October, upholding a judge's decision to rule in favor of Masimo back in January, 2023. Apple then informed 9to5Mac that it will no longer be selling its Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States after 3 pm ET on Thursday, December 21.

However, thanks to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and according to a new statement from Apple to 9to5Mac, the company has confirmed the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 will be returning to retail stores and it's website on December 27. Apple explained that after undergoing an extensive process of appealing the ruling it filed an emergency request to get the ban lifted with the US appeals court, which proved successful.

The Retro Gaming Watch, a passion project from Jason Rogers, has blown past its Kickstarter funding target of $35,000 USD (as of writing, it's sitting on $56,286) and has an estimated delivery window of November 2024. As per its name, the Retro Gaming Watch is a smartwatch with a design focused on classic and retro video games from the 1980s.

Sporting a physical design (and orange color) reminiscent of the original Nintendo Game & Watch devices, the Retro Gaming Watch features a flip-open design to reveal a screen and controls. It's kind of like a Game Boy Advance SP that you can wear.

According to Jason, including an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), Arm Cortex M33 processor running at up to 160MHz, 1.5 MB of "fast RAM," and a dedicated 2D graphics processor is enough power to handle DOS games and console releases from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. Plus, it's a smartwatch that connects and interacts with your smartphone for app and message interactions.

If you own an Apple Watch that's out of warranty in the United States you might want to start being extra careful with it. That's after it was confirmed that Apple will no longer be able to repair Apple Watches outside of warranty claims as of December 25, 2023.

That's the date on which the United States ban on Apple Store sales of the Apple Watch kicks in, with all models that are capable of measuring blood oxygen levels affected. In a memo sent to retail employees last week and seen by MacRumors, Apple confirmed that it will not be able to replace broken Apple Watches. It would normally replace broken Apple Watches with new units rather than try and fix individual components, but the ban will prevent that from happening.

Apple has already stopped selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra via its online store and it will stop selling them in its physical stores after December 24. As for the replacements for broken models, that will affect the Apple Watch Series 6 or alter as well as all Apple Watch Ultra models.

In an exclusive report to 9to5Mac, Apple said it will be halting the sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 following a recent ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC).

The recent ruling by the ITC involves a long-standing patent dispute between Apple and medical technology company Masimo. The debate focuses on the ownership of the blood oxygen sensor technology found within the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. The recent ruling resulted in Apple informing the aforementioned publication that it would no longer be able to sell Series 9 and Ultra 2 after 3 pm ET on Thursday, December 21, with in-store inventory set to expire completely after December 24.

Now, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives has estimated that Apple will lose between $300 and $400 million if the company follows through with the sales halt of both watches. Notably, this blow to Apple's total sales will be similar to taking out a bucket of water from a lake, as Apple is expecting to generate nearly $120 billion in sales during the October-December period. Due to the company's solidified position, the announcement of sales halting for the two Apple Watch's didn't cause stock prices to drop.

Apple released the watchOS 10.2 update yesterday, adding a new feature that could make it way easier for people to access their health data. With watchOS 10.2 installed, Apple Watch owners can ask for information from within the Health app or, in some cases, write to that information as well. But only if they have an Apple Watch Series 9 or an Apple Watch Ultra 2.

The feature allows people to do things like ask their Apple Watch how many steps they have taken or provide information instead. That could include telling the Apple Watch that they have already taken their medication, but this all requires a new Apple Watch to work. Now, Apple has explained why that is, and it turns out that it's all in the name of data privacy.

Speaking with CNET, Deidre Caldbeck, Apple's senior director of product marketing for Apple Watch and Health, explained that the new Apple Watches are the only ones capable of handling this kind of Siri request on-device, meaning that there is no cloud component. That in turn means that none of this private health information requires Siri to compute its response online, making the feature more private as a result.

Microsoft launched Windows XP in 2001, and in the ensuing years, it has become one of the company's most celebrated versions of the iconic desktop operating system. A major shakeup to the overall Windows '95 and '98 aesthetic, XP's bright blue default theme was accompanied by its desktop wallpaper depicting Napa Valley wine country.

Windows XP also became one of the longest-supported and widely used versions of Windows and was one of those rare releases that outlived its successor. This interesting failure was Windows Vista. XP was so popular that the iconic default blue theme helped make the photo used for desktop wallpaper one of the most widely viewed photographs ever.

And for as vibrant and colorful as the image is - it's unedited. Affectionately called Bliss, the photo and Windows XP desktop wallpaper are the centerpieces for this year's Windows Ugly Sweater. Although this is purely subjective, I think this flashback to the early 2000s looks cool - so much so that I'd gladly wear it year-round.

There are already multiple smart rings available from the likes of Oura and similar companies, and Samsung is heavily rumored to have a Galaxy Ring product ready to be announced as soon as January 2024, likely alongside the new Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphones. But Apple doesn't want to be left behind and is hard at work on a smart ring of its own - and it might do something no other smart ring does.

That's according to a new AppleInsider report based on a newly granted patent that makes a point of explaining that the smart ring doesn't necessarily have to be worn around the wearer's finger. In fact, the patent claims that it could be worn almost anywhere else including around a user's wrist, arm, leg, ankle, neck, head, and/or other body part. That final bit leaves little to the imagination, so you get the idea.

Little information is available in terms of features but we can around the Apple ring to be able to measure the wearer's heart rate, temperature, and more - much like rings that are already on sale today. But Apple's patent allows for products that are built to fit on different parts of the body - could we see an Apple bracelet, or an Apple headband, for example?

The Apple Watch first went on sale in April of 2015 and we're getting closer and closer to a full decade of the world's most popular watch. But there were of course plenty of prototypes before that model went on sale and we've seen some of those pop up online in recent years. But none of them have been quite so old as this one.

This new prototype is in the hands of the Apple collector Giulio Zompetti with photos shared with 9to5Mac. While Zompetti had previously shared photos of an Apple Watch prototype from early 2014, it seems that this one is even older than that and was being put through its paces in December of 2013.

The newly shared prototype is apparently running a version of SwitchBoard that is based on the same version of iOS 8 that used to power the iPod touch at the time. SwitchBoard is software that is used inside Apple to allow its engineers to test specific features and components of a device before it progresses to wider testing. But there are some other notable differences here as well.

When you updated your Apple Watch to watchOS 10 back in September 2023 you probably noticed that you could no longer wipe from one watch face to another, allowing you to quickly change when you want a new look or additional functionality. The removal of the feature didn't go down very well with a lot of people, but it now appears that Apple is going to fix its mistake and bring the feature back to Apple Watch users all around the world.

Apple's watchOS 10.2 beta 3 update is now in the hands of beta testers who have been putting the new update through its paces. And one of those is developer and researcher @aaronp613, an X user who has a history of finding unannounced features in new beta software. According to a post by them, the watchOS 10.2 beta 3 release brings back the much-loved swipe gesture for changing watch faces.

There will be an option to enable and disable the feature via the Settings app, under the Clock sub-setting so there will be a way to prevent accidental swipes changing faces if that's something that you've experienced in the past.