Wearable Computing & Fashion - Page 4

If you're the owner of a Tesla electric vehicle you know only too well how easy it can be to find yourself locked out when your phone's battery dies. If you have your keycard handy you won't have an issue of course, but if you don't, you're stuck. And that's what happened to one person whose phone died and had to resort to borrowing a phone to call their husband. The husband unlocked the car remotely, but it was enough for the owner to send a message to Tesla CEO Elon Musk on the X social network to ask for a better alternative.

The Tesla owner pondered whether the better option here would be for the Apple Watch to be capable of unlocking a Tesla without the need for a working phone, something that other cars that offer Apple's CarKey feature already do. And while there has so far been no indication that Tesla is working no an Apple Watch app, that might now be changing.

In a reply to the Tesla owner who locked themselves out of their car, Musk simply replied "sure" when asked about potential Apple Watch support.

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.