Latest news with #smartwatches
GSM Arena
3 days ago
- Business
- GSM Arena
HMD Skyline 2, Skyline 2 GT, Rubber 1, and Rubber 1S all have their specs outed
It's going to be a pretty busy period for HMD, as it turns out. Today two of its upcoming smartphones have had their specs leaked, along with its first ever smartwatches. So let's dive right in. The image you can see below purportedly depicts either the HMD Skyline 2 or the Skyline 2 GT. The Skyline 2 is said to come with a 6.55-inch pOLED screen with FHD+ resolution, 144 Hz refresh rate, and 1,200-nit peak brightness, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 SoC at the helm, and a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 33W wired charging as well as Qi 2.0 wireless charging. It will have a triple rear camera (108 MP main with OIS and two additional shooters - 13 MP and 50 MP), a 50 MP selfie camera, an IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance, stereo speakers, magnetic wireless charging support, and it will run Android 15 with three major OS upgrades promised. The Skyline GT, on the other hand, will sport the same display but it will be brighter (2,000-nit peak), the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 SoC, a rear camera system with a 108 MP main with OIS, and two additional 50 MP sensors plus a 3D ToF sensor, a 50 MP selfie camera, 12GB of RAM, and the same size battery but with 45W wired charging. Qi 2.0 with magnets is also built-in, and this one is IP67 rated for dust and water resistance, plus it has a dedicated camera button as well as a customizable button. The HMD Rubber 1 smartwatch will run Wear OS (though it's unclear which version), and it has a 1.85-inch OLED screen, a 2 MP camera (yes, really), Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, NFC, an accelerometer, heart rate sensor, SpO2 tracking, and a 400 mAh battery with support for Qi wireless charging. It will be 5ATM rated for water resistance. Finally, the HMD Rubber 1S also runs Wear OS, is also 5ATM rated, has Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, an accelerometer, heart rate monitor, and SpO2 tracking, but a much smaller 1.07" OLED display and a 290 mAh battery with support for Qi wireless charging. Source
Phone Arena
24-05-2025
- Health
- Phone Arena
Garmin smartwatches get a bunch of new features, but some cost money
Garmin has just released a major software update for many of its smartwatches. While the bulk of the improvements that are part of the update are free for everyone, there are a couple that require customers to pay for a Garmin Connect+ subscription, which costs as low as $6.99 per month. Before we deep-dive into the latest features coming to Garmin smartwatches, it's important to first list the models that are actually getting this major update: Fenix 8, Forerunner, Instinct 3, Lily 2 Active, Venu 3 and more. These are the only smartwatches listed by Garmin, but even if your model is not on the list, it may still qualify for the update. There are five new features coming to Garmin smartwatches in the coming days. These are available for free, so you don't have to be subscribed to Garmin Connect+ to enjoy their benefits. Breathing Variations : For a closer glimpse of the user's health, the breathing variations feature uses Pulse Ox2 to help them better understand shifts in their breathing patterns as they sleep. : For a closer glimpse of the user's health, the breathing variations feature uses Pulse Ox2 to help them better understand shifts in their breathing patterns as they sleep. Rucking Activity : Weighted hiking feature allows users to manually input their pack weight for load-carrying exercises to enable more accurate tracking and analysis of metrics like pace, distance, heart rate, VO2 max, calorie burn, elevation and more. : Weighted hiking feature allows users to manually input their pack weight for load-carrying exercises to enable more accurate tracking and analysis of metrics like pace, distance, heart rate, VO2 max, calorie burn, elevation and more. Pack Weight : For training or trekking, this feature allows pack load to be entered for various activities – including running, trail running, hiking and walking – where carrying extra weight may be involved. Adding pack weight will ensure the user's VO2 max estimates are not negatively affected. : For training or trekking, this feature allows pack load to be entered for various activities – including running, trail running, hiking and walking – where carrying extra weight may be involved. Adding pack weight will ensure the user's VO2 max estimates are not negatively affected. Passcode : Help protect sensitive data with a passcode to access smartwatch data. For even greater security, an automatic wrist detection option allows users to set up a pin to regain access once the watch has been removed from their wrist. : Help protect sensitive data with a passcode to access smartwatch data. For even greater security, an automatic wrist detection option allows users to set up a pin to regain access once the watch has been removed from their wrist. Stage Timer : A new tool for competitive marksmen that gives them alerts via paired hearing protection or from the speaker, so they know the remaining time in their current stage. Garmin Venu 3 is one of the beneficiaries of the new premium features | Image credit: PhoneArena Apart from the improvements mentioned above, Garmin also added two new premium features. These require a Garmin Connect+ subscription, but as you'll notice from their description, they are only aimed at two specific categories of users: golfers and hikers. Garmin Trails : Users can filter and find trails in select regions that match exactly what they're looking for – from trail type to dog-friendliness or terrain – accessible in the Garmin Explore or Garmin Connect apps. Users can filter based on features like waterfalls, rivers and forests or on permitting requirements and steepness. Adventurers can also receive trail details, including difficulty, distance, total ascent/descent and estimated time to complete and access the latest community reviews with photos and descriptions. Garmin Golf Membership : Venu 3 customers are now able to access many of the premium golf features traditionally available with our premium Approach golf watches. With an active Garmin Golf Membership, golfers can now see the course in advanced detail with access to full-color CourseView maps, touch targeting, PlaysLike distance and Green Contours. Users can add a Garmin Golf Membership on a month-by-month basis ($9.99/month) or save with an annual plan ($99.99/year); both options include a free 30-day trial. As per Garmin's announcement, the new update is already making its way to all the compatible smartwatches. Make sure you have automatic updates enabled from your device and sync with Garmin Connect to get all these new features. Adding premium features that are only available for subscribers is nothing unusual. What makes this a bit frustrating is that they come with a huge update that includes several free new features that are actually very useful. On the bright side, the two new premium features that require subscription are very specific and will not downgrade your experience in any way.
Android Authority
23-05-2025
- Android Authority
Good news, bad news: Garmin smartwatches get several new features, but not all of them are free
Garmin recently revealed in an earnings call that it plans to reserve certain features for its premium offerings. This revelation is concerning as it means we can expect more future features to be gated behind a paywall. Fortunately, most of the new functions the company just announced are for all users. Garmin has announced that it's rolling out several software and feature updates to select smartwatches. This group includes the fenix 8, Forerunner, Instinct 3, Lily 2 Active, Venu 3, and more. The new features that will be available to everyone include the following: Breathing Variations: This feature uses Pulse Ox2 to help users understand shifts in their breathing patterns as they sleep. This feature uses Pulse Ox2 to help users understand shifts in their breathing patterns as they sleep. Rucking Activity: Allows you to manually input your pack weight for load-carrying exercises. This allows for more accurate tracking and analysis of metrics like pace, distance, heart rate, VO2 max, calorie burn, elevation, and so on. Allows you to manually input your pack weight for load-carrying exercises. This allows for more accurate tracking and analysis of metrics like pace, distance, heart rate, VO2 max, calorie burn, elevation, and so on. Pack Weight: This option allows you to enter the pack load for activities like running and hiking, where carrying extra weight may be involved. This can help ensure that VO2 max estimates are accurate. This option allows you to enter the pack load for activities like running and hiking, where carrying extra weight may be involved. This can help ensure that VO2 max estimates are accurate. Passcode: Users can set passcodes to access smartwatch data. There's also an automatic wrist detection option that allows users to set up a PIN to regain access if the watch is no longer on their wrist. Users can set passcodes to access smartwatch data. There's also an automatic wrist detection option that allows users to set up a PIN to regain access if the watch is no longer on their wrist. Stage Timer: A new tool for competitive marksmen that gives you alerts via paired hearing protection or from the speaker, so you know the remaining time in your current stage. Meanwhile, there are two new features that will be a part of a paid experience. These two features target hikers and golfers. Garmin Trails: This feature is designed to make exploring the outdoors easier. With Garmin Trails, users will be able to filter and find the type of trails they're looking for in select regions. For example, you could use this tool to find a trail that's friendly for dogs or filter based on trail features like waterfalls, rivers, or forests. You can also get trail details — like difficulty, distance, total ascent/descent, and estimated time to complete — and access to community reviews with photos and descriptions. Additionally, a Garmin Connect Plus or Outdoor Maps Plus plan will allow users to 'send trails directly to their compatible device for offline access and save a copy to their courses to add points of interest or edit the path.' This feature is designed to make exploring the outdoors easier. With Garmin Trails, users will be able to filter and find the type of trails they're looking for in select regions. For example, you could use this tool to find a trail that's friendly for dogs or filter based on trail features like waterfalls, rivers, or forests. You can also get trail details — like difficulty, distance, total ascent/descent, and estimated time to complete — and access to community reviews with photos and descriptions. Additionally, a Garmin Connect Plus or Outdoor Maps Plus plan will allow users to 'send trails directly to their compatible device for offline access and save a copy to their courses to add points of interest or edit the path.' Garmin Golf Membership: If you have a Venu 3, you'll now be able to access the premium golf features that are found on Approach golf watches. This provides advanced details of courses, combined with full-color CourseView maps, touch targeting, PlaysLike distance, and Green Contours. You'll have to pay $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for this membership. Garmin says that these updates have already started rolling out for eligible devices. If you're not seeing them yet, try enabling automatic updates and syncing with Garmin Connect or Garmin Express.
GSM Arena
23-05-2025
- Business
- GSM Arena
Canalys: Xiaomi leads global wearables market in Q1
A total of 46.6 million wearable band devices were shipped during the January 1 – March 31 period, according to Canalys as the market grew 13% on the yearly basis. The latest reports, which groups smart bands and smartwatches, shows Xiaomi as the world's top vendor with 8.7 million shipments and a 19% market share. Xiaomi saw impressive 44% annual growth in shipments as the brand updated its Smart Band and Watch series and also introduced more affordable Redmi series products. The Redmi Band 5, in particular, was one of the best-selling wearables during the Q1 period. Apple came in second place with an estimated 7.6 million shipments and a 16% market share. Huawei came in third place with 7.1 million shipments and a 15% market share, thanks to strong demand for its Watch GT and Watch Fit series devices. Global wearable brands shipments Q1 2025 Samsung shipped 4.9 million wearables, earning an 11% market share thanks to solid growth in emerging markets. Garmin rounded out the top five with its 1.8 million shipments, earning it a 4% market share. Canalys also conducted a consumer study in Europe on the factors considered by users when buying a smartwatch. Price and battery life were the two most important factors for consumers, unsurprisingly. Health-tracking features, brand name and design were the other main factors in choosing a smart wearable. Interestingly enough, sport features were among the less important deciding factors. Looking ahead, Canalys predicts that ecosystem integration and post-purchase services will remain the leading fields of competition in the wearables market. Subscription-based models will be key to driving user engagement and brand revenues. Source
Android Authority
22-05-2025
- Android Authority
One UI 8 Watch leak suggests the Galaxy Watch 8 series may be stuck with an old chip (APK teardown)
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority TL;DR One UI 8 Watch is getting new tile previews, and those should include options for Calculator, Buds, and Recorder. The Quick Button appears to be getting new support for starting and stopping recordings. Code strings point to the return of Samsung's Exynos W1000 chip . Samsung's next smartwatches are probably just a few weeks away from making their formal debut, and we've already got a lot to be excited about. Not only are we expecting some exciting new design changes, but we've also got One UI 8 Watch to look forward to, and early discoveries have left us with a lot of useful new features to anticipate. Now we've got a few more to check out, as well as some extra insight into Galaxy Watch 8 hardware. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. We've already seen how One UI 8 Watch is getting ready to introduce new tile previews, including a new half-size option, and got to look at a whole bunch of examples for how that's taking shape. To those, we can now add a few more: All three of those look pretty useful, and we love having quick, interactive access to their features like this (Thanks: DevOfIpos). But we've also spotted something that's arguably even better when it comes to Recorder, as it look like Samsung's working to give the Quick Button on the Galaxy Watch Ultra the ability to quickly start and stop recording sessions. As you can see, that would involve actions for double-press, long-press, and short-press, with the ability to customize exactly which does what. When you've got to remember something super-quickly and don't even want to waste time pulling our your phone, this could be a fantastic way to make a quick audio note before the moment's passed. In addition to supporting the Quick Button on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, we might also expect this to work with the upcoming Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. Finally, we've got what could be a bit of a bummer if you were holding out hope that the next generation of Galaxy Watches might offer some new silicon. AssembleDebug / Android Authority Samsung used its Exynos W1000 chip to power the Watch 7 series, which the manufacturer has assigned a part number of SC55535AHA. And here in this code, we can see the same chip being associated with the Fresh 8, Fresh 8 Small, and Wise 8 — the codenames we're already familiar with for the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic. Considering that we haven't seen Samsung introduce a follow-up to the Exynos W1000 yet, that was pretty much expected, and this is just a bit more evidence in that direction. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
