Apple Watch battery life is just fine for most people
The Apple Watch has been with us for a few months now and while there were initial concerns about the battery life, it seems that these fears were unfounded. The ways in which people have ended up using their Apple Watches means that a single charge is enough to get through the day in most cases.
A survey of 1,200 Watch wearers by Wristly found that the overwhelming majority of users reported that their battery lasted a full day. A startling percentage of people (44 percent) said that they did not check battery level at all during the day, and most have fallen into the habit of simply recharging overnight. But what is the biggest battery killer?
Healthcare offers major opportunity for wearable technology
According to a new report from research company IDTechEx the wearable market will be worth over $24 million this year. But much of this is for existing technology like smartwatches and fitness trackers.
Where are wearables headed in future though? According to the report the biggest opportunity is in medical and healthcare applications. Including blood glucose monitoring, healthcare is already the largest single sector by revenue in wearable technology and is likely to stay that way.
Are consumers starting to lose interest in wearables?
The wearables market in the US from 2014 through the first half of 2015 has shown fast growth in year-over-year volume of consumer feedback, however after peaking post-holidays in January 2015, demand growth has slowed significantly, according to a new report from Argus Insights.
Over the last 18 months, the wearables market has started to mature and has grown considerably with new players entering the market with numerous products such as fitness bands, smartwatches, smart glasses, and other sensor-enabled devices.
Like it or not, Apple Watch is selling like hotcakes
Truth is, many people were hoping the Apple Watch to be a massive failure. But while Apple's first wearable hasn't been the sleeper success folks at Cupertino might have hoped for, it hasn't exactly been a non-success either. According to the unerring research firm IDC, about 3.6 million Apple Watch devices were sold in the second quarter of 2015.
The Apple Watch, which went on sale about six months ago, is the second most popular wearable device on the market, as per the latest figures disseminated by IDC. Apple managed to ship about 3.6 million Apple Watches in the second quarter of 2015. The Apple Watch is only behind Fitbit fitness trackers in the wearable space. Fitbit is estimated to have sold 4.4 million units fitness wearables.
Swatch swipes trademark for Steve Jobs' 'one more thing' catchphrase
Is it a troll move, smart marketing, or something else entirely? It's not clear quite what Swatch wants to do with Steve Jobs' famous 'one more thing' line, but the Swiss watch company has grabbed a trademark on the three word phrase.
Before his death, Jobs was renowned for introducing a surprise (although frequently not so surprising) extra at the end of a presentation. Although Apple has never really exploited 'one more thing' in advertising, Swatch's new European trademark will no doubt stick in the craw somewhat.
Sony unveils SmartBand 2 fitness tracker
Sony has unveiled a new fitness wearable called SmartBand 2. The device is a successor to the first SmartBand, and its key feature is an advanced heart rate sensor.
Even though it is a common feature on most fitness wearables today, the heart sensor was absent from the first SmartBand. This time around, Sony has upped the game. It also features a smart notification system, which works through a set of vibrations and colored LEDs.
Apple Watch leads the smartwatch market
Apple will release its Q3 FY2015 earnings report later today, revealing just how well its products have performed in the second quarter of the year. The star of the show will likely continue to be the iPhone line, while iPads are expected to disappoint once again. But what about its most-recent endeavor, Apple Watch?
Apple has been relatively quiet so far. There are no official figures of any kind yet, and there is no guarantee that the company will reveal any concrete information surrounding its smartwatch today. There is, however, an estimate from analyst company Canalys, which places Apple at the top of the wearable vendors list.
Why organizations should embrace wearables
From its roots as a quirky, consumer-centric niche just a few years ago, wearable technology has pushed its way into the headlines.
The recent launch of the Apple Watch generated huge amounts of media hype (not to mention almost a million pre-orders before release), suggesting that a growing number of organizations could be playing host to wearable devices over the coming months and years -- if they aren’t already.
Google Glass' future is in the enterprise
Rumors are growing that Google Glass is about to make a return. Back in January, the search giant announced that the commercially available Explorer Edition was being discontinued. Although the company would surely have liked more consumers to take the plunge, its £1,000 price tag deterred many. However, Google Glass has not been killed off but is merely lying dormant, with Google claiming that it has learnt much from its Explorer program, using it as a kind of "open-beta".
Sources now indicate that Google Glass Enterprise Edition will soon be launched, targeting the business environment. Although there has been no official word on the release, Google has confirmed that the next iteration of Glass is in development and targeting the enterprise landscape actually makes a lot of sense.
Microsoft WearDrive can triple battery life for wearables
Microsoft Research expects to almost triple the battery life of wearables through a technology called WearDrive which uses the aid of a smartphone.
The idea of the technology is to use the battery of the user’s smartphone to allow the wearable to handle high-battery consumption tasks, while also keeping the device on for a longer period of time.
Apple Watch sales are a disaster
While no official sales figures have been released, analysts suggest that Apple Watch sales figures are dire. The suggestion comes from analysts at Slice Intelligence, with figures pointing to sales now sitting at a fraction of what they were three months ago.
The excitement surrounding any Apple launch means that sales are likely to be high immediately after release, but by anyone's standards Apple Watch sales appear to be a disaster. From a high of around 44,000 sales per week in April, Apple is currently shifting fewer than 5,000 of its wearables each week.
Object Theory to create mixed reality apps for Microsoft HoloLens ecosystem
Microsoft's take on virtual reality, HoloLens, caused waves of excitement when it was announced a few months ago. Today, a new company founded by a former member of the Microsoft HoloLens Studios team launches to start feeding the ecosystem with a range of apps it is describing not as virtual reality, or even augmented reality, but mixed reality.
Michael Hoffman's Object Theory has been set up with the aim of helping other organizations to build apps that take advantage of what HoloLens can offer. We've already seen how HoloLens can run Windows apps in 3D, and a recent demonstration of Minecraft at E3 thrilled gamers. Object Theory wants to ensure that there is a range of impressive apps on launch day.
Google has a new batch of Android Wear faces for customization fans
The wearables market continues to grow and there's something of a battle -- just as there is in the smartphone market -- between Apple Watch and Android Wear. Google's wearable OS keeps receiving updates and one of the things that makes it stand apart from Watch OS is the level of customization it offers users.
Today Google unveils 17 new watch faces to add to the existing catalog that already extends to more than 1,500 entries. As ever, the claims of there being something for everyone apply, and there are numerous cultural nods with Terminator Genisys, Hello Kitty, and Angry Birds faces all available for download.
The 10 best presents for Father's Day
Father’s Day is fast approaching and time is running out to secure the perfect gift. Luckily, there’s a whole host of potential presents for the tech-obsessed fathers out there, ranging from the practical to the practically useless.
So whether it’s a novelty gadget you’re after or something he’s likely to use every day, we’ve rounded up the best gift ideas for Father’s Day 2015.
Privacy concerns stand against wearable adoption
As more wearable devices continue to enter into the market and into our lives, questions are being raised as to how vulnerable this may be making us when it comes to potential security and privacy risks.
Smartphones already have the capacity to hold a large quantity of data about us as individuals and wearable technology is likely to work in a similar way -- with fitness trackers able to store information about our health, for example, or the routes taken during exercise sessions.
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