Tag: Smartwatch

IBM Is Developing A Unique Smartwatch Which Unfolds Into A Tablet

The issue with technology is its volatility. Dreams of today is reality in the near future. Previously, the foldable smartphone concept was an eye catching product of science fiction. We have all heard of foldable smartphone, which is one of the hot key words in technology this year; such devices have already been seen with Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Huawei’s Mate X. Now, a new report suggests that IBM is currently working on making the worlds first smartwatch that unfolds into a phone or tablet.

IBM is one of the major IT company which is renowned for its rich history with computing devices. The company is now reportedly working on an entirely new concept; we have seen foldable smartphones and soon we might see a smartwatch that doubles as a phone and a tablet. According to the report, IBM patented a design titled, “Variable Display Size For an Electronic Display Device.” The images portray a smartwatch with a thick case that will house multiple layers of the secondary display folded behind the main screen. These stacked display can be extended to be positioned on the sides of the main display.

Each screen individual screen measure 3 x 2 inches and when after unfolding reaches 6 x 4 inches. The third configuration only doubles the sides making it a tablet of 6 x 8 inches in size. The implication of such technology from IBM is massive. Soon foldable display under the main screen can help reduce overall footprint of devices which can be extended as and when needed. Even gadgets like smartwatches could potentially have more productive capabilities built into them.

Also Read: Nintendo Announces Switch Lite, An Affordable Portable Gaming Console

IBM patents that the unfolding smartwatch is made to be a partnering device for keeping the user posted with news; it does so and more via its ability of enlarging its screen size for more functionality. The company has yet to provide any statements regarding this particular device or its planned internal hardware. More updates will be provided when information is available.

July 11, 2019
Apple Watch Leads The Smartwatch Market As It Grows By 48% In Q1 2019

Smartwatches, since their introduction has become an important part of people’s lives. The devices function as fitness trackers, show notifications and in some cases, like the Nubia Alpha, also help make calls and click pictures. According to known research organization Counterpoint, the global market for smartwatches has seen steady growth. Since the first quarter of last year, the sales of the wearable product has grown around 48 percent Year on Year (YoY). And the Apple Watch is the most sold smartwatch in the time period.

Results Of The Research

In a result published on its website on the 2nd of May, Counterpoint claims the smartwatch industry has grown by 48 percent YoY as mentioned above. Apple, whose Apple Watch is a really popular product in the segment, led the pack by clocking in the most sales in the first quarter of 2019. According to the research organization, its demand grew by 49 percent compared to the first quarter last year. It also claims that because of such unprecedented growth, one of every three smartwatches sold in the time period belonged to Apple. In the second place is Samsung, witnessing an exponential growth of 127 percent; which is accredited to the strong sales of its latest Galaxy smartwatches. Also in the list are companies from the likes of Fitbit, Amazfit, Huawei and Fossil. All these brands are a known name in the smartwatch market.

Apple Watch Series 4

Also read: Realme X Spotted In YouTube Video, Confirms Dual Camera Setup

The growth of the Apple Watch in the ever-increasing market of smartwatches is not surprising according to Counterpoint. According to it, the ECG and the fall detection feature on the current generation Apple Watch Series 4 are the most desirable worldwide. The device has been claimed to have saved numerous lives due to the aforementioned features. While these functionalities are available in a limited number of countries worldwide as of now; Apple is also said to be bringing the ECG feature to 20 more countries after seeking necessary approvals for the same.

May 4, 2019
Is The Future Of Wearables With Or Without Smartphones?
According to a report by Statista, the number of mobile phone users in the world is going to reach 5 billion by the end of 2019. Relatively, there are almost 8 billion people on the planet. This means that almost 63 percent of the total world population owns a mobile phone of sorts. And that number is rising since all companies are hell-bent towards designing a smartphone which meets all the norms of a perfect smartphone – one device that can do it all.

However, it is possible that the smartphone count may plummet sharply. Not because people will stop using smartphones. Because alternatives to smartphones are taking over the world. Wearables. This upcoming generation of technology could dethrone smartphones, once and for all. Wearables are defined as an electronic gadget that can be worn/clipped on the body. It’s a vast category, but the most common ones are
- Smartwatches
- Fitness Bands And Health Monitors
- Earbuds And Headsets
- Clip-On Cameras
Why Are Wearables Catching Up?

As per a survey, over 51 percent of the youth uses some form of a fitness tracker to monitor daily health and activities. Smartwatch sales are booming day by day, clearly showcasing the fact that people are looking towards making their lives easier and faster-paced to catch up with the rest of the world. Hence, in a world where winning matters to a significantly larger chunk of the population, smartphones are slowing them down while speeding things up at the same time.

What makes a smartphone so special? Is it the CPU of the device? Or is it the fact that you can make calls via your smartphone? You can listen to music whenever you want, view pictures, get directions to a place you’re going to, or simply tell your smartphone voice assistant to book a taxi while you read an e-book.

The Future Of Wearables

In the not-so-distant future, a combination of swanky sunglasses/spectacles and a pair of earbuds will be able to do all of the aforementioned tasks, and so much more. A lot of companies are working on smart earbuds that will contain CPUs as powerful as smartphone processors and more efficient than them too. For instance, Here One earbuds from Doppler Labs have a feature that allows you to filter out what you hear. You’re probably thinking, “Hey, I heard about this feature some time back, didn’t I?” Well, these earbuds allow you to filter out selective sounds from your environment, like the crying of a baby, a person playing the piano or just some old fashioned crowd chatter. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that these earbuds are more powerful than some of the early computers. Sadly, the company stopped producing the earbuds because of the lack of funding.

Just like adaptive filtering, a lot of other technologies are being implemented in wearables which can make a huge difference in the way we live our life. Motion sensing earbuds turn on when a user inserts them in his/her ears. Smartwatches detect almost every activity of the wearer, analyze them with the help of the chipset present on the device and provide analytics regarding the same. Wearable cameras click an image every time a catchphrase is detected or when a special gesture is recorded.

Wearables VS Smartphones

With technology reaching a point where all the components of a device can be placed on a chipset which measures smaller than a fingernail, possibilities are endless. Projects like Google Glass weren’t so successful when they started out, solely because society isn’t ready to accept a piece of tech that you can wear on your face. And that’s exactly the difference between wearables and smartphones. A smartphone can never be a part of you, it is just something that’s an “add-on”. Instead, wearables can be a part of you. They replace conventional accessories that a human is already accustomed to. Smart glasses will soon replace “traditional glasses”, smart earbuds will wipe the floor with basic earphones and smart watches will eventually take their place on your wrist instead of your wrist watches. Brands like Fossil have already launched a wide range of smartwatches in order to keep up with the ongoing trends.

Also Read: Understanding Different Realities; What is AR, VR And MR

Once companies figure out how to enable the inclusion of network adapters, graphic modules, camera modules and basically “every smartphone feature” in wearables, the trend will see a shift of technology, which will veer away from smartphones. Subdermal implants and biometric clothing are just some other technological innovations that are making their way into the arena. We can expect to see something way out of the ordinary, or something so ordinary that it will blow our minds away.
March 7, 2019
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active, Galaxy Fit And Galaxy Buds Leaked On The Samsung Wearable App

Samsung will announce many devices at the Galaxy Unpacked 2019 event on the 20th of February. Samsung will launch the Galaxy S10 series, the foldable phone(Galaxy F), and will also launch several smart wearable devices. Past reports claimed that the company will unveil the Galaxy Watch Active and Galaxy Buds at the upcoming event and a fresh leak supports the claim. An update to the Galaxy Wearable app on Android shows 4 new devices. These include the Galaxy Watch Active, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Fit e, and Galaxy Buds.

The Galaxy Wearable Lineup

The Samsung wearable app was updated on the 14th of February, this update includes the new devices. This confirms that the launch of these products is imminent. The first in the leaked list of wearables is the Galaxy Watch Active. This sports-centric smartwatch has been leaked several times over the past few months and pretty much everything is known about it. The watch will reportedly run on the Tizen 4.0.3 OS. It may feature the Exynos 9110 SoC which is paired with 768MB of RAM. The Galaxy Watch Active will have a 1.3-inch display with a resolution of 360 x 360 px and is powered by a 230 mAh battery. It may also support GPS, NFC, a heart rate monitor and may have an LTE version as well.

Not much is known about the other wearables, the Galaxy Fit, and Fit e. These are reportedly smart bands and will feature a touchscreen, heart rate monitor. The difference between the versions of Galaxy Fit is also not known yet. The Galaxy Buds, however, have also leaked multiple times over the past months and they will have a new design. The wireless earbuds will have 8GB of inbuilt storage and 58mAh battery. Apart from the inbuilt battery in the earbuds, the carrying case also has a 252 mAh battery. They will also support wireless charging and are expected to be given free with the pre-order of the S10 series.

Also read: Redmi To Launch The Note 7 In India On February 28

The Galaxy wearables lineup seems like a considerable improvement over the predecessors. These will be unveiled at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Fransisco on February 20.

February 15, 2019
Huawei’s Upcoming AR Glasses Will Integrate With Its Smartwatch

Richard Yu, Huawei CEO announced last year that they are working on AR glasses that are compatible with a smartphone. Having said that, Huawei also revealed that they will unveil their AR glasses by the end of 2018, or in 2019.

About The Patent

However, a newly published patent reveals that Huawei is trying to pair the AR glasses with a smartwatch, not a smartphone. The patent indicates that the smartwatch can be attached to the glasses. The patent for “Eyeglass frame” was published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. According to the patent, the device is a lightweight, discrete and a relatively inexpensive AR headset.

Smartwatch Compatibility

It is interesting to note that the glasses don’t have any camera, display or communication means installed. For all these functions, you may need to have your smartwatch with you. Furthermore, the glasses have an adapter and a mirror to reflect the display towards the user. The adapter is present close to the smartwatch. The new AR glasses also support audio playback.

Also Read: The Google Pixel 4 To Have Improved Dual SIM Support

As per source, the smartwatch can be only attached in a single direction. The display of the smartwatch has to face inwards and the camera has to face outwards. It also has capabilities to record the user’s movements. For the AR glasses, a transparent, as well as a semi-transparent optical element, can be used. Huawei hasn’t released or even hinted at a smartwatch with a camera, so we will have to wait for a smartwatch with a camera first.

February 12, 2019
Google Is Working On A Pixel Smartwatch According To A New Job Listing

Google fans may not have to wait too long for the release of the new Pixel Smartwatch. This is because of speculations that they may be already working on it, or at least they’ve started working on it. Recently, Google acquired Fossil’s smartwatch tech, which hints at the fact that the company might actually announce its smartwatch soon. On top of that, a job listing has been found in the hardware division of the same company. And yes, you guessed it right. The job listing indicates that Google is looking for a Vice President, Hardware Engineering and a Wearable Design Manager.

About The Job Listing

This is is a clear indication that Google is already working in the smartwatch domain, and therefore looking for employees to work under its wearable department. As per the job description, “As the VP of Hardware Engineering for Wearables, you’ll work collaboratively with the Senior Leadership team for Google Hardware and will be responsible for the design, development, and shipment of all Google’s Wearable products. You will lead and enable the effectiveness of a large engineering organization primarily based in Mountain View to develop multiple next-generation wearable products simultaneously.”

Also Read: Coconics, Kerala’s Own Laptop Project, Announces 3 Laptops

Notice that they especially mentioned that the candidate has to drive excellence in mechanical and electrical design. Google has also tied up with big brands like LG and Tag Heuer to indicate that it may provide their own OS, called WearOS which may power the smartwatches. WearOS is rumoured to be compatible with both Android and iOS. Also, Google buying Fossil Tech for $40 million suggests that the first Pixel smart wearable may be inspired by a Fossil design. With just the Pixel Buds in the wearables category, Google may be looking towards stepping up its game against other big competitors like Apple.

February 12, 2019
Apple Extends Return Period For The Apple Watch 4

The Apple Watch 4 was one of the most interesting devices revealed at Apple’e special September 12th event held this year. The Series 4 Watch has a bigger screen, added and improved features to track your health and many more changes. However, a recent report details that Apple has extended the return period for the Apple Watch 4 to 45 days. Compared to the traditional 15 days they offer on other devices.

The Extension

The information regarding the extension came through MacRumours. They got their hands on an internal document distributed by Apple to their Authorised Service Providers. So now, if any customer wishes to return their Apple Watch 4 after a period of 45 days, their request will directly go to Apple support. Then, customers will need to contact Apple by phone, email or chat online to initiate a refund.

The move is reported to be regarding the health features included in the new watch, especially the heart rate monitor and the ECG app. It also includes irregular heart rhythm notifications. Another document obtained by MacRumours also details that Apple Watch Series 1 to 4 will receive these features with the watchOS 5.1.2 update.

The Motive

However, it is still not clear as to why Apple has extended the return period for the Apple Watch 4. Some claim that this is done to let users get used to the health features and see whether they are really benefiting from it. This includes time for users to test out the ECG feature. And see whether it really has an impact and use in their daily life. However, Apple has warned users that the ECG feature is just to aid your health tracking and should not the used to replace a doctor. You must still rely on regular visits to your doctor in case you are suffering from any health issues.

Also Read : Apple Allows TRAI’s DND App On iOS App Store To Avoid Facing Ban In India

The Apple Watch 4 also includes other features such as automatic fall detection. This will alert emergency services after a certain time duration, if you do not wake up after a fall. It is still not clear as to why Apple has made the move to extend the time period for the return of the Apple Watch. But users will surely benefit from it.

December 1, 2018
Google’s New Smartwatch Patent To Use Your Skin As A Touchpad

Smartwatches are what define the dawn of a new era for wearables. You can now text, set reminders, track your health and do much more, just with a tap on your wrist. While most of the smartwatch makers focused on making sure that they can squeeze in as many features as possible into a tiny space. Google is thinking outside the box and more importantly, outside the watch.

That’s right, Google now plans to let you use you skin as the interface to control your smartwatch. If it comes through, this will be the most revolutionary smartwatch in the market, without any doubts. We do not know if the technology to make this happen is in place or whether Google plans to develop this as they go along. However, the patent is quite descriptive and explains almost everything there is to know about the possible design.

A ‘Personal’ Touch

The entire technology is titled as ‘Gesture Based Small Device Input’ and has a load of other features under it. The main focus of the patent is to ensure that the user is able to interact with the smartwatch. Without causing an obstruction to the really small display present on it. It plans to use your wrist, forearm and even the back of the hand to do so. However, the bottom line is, it will let you use your finger as a stylus to be used on your skin adjacent to the smartwatch.

The patent details a lot of ways to help make this become a reality. It will use sensors, in pairs, to figure out an approximate of your finger’s position relative to each sensor. And it will determine what the gesture is being used for. These sensors will include ultrasound based implementations to deliver almost instantaneous data. It will also use photo-diodes and some low cost CCD or CMOS cameras along with a light emitting diode. This is quite similar to the technology employed by the common optical mouse to read movement data.

Sources claim that the optical mouse type of system will be the primary sensors to track your hands while the ultrasonic sensors will provide additional data specially in conditions with lower lighting. Another interesting fact is that these sensor can be set up on either sides of the smartwatch. This will allow you to use either sides to control the watch. The patent also mentions the implementation of a QWERTY keyboard which will be projected or superimposed on to your skin for a better typing experience.

Also Read : Nokia 7.1 Launched In India For Rs 19,999

The Future

If this technology actually comes into production, it will be the start of a new era for smartwatches, with an extremely increased usability experience. With users not being limited to small keyboards and cramped up displays, the future of smartwatches looks exciting!

November 30, 2018
Fossil Sport Smartwatch With Snapdragon 3100 Launched
Fossil is a company that is recognised all over the globe for their quartz watches and recently they have launched an affordable smartwatch called Fossil Sport Smartwatch. It has a circular touchscreen display and has easy swap silicon straps. The smartwatch is water resistant and has many features like GPS navigation, heart rate tracking and customisable dials.

Fossil Sport Smartwatch

The Fossil Sport smartwatch has a circular 41 mm case which is 12 mm thick and is made form Nylon and Aluminium. The smartwatch has a touch screen display to display time and content. It has an 18 mm wide silicone strap that can fit wrists of sizes up to 19.5 cm. The Fossil Sport also has a side mounted crown and two push buttons. It has a 5 ATM water resitance rating hence, it can be easily survive a swimming session. In terms of sensors, the smartwatch has an accelerometer, altimeter, ambient light sensor and NFC support.

The Fossil Sport smartwatch runs on the latest Snapdragon 3100 SoC and has 4 GB of inbuilt storage. It uses WearOS by Google, which is specially developed for smartwatches. The watch is compatible with both Android and iOS devices running iOS 9.3 or above and Android 4.4 or above. It connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth 4.2 and also has Wi-Fi 802.11 connectivity. Fossil claims the smartwatch has a battery backup of up to 24 hours depending on usage It also has a low-power mode that can give 2 days of additional battery backup with all smart features turned off. You can charge the watch via the magnetic plate which can fast charge it up to 80 % in just one hour.

The Fossil Sport smartwatch has a heart rate tracker and an activity tracker to track your fitness levels. It can display notification for e-mails, alarm clock, alerts, calendar, app alerts and even text messages from your smartphone. The watch supports wireless data syncing with user’s phone and also support Google Pay services. It has a built-in microphone that perform a variety of tasks on your smartphone via voice commands. One key highlight of the smartwatch is its untethered GPS navigation capabilities. This feature allows to navigate destinations without even connecting to a smartphone and the built in 4 GB ROM can store music for your running sessions.

Also Read: Misfit Launches Vapor 2 Smartwatch

Price & Colors

The Fossil Sport watch is price at $ 255 (around Rs 18,500 ) and is available in 6 different colours which are as follows:
- Light Blue
- Red
- Black
- Gray
- Blush
- Neon Green
November 9, 2018
Honor Watch Magic With Heart Rate Sensor Launched

Honor recently held a launch event in China. The company launched a variety of products which include the Honor Magic 2 smartphone, Watch Magic, Honor Play 8 Tablet, and FlyPods wireless earphones. The Watch Magic is a digital smartwatch which also has health and fitness tracking capabilities.

Honor Watch Magic

The Honor Watch Magic has a metal & plastic build with a wrist strap that fits wrist sizes between 14-21 cm. It also has the option to easily swap straps due to its quick fit mechanism. The watch measures 42.8 × 42.8 × 9.8mm and weighs 32.5 grams. The Honor Watch Magic has a 1.2-inch circular color AMOLED screen with a resolution of 390 x 390 px and a pixel density of 326 ppi. The smartwatch has a 178 mAh battery which can be charged via the magnetic ejector charging port. Honor claims the watch has a battery backup of up to 7 days which varies as per usage by the user. The Watch supports NFC for wireless payments and GPS for navigation. It runs on an ARM M4 CPU and has 16 MB of RAM. It also has 128 MB of ROM for storing the calculated data.

The Honor Magic watch has an Optical heart rate sensor to accurately measure the user’s heartbeats. It also has a whole host of sensors which include an Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and an Ambient light sensor. The smartwatch can also record fitness statistics like the number of steps taken and the number of calories burnt.

The Honor watch magic runs on Light OS like the Huawei Watch GT. The smartwatch is waterproof up to 50 meters. It uses Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy technology to connect with compatible devices. The smartwatch is compatible with devices running iOS 9.0 and above or Android 4.4 and above.

Price & Variants

Also read: Honor Magic 2 with sliding cameras launched.

The Honor Watch Magic is available in two different variants which are Sports and Fashion. The Fashion version is available in the Moonlight Silver colour and has a price tag of 999 ¥ (around Rs. 10,600) whereas the Sports version is available in the Lava Black colour with a price tag of 899 ¥ (around Rs. 9,500).

The smartwatch is currently available in China but we expect Honor to soon release it in other markets as well.

November 1, 2018
Lenovo Launches Watch S and Watch C Smartwatches

Lenovo had secured their position as one of the players in the smartwatch market with their Watch 9 and Watch X. With other companies already making a mark in this segment such as Motorola, Huawei and Apple. Lenovo has already been making fitness trackers for a while now, but with their latest announcement of the Watch S and Watch C they are trying to target a different class of smartwatch.

The Watch S sits between the Watch 9 and Watch X and costs around ¥238. It will be available in Red and Black dial and straps. The watch features a new dial design along with sapphire glass, and a calfskin leather band. Unfortunately there is a lot that is missing from the Watch S in terms of a heart rate sensor, blood pressure monitor etc. But it does have sleep tracking, calorie counting and tracker of the number of steps taken. It also misses out on an OLED dial but can notify the user of new notifications by vibrating. The watch is also 5 ATM water resistant. It will go on sale on Lenovo’s official online store on October 30 at 10 AM.

The more interesting of the two products that were announced, is the Watch C. It is a kids watch that has a 1.3-inch AMOLED display and is slightly rectangular in shape. Lenovo has included features that a kids watch should have like GPS tracking, calling between watches etc. The GPS tracking can be useful for parents to track their children in emergencies. With the help of a companion app, parents and guardians can set the location of their home and school and they will get notified when the child reaches a certain location. There is also an SOS feature available. Priced at ¥399, the watch will be available in Blue and Pink colours.

October 19, 2018
LG Watch W7 To Launch Along With LG V40 ThinQ

LG is reportedly set to launch the LG Watch W7 running Google’s latest Wear OS. The launch will be held along with that of the LG V40 ThinQ. The smartwatch had been revealed back in April, but more details and confirmations have surfaced only now.

Also Read: Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Launched in India At Rs 1,999

The device is set to launch on 3rd October and is pitted to compete against the Apple Watch 4. This is due to the fact that is has the lated Wear OS and Qualcomm’s flagship processor for smartwatches, The Snapdragon wear 3100.The Snapdragon wear 3100 is designed exclusively for smartwatches and uses the ultra low-power system architecture. This results in better battery life and personalised experiences. The processor has 32 bit Quad Core A7 processors, an integrated DSP and a low power processor.

Specifications:

Half a year later, this will launch alongside the LG V40 ThinQ as the LG Watch W7. https://t.co/vEXJ6BOvvG
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 28, 2018

The update is through a tweet by a noted leakster who says that the watch is set to launch along with the new LG V40 ThinQ. According to reports, the watch has a 1.2 inch screen with a 360 x 360 LCD Display. It has 768 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal storage. It is also water and dust resistant. One interesting feature is that the device is rumoured to have analogue watch hands, which will save battery life. The watch is said to have a battery life of around 100 days on a single charged when used solely as an analogue device, with the Wear OS disabled. It features a 240 mAh battery. Additionally, once the battery depletes, the device will continue to track time for around four days.

The LG Watch W7 is equipped with Wi-F, Bluetooth 4.2 and a USB-C port for connectivity. It will however, not feature cellular capabilities or NFC. More details about the device will be known at its upcoming launch on 3rd October.

September 29, 2018
Huami To Launch Two Smartwatches In India On 24th July

Ever since wearables became a trend, Xiaomi has been launching its own line of fitness bands and smartwatches. Huami is a partnered brand with Xiaomi, which made the Mi Fit, Mi Band, and the Amazfit smartwatches. The brand is now launching in India with two smartwatches. The Amazfit Bip and Amazfit Stratos are the two wearables launching on the 24th of July. Huami made an official announcement via Twitter regarding these smartwatches.

Huami Announcement

While the Amazfit Stratos follows a circular design, the Amazfit Bip has a more rectangular aesthetic. The Amazfit Bip has rounded corners, making it look similar to the Apple Watch. The strap found on both the smartwatches are rubberized.

Also Read: Asus ROG Gaming Smartphone Launch In India Confirmed

Amazfit Bip

The Amazfit Stratos is comparatively on the pricier side, as it costs about US $199.99 (Rs. 13,718.31 approx). Whereas the Amazfit Bip costs US $99 (Rs 6,785.96 approx). Naturally, the latter has a few corners cut in terms of specifications but the Bip still holds its ground with an IP68 rating and an array of sensors. Both smartwatches offer a lot of fitness tracking features and are compatible with both iOS and Android devices. The Huami Amazfit Bip and Stratos both use a proprietary OS.

Those who can’t wait for the devices to launch in India can directly order them from the US Amazon website. Considering the US price of these smartwatches are fairly competitive, we can expect the Indian prices to be relatively on the cheaper side as well. After their launch in India, we will give our final verdict on the price tags of the smartwatches. Given that the Indian market is already flooded with a plethora of fitness bands and smartwatches. On paper, both the Amazfit Bip and Amazfit Stratos look incredibly promising.

Are you going to buy a Huami smartwatch when they are available for sale? We are all ears in the comment section, do leave your feedback.

July 18, 2018
Hublot Launches FIFA Edition Smartwatch For US$ 5200

Hublot is one of the most renowned premium watch brands. The company has now forayed into the smartwatch business by launching a special smartwatch powered by Wear OS. Hublot has collaborated FIFA to create these watches and named the watch as ‘Big Bang Referee 2018 World Cup Russia’.

The price of the Hublot Big Bang Referee 2018 World Cup Russia is CHF5,000 (Rs 3,38,988). However, the company will only make 2,018 pieces of this watch. Additionally, the match referees will receive custom versions of the smartwatch.

Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot said:

The Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ offers all the usual features of a smartwatch of course, but that’s not where Hublot has applied its innovation and audacity. It brings together everything that inspires the passion of football lovers!

The FIFA World Cup is the Holy Grail of emotions for football fans, so just imagine what an object such as a watch that captures each and every one of its moments, its turning points, its stakes could suddenly represent? The football aficionados from among the brand’s friends have been waiting for this watch for a long time!”

This watch represents the luxury and craftsmanship, that Hublot is known for. The device is milled out of a single block of titanium and kevlar. By default, the watch will have an analog dial, to give it a retro look. Additionally, the bands are easily swappable like the conventional watches.

Those who buy this watch will receive notifications on game details like result and goals. Additionally, it will also remind them about forthcoming matches. However, the referee’s version will have more customised in-game functionality, where a referee can check an instant replay and follow the trajectory of the ball.

The watch has a circular 49mm OLED display with 400 x 400 px resolution. Additionally, the watch is water resistant up to 5ATM and can last one complete day on a single charge.

March 23, 2018
TAG Heuer Launches Connected Modular 41 Smartwatch At A Starting Price Of US $1200

TAG Heuer, the Swiss watchmaker has followed up its Connected Modular 45 with the new and relatively cheaper Android Wear watch, the Connected Modular 41. It starts at a price of US $ 1200 which is less than the US $1500 starting price of the Connected Modular 45.

The watch face on the Connected Modular 41 is 41mm in diameter which is smaller than the 45mm diameter of its predecessor. The smartwatch has an AMOLED display with a resolution of 390×390 px with a 326 ppi. TAG also claims that the brightness of the display has been improved from its predecessors and now goes up to 350 nits.

TAG Heuer will be launching seven standard models of the Connected Modular 41, as well as nine different straps and will also introduce three new colours, pink, blue, and white leather.

Under the hood, the smartwatch has the Intel Atom Z34XX processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage.

As far as OS is concerned, it is running Android Wear, however, the company hasn’t specified which version though. Even if it isn’t running Android Oreo yet, it will eventually get the update since TAG announced the Oreo update for its predecessor.

As the price of the smartwatch suggests, the TAG Heuer Connected Modular 41 is a premium smartwatch and boasts of premium materials in its built as well. The smartwatch has a scratch-resistant sapphire glass screen and is built from materials such as titanium, or gold for the more expensive configurations. It is also waterproof up to 50 meters, has NFC, Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi, and GPS, and works with Google Pay.

There is no word from the company on the smartwatch’s release date in India as of now.

January 15, 2018