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Fellow Tally hands-on: A slick scale for precise pour-overs
Thanks to a novel Brew Assist feature, Fellow's new Tally Pro scale could go a long way toward helping you brew the perfect cup of coffee. However, its $185 price tag is tough to swallow.
Withings' Body Scan scale can measure the composition of different parts of your body
Withings has released its next and far most technologically advanced connected scale yet, the Body Scan.
'The Outer Worlds' is about to get a fix for its tiny in-game text
If there's one major criticism of The Outer Worlds, it's surely the bewilderingly tiny text size used for menus and dialogs. Squinting and scooching does not make for enjoyable game play, and for those with visual impairments, it renders the game unplayable. But that's about to change.
Some Under Armour fitness devices lose their smarts on March 31st (updated)
People who bought some of Under Armour's fitness devices are learning a hard lesson about the fragility of connected tech. Ars Technica has learned that the athletic wear company is winding down support for its scale, wristband and heart monitor by not only pulling the cornerstone Record mobile app (done on New Year's Eve), but halting all bug fixes and customer support. The app will stop working entirely on March 31st, preventing the gadgets from syncing their data outside of a handful of circumstances. Needless to say, that's a big problem if you dropped significant money on even one of UA's 2016-era devices, let alone $400 for the HealthBox bundle that included the three gadgets in one kit.
Withings restores its cardio health feature on scales in Europe
When Withings introduced pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurements on its flagship scale, it offered customers an indicator of their cardiovascular health. In addition to more standard calculations, like weight and body mass index, the Body Cardio scale used the PWV measurement to estimate the "stiffness" of users' arteries and the correlated risk of hypertension or cardiovascular incident. But in January 2018, Nokia (which then owned the company) voluntarily pulled the feature, fearing that it might need additional regulatory approval. As of today, Withings has returned the PWV measurement to its scales in Europe.
Can I trust my bathroom scale?
By Shannon Palus This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full blog on bathroom scales here. Bathroom scales are fickle devices. They can give you a different weight from day to day, or even moment to moment. Sure, the human body fluctuates over the course of the day and there are some crappy scales out there, but even relatively good scales can seem to be wildly inaccurate. We've seen complaints alleging that our pick for the best bathroom scale sometimes reports that the user has lost or gained as much as 10 pounds within a matter of minutes. But, after testing the scale in our homes for over a year, we're standing by it. Here's why.
'Pokémon Go' AR+ mode brings life-size monsters to Android
Pokémon vary in size, from as small as 4 in. to as tall as 47 ft. But for Android users, regardless of size, Pokémon looked kind of the same. Well developer Niantic has released a new update for the Android version of Pokémon Go which incorporates the ARCore. The enhanced AR mode was released in iOS back in December of 2017. Called Pokémon Go AR+ Android users can download ARCore from the Google Play Store and finally see the scale of Pokémon out in the real world. As players walk up to Pokémon, it will scale in size and will notice player movements. Not all devices are supported, but already users on Twitter are taking photos of Pokémon, and the scale seems to be matching up correctly. pic.twitter.com/WUIGX7G0DU — 🎃Travler👻BOO👻Jackson🎃 (@SeasideQuest) October 11, 2018
Shapa’s scale swaps numbers for psychology to help with weight loss
Weighing yourself after the holidays can be an emotionally trying process, especially if you've gone heavy on the turkey sandwiches. Oftentimes, the bad news sends you reaching for the comfort of the leftover chips and candy to get you through the cold winter months. However, Shapa, the new scale from behavioral scientist Dan Ariely, is designed to keep you ignorant and possibly thinner.
The best smart scales
By Shannon Palus and Melanie Pinola This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. Smart bathroom scales do the weight-tracking work for you, no typing or pen and paper required. After more than six months of researching and stepping on and off a dozen scales (a total of 35 hours and more than 550 weigh-ins), we've found that the Eufy BodySense Smart Scale is the best smart scale available today, with an app that's simple to use and a reasonable price.
The ShapeScale 3D scanner can color-code your body changes
I am trying to get in shape. I work out regularly and have been eating better. But still, whenever I step on my Fitbit Aria scale, my weight or body fat percentage don't seem to have budged much. It's frustrating, even when it seems that certain parts have gotten smaller or more toned. Unless I whip out a caliper and pinch my bits of flab for precise measurements, I don't really know what's happening. The ShapeScale, available for pre-order starting today, might solve that conundrum for me. This $499 scale and 3D scanner creates a 360-degree image of a user's body, forming a colorful visual aid that highlights which bits are getting bigger and smaller.
Styr's system of health gadgets exists to sell you supplements
I'm the kind of guy who can always stand to lose a few pounds. The Styr Lab regimen seemed like a great way to do so. When I first saw it at TechCrunch's Disrupt event in San Francisco last September, I was genuinely excited to give the fitness-tracking system a try. After three months using the regimen, however, I find myself just as pudgy and unmotivated as I was beforehand. Maybe even more so.
Philips' new personal health tech includes a fitness watch
Watch out, Withings -- Philips wants to move in on your turf. The Dutch tech giant is launching a slew of personal health devices that take advantage of its expertise in health tech while seeming more than a little familiar. The centerpiece is arguably the $250 Health Watch. The wearable tracks your activity, heart rate and sleep patterns like numerous fitness trackers, but with a few nice twists. You're getting "clinically validated" data, Philips promises, and you can enter your calorie intake either on the watch or in the companion Android and iOS apps. You also have the option of Apple Watch-like (though thankfully customizable) reminders to stand. Just don't expect a full-on smartwatch -- this is more of a health device that happens to talk to your phone.
Withings Body Cardio: A stylish scale for fussy health nuts
A scale is an odd thing to review. For one thing, it's one of the few gadgets you have to be completely naked to test. It also sends you down a rabbit hole of fitness tech, with too many apps and too many connected devices that do too many things. The Withings Body Cardio scale is emblematic of that, giving you your heart rate, body-fat ratio, bone mass, water mass, the weather (!) and something you never knew you needed called the "pulse wave velocity." Oh, and your weight.
Withings' latest scale can gauge your cardiovascular health
Nokia recently bought Withings for $191 million and immediately put it in charge of its entire digital health business. The Finnish company may have been persuaded in part by the Body Cardio, Withings' new flagship scale that launched today. On top of measuring your body mass index (BMI) and composition, it can judge your cardiovascular health by measuring how quickly blood pumps through your body. "It's the most advanced product we've ever made and the product that most represents Withings' DNA," co-founder Eric Carreel tells Engadget.
Smart mirror scale measures your volume as well as your weight
Guess what fitness startup Naked Labs wants you to do. The company today debuted its first product: a smart scale system that scans users with lasers, enabling them to track their fitness goals in three dimensions. The $500 system is designed for in-home use and is comprised of three parts: the scale itself, which doubles as a turntable; a full-length mirror outfitted with Intel RealSense depth sensors and the "Naked" mobile app. To initiate a scan, users first stand on the scale in their skivvies. It will begin to rotate as the mirror measures their body volume and sends that information to the associated app. The entire process takes about a minute.
Acaia's Bluetooth scale tracks your morning coffee ritual
I'll admit it: I'm a coffee snob. I wasn't even that invested until I became friends with two roasters. Fast forward a few years and I have equipment in my kitchen for six different brewing methods. Yes, it's a bit much. However, that still didn't stop me from being enticed by the Acaia Pearl Bluetooth-equipped scale, which aims to make the daily ritual as consistent and accurate as possible. Do you really need a $129 gadget to help you make better coffee, though? Or will a cheap kitchen scale and timer do the job just fine? After a few weeks with the priciest "Pearl Black" model, which sells for $150, I'm not ready to give up my budget gear just yet.
Under Armour and HTC built an entire fitness ecosystem
Under Armour is a king in the realm of sport apparel. But it's been laying the ground work for sometime now to become a bonafide technology company. It started some years ago with the E39 and eventually the company moved on to the Armour39, but both had fairly limited use cases. In late 2013 though, it started stockpiling fitness apps. For 2016 its bringing all the pieces together, including a partnership with HTC which is helping to design its hardware. But this isn't just another wearable, Under Armour is going all in and launching an entire ecosystem of apps and gadgets at once.
Use your Apple Pencil to alter photos, make music and weigh things
The Apple Pencil is aimed at professional artists who want to use the iPad Pro as a fancy creation tablet, but Simon Gladman has other uses in mind for the stylus. He made three Swift apps that use the Apple Pencil in new ways: as a synthesizer powered by AudioKit, in an image-editing program and as part of an electronic scale. PencilSynth uses the Apple Pencil's position on the iPad Pro to control the sound emitted, changing pitch and frequency as the Pencil travels at different angles across the screen. PencilController offers three image-filtering modes (hue/saturation, brightness/contrast and gamma/exposure), each controlled by holding one finger on the appropriate mode key and moving the Apple Pencil around a pivot point on the screen. PencilScale is the most "experimental" of Gladman's projects, using the Apple Pencil as a stand for a series of weights sitting directly on top of a scale app. Gladman calls PencilScale "sensitive, but not terribly accurate."
Drop's kitchen scale celebrates iPhone debut with cocktail recipes
Drop's smart scale promises to turn any kitchen klutz into a competent cook. Like your own personal sous-chef, the connected scale and companion app walks you through recipes step-by-step, even suggesting substitute ingredients if you've run out of wild saffron. Drop's audience has been somewhat limited since it launched late last year, though, as its recipe app was only compatible with iPads. But now, iPhone users can get a little help in the kitchen too, following the launch of a smartphone-friendly version of the app (still no love for Android, it seems). What's way, way more important, however, is Drop's finally acknowledging that the best lunches are ones of the liquid variety. In addition to the juice and smoothie recipes already available, Drop's app now includes a cocktail menu. All you need to do is place your favorite booze beaker on the scale and follow the instructions, which should mean your sixth mojito comes out tasting just as well-balanced as your first.
Google's codebase is ludicrously huge for good reason
Google's codebase -- the programming instructions that run every one of its services from Gmail to Slides -- span a whopping 2 billion lines of code that stretch across 1 billion files and require 86 terabytes of storage, according to Google engineering manager Rachel Potvin. She recently disclosed those figures at the @Scale engineering conference. She also noted that this massive collection of data is mirrored and continually updated in ten data centers peppered around the globe. "Not only is the size of the repository increasing," Potvin explained during her lecture, "but the rate of change is also increasing. This is an exponential curve."
