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Smartwatches failed to excite in 2016
When the first smartwatches made it to our wrists a few years ago, we were willing to overlook shortcomings because the product category was in its infancy. But the technology has had time to mature, and 2016 should have been an exciting year in this space. Instead, we saw a number of important brands pull out of the smartwatch race; meanwhile Google deferred major updates to 2017. Smaller but significant companies were swallowed by competitors, and the devices that did launch this year were unexciting at best. Smartwatch sales started to decline in the second quarter, and while the all-important holiday shopping numbers haven't been tallied yet, the future isn't looking good for the category.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 20: I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
It's the last episode of the year and host Terrence O'Brien is closing things out with managing editor Dana Wollman and reviews editor Cherlynn Low. After looking at the biggest winners of 2016 last week, the crew is taking on the biggest losers. That means exploding phones, shady medical startups and trolls galore. Plus the standings for Flame Wars are finalized ahead of CES, so get ready 'cause things might get real weird next week.
The biggest losers of 2016
Last week we broke down the biggest winners of 2016. This week, we're taking a look at the biggest losers. Yahoo has clearly had one of the worst years in history for a company. And, unless something changes soon, this whole mess with the NSA and 1.5 billion hacked accounts could become the problem of Engadget's parent company Verizon. So, there's that. Of course there was Samsung's parade of exploding gadgets and Twitter... well, Twitter just couldn't seem to get its act together. It's now known as the platform of choice for trolls and white supremacists as much as it is for forcing you to distill complex thoughts into 140-character fragments. Of course, between the explosion of fake news and the continued hostility towards the science of climate change, the biggest loser of 2016, might just be the American public. Check out all of Engadget's year-in-review coverage right here.
Watchmakers think smart features will beat smartwatches
Fossil is the fourth-biggest watchmaker in the world, responsible for about 5 percent of global timepiece sales. The company produces watches for a variety of brands, including Armani, Kate Spade, Michael Kors and Skagen. This week, ahead of the holidays, all of those labels have launched traditional-looking analog watches that come with activity tracking, notification vibrations and automatic time setting. When a company feels this confident that its users want this tech, you know something's going on. That's because this is the moment that the future of wearables becomes a race to see how deep you can bury your geeky credentials beneath a pretty case.
The Misfit Phase is yet another connected analog watch
Misfit may not be the first (or even tenth) name that comes to mind when you think about sophisticated design, but its acquisition by the Fossil group last year may have taught it a thing or two about style. The company just debuted the Misfit Phase, an eye-catching analog watch that tracks your steps and sleep habitss and shows your progress toward various fitness goals. Like other smartwatches, it will alert you to incoming calls, messages and app notifications.
Without a new Apple Watch, smartwatch shipments decline in Q2
Until now, the smartwatch market had seen year-over-year growth each quarter since the devices made their debut. For Q2 2016 though, that wasn't the case. Global smartwatch shipments were down 32 percent, totaling 3.5 million gadgets during the period. That figure is down from 5.1 million of the wearables shipped during the second quarter of 2015. Apple still led the pack with 1.6 million units, but it was the only top-selling company to experience an annual decline. It's worth noting that Q2 2015 was when the Apple Watch launched and there hasn't been an updated model yet.
Android Wear is getting a massive overhaul this fall
It's been over two years since Android Wear was introduced, but smartwatches are still very much an unproven commodity. But Google has been making plenty of tweaks and refinements to its watch-based OS to hone the features owners find most useful. Today at its annual I/O developer conference, Google is announcing what Android Wear VP David Singleton is calling its "biggest platform update yet": Android Wear 2.0. It's a visual and functional overhaul organized around the three things Google has found to be most important for Android Wear users.
Navigate your smartwatch by touching your skin
Smartwatches walk a fine line between functionality and fashion, but new SkinTrack technology from Carnegie Mellon University's Future Interfaces Group makes the size of the screen a moot point. The SkinTrack system consists of a ring that emits a continuous high-frequency AC signal and a sensing wristband that goes under the watch. The wristband tracks the finger wearing the ring and senses whether the digit is hovering or actually making contact with your arm or hand, turning your skin into an extension of the touchscreen.
Google debuts designer watch faces for Android Wear
With companies like TAG Heuer and Fossil now investing in Android Wear, Google knows how important it is to keep smartwatches looking stylish. As such, the company has revealed a set of fashion-centric watch faces for Android Wear devices, as part of a partnership with nine different brands. This includes designs from Asics, Harajuku Kawaii!, Mango, Melissa Joy Manning, Nicole Miller, Ted Baker, Vivienne Tam, Y-3 and Zoe Jordan.
Verizon's new kid-tracking smartwatches look all grown up
GizmoPal 2 and GizmoGadget aren't going to win any prizes for cool product naming, but the kid-friendly smartwatches come with noble intentions. Both products let you geofence your progeny, so you can get an instant alert if they wander farther than you'd like -- a staple feature of devices in the junior category of course. Both also let the wearer communicate with parents. GizmoPal 2 is more limited, allowing only Jnr to send pre-recorded messages and emoji -- perhaps no bad thing for younger children. Adults can, however, call the watch directly. On the plus side, GizmoPal 2 looks less like a child's hospital band than last time. Bigger kids will want the GizmoGadget, which has the way cooler ability to send messages and calls instantly between devices and a touchscreen display. Both are also waterproof to one meter for 30 minutes.
Omate has a smartwatch that runs Lollipop and makes phone calls
Let's face it: deep down we probably all have wanted a smartwatch made by wearables company Omate that runs Android 5.1. Okay, that's an overstatement. But there are at least a few folks out there that fit this bill and they'll likely be pretty pleased about the news that the new call-capable TrueSmart+ is Lollipop flavored. The company took to Facebook to announce that both the TS+ and its slightly cheaper sibling will hit sometime either late October or in November for $169 and $149, respectively. Oddly enough, the pricier model doesn't have a built-in camera like its predecessor but Omate says it has a TSi model with one.
WatchOS 2 hands-on: What Apple Watch should have had from the start
Ignoring the mixed reviews, common sense and the usually wise advice that you should avoid first-gen products at all costs, I bought an Apple Watch last June. Honestly, I'm still surprised by that. I backed the original Pebble crowdfunding campaign, and I've tested a few Android Wear devices, but as a whole smartwatches have always left me wanting. If I was going to wear anything on my wrist, I typically preferred a dedicated fitness tracker. But after hearing about what Apple had planned for watchOS 2 (the software that powers the Watch), I felt compelled to snap up a 42mm Apple Watch Sport. Now, a little more than five months after the Watch's launch, that long-awaited update is here. And while it doesn't fix all of the Apple Watch's flaws, it's a significant improvement for the crazies like me who bought one already.
The 5 best wearables from IFA 2015
Wearables playing a big role at major trade shows isn't a surprise, and neither is the fact that most of the ones we've seen at IFA 2015 are smartwatches. Samsung, Motorola and TomTom all introduced new timepieces this week, while Huawei finally revealed pricing details for the Watch it announced earlier this year in Barcelona. Aside from TomTom's Spark and Samsung's Gear S2, the other smartwatches on this list are powered by Android Wear, with prices ranging from $299 to $799 -- although Motorola and Samsung have kept some info to themselves. Either way, join us as we recap the wearables that stood out here in Berlin, Germany.Check out all the news from Berlin at our IFA 2015 hub.
Samsung teases round Gear S2 smartwatch (update: more pics)
Samsung has dropped a surprise at its Unpacked 2015 event by showing off a new Gear S2 smartwatch. The model appears to be a far cry from the original Gear S, however. Samsung has upped the style quotient considerably with a round watch face, metal body and new user interface. Given the naming convention (it lacks the "Galaxy" moniker that generally denotes Android), it likely runs on Samsung's Tizen OS rather than Android Wear, like the original Gear S.
Samsung confirmed its next Gear smartwatch has a rotating bezel
If everything we've heard so far is true, Samsung's next Gear smartwatch could be far more interesting than any of its current products. Following news that the wearable comes with a round design, the company has reportedly confirmed it's also going to feature a rotating, functional bezel ring. The Gear A, as the device is said to be called, plans to let people take advantage of this attribute by letting them use it to zoom in and out across the OS, as well as play games. According to SamMobile, the Tizen-powered smartwatch sports an Exynos 3472 dual-core processor with 4GB of onboard storage, a 250mAh battery and a 360 x 360 display that'll rely on the rotating bezel for some features. We'll likely know for sure on August 13th, when Samsung's scheduled to host its Unpacked 2015 event.
Apple already took 75 percent of the smartwatch market
The official numbers for Apple Watch sales are still a mystery. But, according to a report by research firm Strategy Analytics, the Cupertino company shipped an estimated 4 million units during the second quarter of 2015. As a result, Apple's already captured 75 percent of the smartwatch marketshare across the world, despite only being available since late April. Strategy Analytics also points out that, thanks mostly to the Watch, global smartwatch shipments saw a remarkable 457 percent growth year-over-year. Meanwhile, Samsung was the big loser in Q2 2015, as it fell to second place and is said to have shipped a mere 0.4 million devices during that timeframe.
Garmin's Vivoactive fitness tracker isn't for everyone -- and that's okay
There may never be a wearable equivalent of the iPhone -- a must-have gadget that sparks a fundamental change in how we live. Instead, the future of wearables is all about niche products that may be right for some, but won't necessarily be everyone's cup of tea. That's my main takeaway after spending a few weeks with Garmin's Vivoactive ($250), which is yet another one of its wearable gadgets for people who make working out a way of life. Honestly, though, it's a thought I've had percolating for a while now, especially after Jawbone's disappointing Up3. The Vivoactive isn't a great smartwatch or activity tracker for most people, but for someone who demands a GPS-enabled wearable for tracking their runs, swims and just about anything involving movement, it might be ideal.
Casio is making smartwatches, too
When America's greatest actor needed to defuse a bomb mounted to a passenger bus, there was only one name he could trust to keep time: Casio. Like Keanu Reeves, the company's fallen out of the limelight a bit since then. It has a comeback plan, though: smartwatches. As The Wall Street Journal tells it, the outfit thinks it has what's necessary to compete in the crowded space too. Namely, a rich history of making watches that do more than tell time. It expects the device to hit "a level of smartwatch perfection" by being durable, easy to put on and generally being comfortable to wear.
Microsoft Moonraker is the Nokia smartwatch we almost got
If you were wondering what Nokia's take on a smartwatch would have been, take a look at the Microsoft Moonraker, a cancelled watch that attempted to bring in some of Windows Phone's style. Microsoft nixed it when it acquired Nokia's phone arm, The Verge reports, but now we've got an idea of what it looks like thanks to Microsoft designer Pei-Chi Hsieh, who posted it on their (now deleted) Tumblr blog. Noted leakhound (and former Engadget editor) Evan Blass first unearthed the image, which shows a multicolored smartwatch design with slightly rounded corners. From afar, it doesn't look that much different than the Apple Watch, funny enough. Sources say Microsoft dumped the Moonraker project because it was working on the ill-fated Band wearable.
Apple Watch battery life and low-power mode details leak out
With only a few days to go until Apple's next big press event, where it's expected to reveal final pricing and availability details for the Apple Watch, we're hearing even more about how its first smartwatch will function. Sources tell 9to5Mac (which is typically accurate about early info like this) that the Apple Watch will get around 5 hours of battery life with heavy usage, and it should last you all day with typical handling. The site earlier reported that Apple was aiming for around 2.5 to 4 hours of power with significant usage. Just like your iPhone though, you should expect to charge it every night. As for that low-power mode revealed earlier this week, which only displays the time, sources say you'll be able to activate it at any point. That's a feature we've also seen on plenty of smartwatches by this point, but it's still plenty useful in alleviating battery life anxiety.
