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‘Hey Siri’ is purely optional in watchOS 5
Why do you need to say Siri when you've already got your Apple Watch hovering right in front of your face? Soon, you won't have to. WatchOS 5 will drop the need for you to vocally summon Siri, instead, as soon as your raise your device up, it'll start listening to your requests, questions and messaging apps. It'll also stop those awkward Siri requests that seem to raise your phone, watch, iPad and HomePod in one single, horrific instant.
Xiaomi's Mi Band 3 is water resistant to 50 meters
Xiaomi's latest tranche of releases, which includes the transparent Mi 8 phone, also features the Mi Band 3, a one-up on the super popular Mi Band 2 that helped propel the company to the top of the wearables market. The new device comes with a bigger, higher resolution OLED screen, the same 20 days of battery life and a water resistance upgrade to 50 meters. The company claims it's a more comfortable wear, too. It's available in red, black and blue, and launches in China initially at 169 yuan, or about $26.
LG is readying a new Wear OS smartwatch
Ever since Google rebranded Android Wear as Wear OS, there's been a lingering question: when would there be a new smartwatch to spearhead Google's wearable revival? Apparently, the answer is "soon." An FCC filing has revealed an LG-made Wear OS device that may just tout some unique features. For one, this isn't using the usual Android Wear interface. The usual vertical app list has been replaced by a Samsung Gear-style circular carousel (shown below) with the name of the selected app front and center. There's no cellular access on this model, which suggests that it'd be a spiritual successor to the Watch Style -- and there may be evidence to back up that claim.
Google adds more Assistant features to Wear OS
Google brought its AI assistant to Android Wear 2.0 last year, and has been adding features like Routines and Custom Device Actions ever since. Now the company is bringing a few new features to Assistant on Wear OS (as it's now called), including contextually aware conversation suggestions, auditory answers to your questions and actions for connected devices.
Viacom launches studio dedicated to shows for YouTube and Facebook
Viacom has come a long, long way from the days when online video was seemingly its mortal enemy. The media giant has formally launched Digital Studios, a wing dedicated to (you guessed it) original internet shows. The initial programs in the works are all attached to familiar names like BET, Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon, and will be available across services like Facebook Watch, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube -- it won't just involve the previously unveiled Snapchat plans.
Facebook's original video strategy: Cats + weddings = profit
If you think that the internet is really just a repository for cat videos, well. You're not really wrong. Facebook announced today that Nala the Cat, who has 3.5 million followers at @nala_cat on Instagram, will be the star of "The Nala Show" on Facebook's Watch tab. According to Variety, the show's first episode will be posted today, April 27th, at 1 PM ET. New episodes will be released every Friday.
Mondaine's second smartwatch finally adds notifications
When Mondaine released its first smartwatch (the Helvetica 1) in 2015, the features were... limited. It could track your activity, but it quickly fell behind other hybrid smartwatches, let alone high-end smartwatches from the likes of Apple or Samsung. However, the company has clearly learned some lessons in a few years. It's releasing the Helvetica Regular Smartwatch, which finally adds notifications. If you receive a message (including from Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp) or telephone call, the hour hand will point to "M" or "T." That's not as helpful as seeing what the message says, but you at least won't have to wonder whether or not someone got back to you.
Facebook's daily news video section may arrive this summer
Facebook has only hinted at its upcoming news video section in Watch, but some more tangible details are starting to trickle out. Axios sources have claimed a daily news service should launch in the summer, with about 10 publishers (both conventional and digital-focused) currently testing partnerships. Any news clips in Watch would have to be at least 3 minutes long, the insiders said, and the feature would be available for "at least" one year while Facebook sees what works best.
Facebook will add a Watch section for breaking news videos
Facebook may be downplaying news in your actual News Feed, but its Watch team is headed in the opposite direction. The social network has announced that it's creating a section in Watch that will feature breaking news stories. News partnership lead Campbell Brown didn't say when it would launch or which outlets would show up, but it recently said the News Feed would prioritize local stories. The Watch tab could easily follow suit.
Facebook may share ad money to lure creators from YouTube
Facebook has been gearing up its Watch platform for months, now. Originally launched last August, it already has tons of shows on tap (for US audiences, at least). The company may even spend $1 billion on original video this year in hopes to catch Netflix and Hulu, and it's been running ads in front of Watch videos for a while. Now, according to a report on CNBC, Facebook is talking to media buyers about expanding the Watch service to more individual creators to rival YouTube's similar business model.
ESPN is adapting its popular 'First Take' show for Facebook
Facebook has been busy adding new shows to its Watch tab for a while now. But let's face it, big name broadcasters aren't exactly flocking to the social network as an avenue for their content. That's what makes today's news pretty significant. ESPN announced a new version of its popular First Take sports talk program that will be tailored to the more interactive confines of Facebook. The key difference? More viewer participation.
This is what the Xbox Watch could have looked like
Microsoft has a tumultuous relationship with smartwatches. Its bulky wrist-mounted wearable, the Band and Band 2, saw limited success at retail but couldn't compete with sales of the Fitbit or the Apple Watch. As of October 2016, it seems the Band brand has been shut down for good. However, hands-on photos shared by Twitter user @Hikari_Calyx show Microsoft was prototyping another fitness tracker that incorporated Xbox-style tiles in a more traditional smartwatch package.
Facebook teams up with 'True Blood' creators for new series
Facebook's Watch tab won't just be chock-full of sports shows and gaming culture. The social site has ordered 10 episodes of Sacred Lies, an adaptation of the Stephanie Oakes novel The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly (which, in turn, is an adaptation of the Grimm Brothers' The Handless Maiden). The show revolves around a handless teen who escapes from a cult and is believed to know who killed the cult leader. It's an intriguing (if not completely original) premise -- and importantly, there's an appropriate pedigree.
Ressence made a mechanical watch that pairs with your smartphone
Many hybrid watches only resemble classic timepieces on a superficial level. If you want a watch with a true mechanical movement, you have to forego modern conveniences. Ressence wants to fix that with its newly unveiled Type 2 e-Crown Concept. The watch, designed with the help of Nest co-founder Tony Fadell, only requires conventional setup when you initially set the time. From then on, a paired iPhone app can automatically set the watch to one of two time zones using its namesake e-Crown. If the power reserve runs out or Daylight Savings Time kicks in, you don't have to use the old-fashioned setting mechanism unless you want to -- you just have to tap on the watch face.
Facebook goes back to basics: People
Over the past couple of years, Facebook has frequently tweaked its News Feed algorithms to deliver stories that are relevant and of interest to you. It was a strategy that, until now, seemed to be the way forward for the site. But that's all about to change, as Facebook has announced that there are big adjustments coming to its News Feed. In the months ahead, the platform will start to prioritize posts from people you care about, like friends and family, over stories or videos from publishers. Users may react positively, but publications that rely on Facebook to drive traffic won't be happy.
Garmin's latest smartwatch can play music during your run
Yes, you can listen to music on a smartwatch without keeping your phone nearby, but that usually means settling for relatively simple fitness tracking. Garmin may have a solution that eliminates those compromises, however -- it just introduced the Forerunner 645 Music, a GPS running watch that (surprise) stores up to 500 songs for playback over Bluetooth earphones. You can track your runs (or bike rides, or swims) and the detailed stats to match while listening to tunes you've saved either from your computer or from streaming services like iHeartRadio.
Facebook will try running ads in front of Watch videos
Facebook has been willing to run ads in the middle of videos, but it has historically been reluctant to put ads in front of videos and irk people just trying to watch a clip that surfaced in their News Feed. However, it might be willing to break with tradition in a limited way. The social network plans to test pre-roll ads in the Watch tab and other spaces where you "intentionally go to watch videos." You won't see pre-video ads while you're scrolling through your friends' updates, in other words, but you might when you sit down for a viewing. The trial will start in 2018 with 6-second clips, with Facebook studying the results to see what works best for different audiences and shows.
WWE wrestling is coming to Facebook's Watch tab in January
We still don't know how many people actually click the Watch tab on Facebook, but that isn't stopping the social network from signing programming deals at a rapid clip. The latest benefactor of Facebook's billion dollar video fund is a bit surprising. The WWE will air a 12-episode tournament exclusively on Zuckerberg's platform on Tuesday nights starting January 16th. If you're expecting full-on storylines from Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live just because grapplers from each show are participating, you might be disappointed, though. Instead of a Spandex soap opera, Mixed Match Challenge is a single-elimination mixed tag-team tournament where top prize is a $100,000 donation to the charity of the team's choice.
Facebook nabs a trio of shows from Machinima for its Watch tab
The last time Machinima was in the news it was for paying "influencers" to say nice things about the Xbox One. Now, the company has inked a deal with Facebook for three new shows that'll live on the social network's Watch platform, according to Deadline. Those include a comic-book talk show (Action Figures), a gaming themed dating show dubbed Co-op Connection and sketch comedy in the form of Dank/Fire. The deal says as much about Facebook as it does Machinima. For the former, it's willing to spend that billion dollars on TV programming from just about any source. And for Machinima, this gives the network an even bigger platform to broadcast on than its 12-million subscriber YouTube channel.
Misfit's latest hybrid smartwatch focuses on classic style
If it wasn't already evident that Misfit is on a fashion kick with its smartwatches, it is now. The Fossil-owned badge has unveiled a new hybrid smartwatch, the Command, that promises to track your fitness while looking appropriate for formal wear. It delivers notifications and tracks activity (including step count, calories, distance and sleep) much like the Phase did, just without screaming "I am tech." The steel bracelet model in particular wouldn't be out of place at a formal event, even if people won't mistake it for a Montblanc.
