#wearables

#wearables

"We want to give people even more reasons to wear an Oura ring, and we're doing that with the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic collection," Oura VP of Consumer Software Product, Jason Russell, told TechCrunch in an interview. "They are made from this ceramic zirconia material that's very unique. It's traditionally more what you'd see in watchmaking or jewelry. And you can see the colors are youthful, they're expressive, but also neutral enough for everyday wear."

This week, I've been reading about Lizzo and Uniqlo and book thieves and Max Verstappen, obsessing over both Black Rabbit and The Lowdown, eating aggressively too many Pop'ums pretzels, listening to everything in the AirPods Pro 3s, updating my old Ray-Ban Metas to see if the AI is any good, meal planning with Crouton, and posting all my junk for free on Nextdoor.

The Xiaomi Watch S4 41mm comes with a 1.32-inch circular AMOLED display, offering a 466×466-pixel resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and peak brightness of 1,500 nits. The screen sits within a compact 41mm stainless steel casing. It features a 4-LED + 4PD heart rate sensor for monitoring pulse, blood oxygen (SpO2), stress levels, sleep patterns, and menstrual cycles, and is powered by the upgraded Xring T1 chip, claimed to be 35 percent more efficient than the standard Watch S4.

At Paris's Vélodrome National, Huawei staged its most ambitious ecosystem showcase to date. The event focused on an interconnected lineup of wearables, smartphones, tablets, audio, and creative software. The strategy challenges Apple's ecosystem advantage while addressing gaps competitors have not resolved. Designer: Huawei Huawei reports 200 million wearable shipments worldwide and cites the number one global position in wrist-worn devices during the first half of 2025. The GT Series alone has shipped 54 million units. These totals frame why Huawei sees itself as a category leader.

No one is going to wax lyrical about the Apple Watch Series 11. Not because it's a bad smartwatch - it's a great smartwatch, actually. There's just nothing that makes it feel special this year. Alas, the $399 Series 11 is the middle child of Apple Watches. It's not the Series 11's fault that the entry-level Apple Watch SE 3 got a major glow-up. It can't help that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 gets everything the Series 11 has plus satellite connectivity.

According to the National Poll on Healthy Aging, which surveyed adults from ages 50 to 80, 88% responded that it was important to remain in their homes as long as possible. For older Americans to age in place well, technology can be useful, especially medical alert systems. "These devices allow those who have fallen or have an emergency to contact someone for assistance," says Jen Teague, Director for Health Coverage and Benefits at the National Council on Aging. "Ultimately, they help an individual maintain independence."

Apple's new smartwatches have the spotlight this week, but Android users have a reason to celebrate, too. That's because Samsung's gorgeous, Bluetooth-enabled Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is cheaper than ever at Woot through September 19th. It's down to $359.99 ($140 off), nearly matching the price of the $349.99 Galaxy Watch 8. Not a bad discount for a watch that came out fewer than two months ago.

Starting Sept. 8, Samsung Health users can schedule virtual visits with doctors and connect to Walgreens pharmacies for prescription management. In partnership with virtual care clinic HealthTap, Samsung Health will now connect users with doctors when they're looking for a faster alternative to an in-person doctor's visit. The new feature lets Samsung users message their virtual doctors in between video visits and same-day appointments. The press release also highlights its 365-day on-demand urgent care.

Every day, I shift between strategy and execution, guiding a team that depends on me to make clear decisions. The constant pressure takes its toll. Stress lingers, energy dips at the wrong moment, and brain fog has a way of showing up when clarity is most needed. I feel this even more with the added demands of being a working mom and hosting a podcast, where I have to be sharp, present and on my toes no matter what else is happening in my day.

Fitness trackers have come a long way from the simple bands that tracked steps and little else. Modern trackers can monitor everything from your heart health to how well you've recovered from a hard bout of training. Even flagship smartwatches, which used to be lackluster trackers, have become pretty adept workout companions. Whatever your fitness goals are, there's probably a fitness tracker that can help you achieve them.

With the Galaxy Watch8 Series, Samsung is doing just that. For the first time ever, a smartwatch features Google's Gemini AI built in - not as a voice assistant you have to dig for, not as a cloud service that lags behind - but as a native, on-device intelligence layer that powers everything from workouts to grocery lists to urgent work messages.

Amazfit Helio Strap and Amazfit Balance 2 have been launched in India. The new wearables come with a BioTracker 6.0 PPG biometric sensor for monitoring heart rate and feature a dedicated Hyrox Race Mode. The Helio Strap is the Amazfit's first fitness tracker without a screen, and it supports 27 sports modes. The Amazfit Balance 2 supports Bluetooth calling and has over 170 sports modes.

The Pixel line has often been on the cutting edge of mobile photography. This year, that means baking AI straight into the camera app and making us grapple with all of the very messy things that means. I've been scouring the internet for sample images of the Pixel 10 Pro's AI-enhanced 100x zoom feature - Pro Res Zoom - and the early results have been all over the place.

Unlike its prescription-only sibling, the G7, Stelo doesn't require a prescription, and it's not intended for people on insulin. It's about the size of a quarter with tiny prongs that go just under the skin and are essentially painless. Once applied, Stelo pairs with your phone and delivers glucose readings every 15 minutes. That's less frequent than prescription CGMs, but more than enough to show how food, activity, sleep and stress affect your glucose.

Google is encountering supply chain problems that may delay the release of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Pixel Watch 4, and Pixel Buds 2a until October 9th, 2025.

Amazon has acquired Bee, an AI company known for its always-listening wearable that transcribes conversations and provides actionable insights.

To be clear, there is a lot to like about it. And I have a lot more to write about such things - once it is started up, I often don't want to stop using it (hence the song in my head).

The standard Gorilla Glass on Google's watches is prone to damage, while competitors use more durable sapphire glass, leading to issues with repairs and sustainability.

Qualcomm is developing a new Snapdragon SoC specifically for wearables, codenamed Aspen, aiming to enhance performance for the next generation of Wear OS.