Apple and Samsung are both set to launch new smartwatches later this year… and neither is doing a great job of keeping a lid on the top secret plans. Bloomberg reports that Apple will debut a new “extreme sports” model with a rugged design and bigger battery, while Samsung is allegedly planning to introduce a […]
smartwatch
Lilbits: Xbox Cloud Gaming coming to Samsung Smart TVs, Meta scraps a smartwatch (and scales back its smart displays)
Last year Microsoft announced plans to develop a game streaming device that would allow you to play games on any screen without buying a full-fledged console or gaming PC. All you’d need is an internet connection and a game controller. But in May we learned that Microsoft may have discontinued work on that device… instead […]
Lilbits: Fitbit recalls its first smartwatch, Amazon closes its physical bookstores, and new Apple hardware is on the way
Apple has scheduled an event for March 8, where the company is likely to unveil new hardware that could include an updated iPhone SE and iPad Air and one or more new Mac computers sporting Apple Silicon chips. In other hardware news, Nothing plans to launch something soon: the company’s first smartphone. Google’s Pixel 6a […]
The $100 Moto Watch 100 is an affordable wearable with 2 weeks of battery life (but no 3rd-party apps)
Motorola was one of the first companies to launch a smartwatch powered by Google’s software for wearables. But the Moto 360 was released seven years ago, and a lot has happened since then. Apple entered and then began to dominate the smartwatch market. Motorola was acquired, sold, and divided up. And so the new Moto Watch […]
Meta (formerly Facebook) may be making a smartwatch with a front-facing camera
Smartwatches have been a thing for nearly a decade at this point, letting users view notifications, control media playback, and occasionally even make phone calls Dick Tracy-style from their wrist. But one thing that hasn’t really taken off, despite the occasional attempt from one watch maker or another? Smartwatches with cameras. Now it looks like […]
Samsung Exynos W920 is a 5nm chip for smartwatches
Most smartwatches running Google’s Wear OS software that have shipped in recent years have been powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear processors. But the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 that’s set to launch this week? It’ll be using Samsung’s brand new Exynos W920 processor instead. Samsung says the new chip offers up to 20% faster CPU performance than […]
The $27 PineTime smartwatch runs open-source software and now it’s ready for non-developers
The PineTime is an inexpensive smartwatch designed to run open-source software and serve as a wearable companion to Linux smartphones (like the PinePhone), among other things. First introduced a few years ago, PineTime development kits began shipping in 2020 and coders began writing software for the platform. Now Pine64 is taking orders for a version of […]
Lilbits: Samsung’s One UI comes to Wear OS watches, Xbox Cloud Gaming comes to Windows 10 and iOS (via the web)
Last month Samsung and Google announced plans to merge their smartwatch platforms into a single, unified platform bringing the best of Google’s Wear OS and Samsung’s Tizen. Now Samsung is giving us an idea of what next-gen Galaxy smartwatches running the new software will look like. Among other things, Samsung is promising updates to the […]
Lilbits: Leaks point to Surface Duo 2, Facebook watch, and a SiFive acquisition (maybe)
Chip designer SiFive is one of the leading companies producing processors based on the RISC-V instruction set, an open standard that’s designed as an alternative to proprietary chip architectures like x86 and ARM. But a new report suggests that several companies including Intel have expressed interest in buying and/or investing in the company, although nothing […]
InfiniTime 1.0 open source firmware released for the $25 PineTime smartwatch
The PineTime is an inexpensive smartwatch designed to run free and open source software. And when I say inexpensive, I mean it sells for $25, or roughly one eighth the price of the cheapest Apple Watch. First announced in 2019, the Pine64 began shipping the PineTime to early adopters in 2020, but at the time it […]