AirPods and other wearable devices with built-in microphones could provide pretty reliable measurements of the wearer's respiratory rate using just their breath audio.
Wearables
Apple Watch Explorer Edition with a rugged casing may launch in 2021 or 2022
Apple is considering a rugged Apple Watch, according to a new report from Bloomberg. It may debut later in 2021 or 2022 at the earliest and target different watch buyers, the report has it.
Apple’s bet on wearables will continue to pay off in the coming years
Apple's Wearables division, which includes devices like the Apple Watch and AirPods (and Beats-branded headphones), is already remarkably successful for the company. But at least one research firm says things are going to get even better for the company.
Bloomberg: Amazon is working on a wristband that can recognize your emotions
A report published by Bloomberg alleges that Amazon is working on a new type of wearable device that would be capable of reading your emotions based on the sound of your voice.
LTE Apple Watch Series 3 coming to Denmark, Sweden & India next month
Apple has acknowledged that the latest Apple Watch Series 3 models with LTE cellular connectivity will be launching in Denmark, Sweden and India on Friday, May 11, with pre-orders starting a week earlier on Friday, May 4.
Apple unveils a Spring collection of bands for Apple Watch
Wednesday, Apple announced a whole new collection of Spring-themed Apple Watch straps.
For the first time since its inception, Apple Watch overtook Fitbit in annual sales
For the first time since its April 2014 debut, Apple Watch has managed to overtake Fitbit in terms of annual sales—a major milestone for Apple's wearable device, especially when you take into account all of the inexpensive fitness bands, watches and tracking device Fitbit is selling.
Apple is once again the largest wearables manufacturer
Thanks in large part to the new Apple Watch Series 3, Apple has regained the top spot for maker of wearables in Q3 2017.
Discontinuation of Series 2 widens the gap between cheapest and priciest Watch models
One year after it was introduced, Apple's second-generation wearable has now been discontinued as the Cupertino company on Tuesday unveiled an all-new Apple Watch Series 3 with optional LTE connectivity, a speedier in-house designed S3 chip and more.
Canada’s largest sport retailer is now selling Apple Watch
In what may be the first sport chain retailer to sell Apple Watch, Canada's Sport Check stores are now selling Apple Watch. Sport Check files as the country's largest sport retailer.
As first noted by PatentlyApple, the Apple Watch listing over at the official Sport Check website now has the latest Apple Watch Series 2 and Apple Watch Nike+ models on sale, in addition to the previous-generation Apple Watch hardware.
The new Sport Chek ads for Apple Watch began hitting the market last week.
It would seem that selling Apple Watch through specialized sport retailers may be a new thing. At any rate, we'll keep you informed if the Cupertino company expands this latest initiative to sport retail chains elsewhere.
Survey ranks Apple as #1 wearables maker
In a report issued Thursday market research firm Strategy Analytics said that Apple has overtaken Fitbit to become the world's leading vendor of devices worn on one's body, capturing sixteen percent of the global market for wearables in the March quarter.
Apple sold an estimated 3.5 million watches during the three-month period ending in March, a 59 percent increase over the 2.2 million Apple Watch units sold in the year-ago quarter.
According to Strategy Analytics data, rival Fitbit shipped 2.9 million units in March, marking a significant 36 percent drop from the 4.5 million Fitbits shipped in the year-ago quarter.
Strategy Analytics stated:
Fitbit has lost its wearables leadership to Apple, due to slowing demand for its fitnessbands and a late entry to the emerging smartwatch market.
Fitbit’s shipments, revenue, pricing and profit are all shrinking at the moment and they have a major fight on their hands to recover this year.
The new Apple Watch Series 2 is selling “relatively well” in the US, UK and elsewhere, due to “enhanced styling, intensive marketing and a good retail presence,” said the research firm.
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Chinese startup Xiaomi shipped 3.4 million wearable units, good for a cool fifteen percent marketshare worldwide. Demand for Xiaomi's popular Mi Band fitness range was broadly flat across its core markets of Asia.
Fitbit thus far has mostly focused on fitness bands and related accessories.
That could change soon as the company is expected to add smartwatches to its portfolio. However, if an image leaked earlier this week (above) is anything to go by, Fitbit's upcoming smartwatch slated for release this fall won't win any beauty contest.
Fitbit also plans on releasing a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, codenamed “Parkside” internally, alongside the smartwatch, according to two of Yahoo Finance’s sources. A photo of the upcoming $150 earbuds (below) was leaked to Yahoo Finance earlier this week.
Last December, Fitibit acquired software assets of the struggling smartwatch maker Pebble for a mere $40 million. Following the acquisition, Fitbit put the last nail in Pebble's coffin by cancelling all new hardware that Pebble had in the pipeline.
Global wearables shipments reached 22 million units during the March quarter, marking a 21 percent increase year-over-year from 18.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Stronger demand for new smartwatch models in North America, Western Europe and Asia drove the uptick, said Strategy Analytics.
The full Wearables Market Data repot is available on the Strategy Analytics website.
Apple Watch popup shop in Galeries Lafayette closing January 2017 due to poor sales
The original Apple Watch debuted in April 2015 in a few markets, with Apple pushing the $10,000-$17,000 Apple Watch Edition aggressively via pop up shops found in high-profile department stores, including Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Selfridges in London and Isetan in Tokyo. But those pop up shops won't be open for much longer, it would seem.
As reported by French blog Mac4Ever, Apple will be closing the mini-store in Galeries Lafayette effective January 2017 due to poor sales of the device at the location.