wearable computing

Former Cercacor CTO Marcelo Lamego joins Apple and other iWatch hires

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple's hiring spree of biosensor experts continues with the latest revelation pointing to another high-profile executive hire.

According to the newest scoop by NetworkWorld, the former chief technology officer of non-invasive patient monitoring company Cercacor, Marcelo Lamego, has joined Apple's iWatch team.

Apple has been hiring some of the world's top experts in sleep research, medical devices and biosensing, fueling speculation that its rumored wearable device will focus on health and fitness tracking...

Job ad confirms Apple testing health/fitness wearables

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 6, 2014

A new job ad discovered on Apple's website Thursday has pretty much confirmed that the firm is working on and testing some kind of a health and fitness related wearable device. It's the first semi-official confirmation of the rumored iWatch project if I ever saw one. I'm not sure if this is an unintentional slip up and why Apple would want to make this particular call for job applicants public.

Regardless, it's now clear that Tim Cook & Co. have been staffing up with a lot of wearable experts from medical, fitness and biosensing fields. The job description mentions expertise in such health activities as cardiovascular fitness and energy expenditure, including “calories burned, metabolic rate, aerobic fitness level measurement/tracking” and more...

Rumor: Samsung to beat Google to smart glasses punch with September reveal of Galaxy Glass

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 27, 2014

The Korea Times is reporting that the South Korean conglomerate Samsung is readying its own Google Glass-like eyewear, with an unnamed Samsung official stating that the tentatively named 'Galaxy Glass' device will debut at the annual IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany this September.

Sony is also working on a smart glasses model of its own, by the way.

Samsung already sells the Galaxy Gear smartwatch and we previously reported that a brand new lineup of Galaxy Band health/fitness wearable devices is in the pipeline as well. Google currently sells the Explorer Edition of Glass to testers and developers in the United States for $1,500.

The search giant said that a consumer version would be available some time in 2014 for "significantly less" than the Explorer Edition, but the company wouldn't commit to a specific pricing or release date...

Samsung confirms new wearables coming in 2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 8, 2014

You have to admire Samsung's persistence. Unfazed by lukewarm reception from fans and critics alike who aren't rushing out to buy its Galaxy Gear smartwatch in droves, the undeterred South Korean conglomerate is planning to release new wearable gadgets for the upcoming launch of the next Galaxy S smartphone in May and a Galaxy Note successor in Fall.

Dennis Miloseski, head of studio for Samsung Design America, told Re/code that 2014 is going to be “a really big year” for Samsung wearables, hinting at “some products around the launch of our flagship devices”...

Corning says it’s ready to produce ‘3D-shaped’ Gorilla Glass

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

New York-based glass manufacturer Corning announced yesterday the manufacturing readiness of its new 3D glass-forming technology to shape its patented Gorilla Glass, which has been used in a number of mobile devices including iPhones and iPads.

The company says it's targeting commercialization of finished 3D-shaped Gorilla Glass parts this year that will "expand the possibilities" for industrial designers. And of course, this has led to speculation that it's preparing for future wearable devices...

Archos previews array of iOS-compatible wearable gadgets and connected home gizmos

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 30, 2013

Ahead of the looming 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, the French consumer electronics company Archos is previewing an upcoming line of devices and accessories, including 'Connected Self' smartwatches and health trackers and various 'Connected Home' appliances, all designed to be compatible with Apple's iOS and Google's Android mobile operating systems.

There will also be a Connected Self mobile application to “serve as the backbone application for all connected self devices” allowing folks to track their activity, check their health-related data, turn on the lights, automatically capture video when motion sensors are triggered and lots more. The full breakdown is right past the jump...

Apple awarded new patent for head-mounted display system

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Over the past couple of years, Apple has been filing and collecting patents on inventions involving wearable computing devices. And one of its particular areas of interest is in head-mounted display systems, which it first patented in 2006.

Today, the US Patent and Trademark Office published another patent from Apple that it has just been granted that covers a head-mounted display system. It looks like an Oculus Rift and is designed to enhance gaming, movies and more...

Pebble Smartwatch: some thoughts on why the smart watch is here to stay

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Believe it or not, but Monday marked my first hands-on experience with the Pebble Smartwatch. I’ve striven to avoid the product all of these months, because I figured that Apple would eventually get around to making a “real” smart watch.

Apple still might do that, but its time table hasn’t aligned with the expectations of the tech blogging industry, mine included. Apple never said that it was working on a wearable, so it’s really our fault for creating such expectations.

In the meantime, the Pebble Smartwatch and its SDK have had plenty of time to marinate and mature. The latest update to Pebble’s software brings with it systemwide notifications, and there’s no hacking or jailbreaking needed to do that. In the eyes of many, that’s enough to make the Pebble Smartwatch worthy of serious consideration, and I tend to agree.

Nike introduces new Rose Gold FuelBand SE for $169

Cody Lee ∙ November 16, 2013

Good news for the folks who have managed to get their hands on the supply-constrained gold-colored iPhone 5s, we just found the perfect accessory for you. It's the new Rose Gold FuelBand SE fitness-tracker by Nike.

Nike first unveiled the FuelBand SE—the second iteration of the popular fitness band—back in October, and it went on sale earlier this month. And now, for an extra $20, you can get it in this all-new rose gold color...

Jawbone introduces new UP24 fitness band with Bluetooth 4.0

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Big news from Jawbone today. The accessory-maker behind the popular line of Jambox speakers introduced a new version of its UP fitness-tracking band, the UP24, as well as a big 3.0 update for its UP iOS app.

While the new UP looks very similar to its predecessor, it does feature one significant hardware change: it now uses Bluetooth 4.0 to connect to your iOS device, instead of forcing you to plug into your audio port...

New iWatch concept looks like Nike’s FuelBand, runs iOS 7

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Although we're not expecting to see it on stage at Apple's media event tomorrow, the iWatch is still a highly anticipated product in the company's pipeline. Most industry watchers don't have the device launching until late 2014.

There are essentially two theories on what Apple's wearable will look like: one being an actual watch-like device, and the other is more of a fitness band. Today's concept takes after the latter, and we have to say, it looks awesome...

Apple hires Nike’s design director for wearables

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

It's been barely a little more than a month since news broke of Apple hiring a prominent Nike FuelBand developer and now comes word that Tim Cook has managed to lure away another high-profile Nike executive. Ben Shaffer, Studio Director of Nike's research and development lab dubbed Innovation Kitchen, is working for Apple in unknown capacity.

It certainly doesn't take a genius to figure out Apple hired him for his expertise in wearables. Nike is Fast Company's 2013 most innovative company and the Innovation Kitchen is where Shaffer and his team conceived such wearable smash hits as the popular Nike Fuel Band and the Flyknit shoe...