The change log for the beta version 17.10 for Garmin watches (including the Fenix 7s Pro, Epix and Epix Pro, and Enduro 2) adds phone-finding “during an activity with GPS.”
If you aren’t part of Garmin’s public beta program, here are the sign-up instructions. (The company notes that public beta testers can’t get this update on the Marq Aviator Gen 2, unfortunately.)
The tradeoffs are well worth the savings over the slightly more advanced Forerunner 265.
First adopters are ambassadors for the future. Glassholes need not apply.
Three years after completing its $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit, Google has taken another step towards integrating the fitness-tracking company into its hardware lineup with some updated branding.
Recent changes on the Fitbit website, first spotted by 9to5Google, include an updated wordmark that uses capitalized Google Sans font and ditches the dotted arrow logo, which is still featured on the brand’s favicon.
Currently, OnePlus Watch 2 owners can’t pair the device with a new phone without their existing OHealth app data being completely wiped. But an update provided to Android Central reveals that’s about to change:
“We will be introducing a data migration feature in a future OHealth app update that will allow users to locally migrate their health data by scanning a QR code. This way, users will have control over their data and can securely transfer it to their desired location. We are planning to have this feature on the OHealth app by the end of March.”
This doesn’t address the separate nuisance of having to reset the OnePlus Watch 2 before pairing it with a new device, but the company says it may release a watch transfer feature to address that in a future update.
On top of public transit directions (which are also available on any Wear OS 3 watch or later), as part of the March Pixel Feature Drop, the original Pixel Watch is getting the ability to auto track certain workouts, set goal paces within exercises, and heart rate zone training. It’s also getting the Relax app, which guides you through breathing exercises.
Most of these were already available on the Pixel Watch 2, but it’s nice to see Google give the first-gen watch some love.
Apple supplier AMS-Osram said a key project was cancelled — aka a MicroLED Apple Watch Ultra. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says on X that means the whole project is cancelled, citing Osram as Apple’s sole MicroLED supplier. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also said on X that nah, AMS-Osram was but one of several suppliers Apple is working with.
Only Apple knows the truth, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a MicroLED Ultra is delayed.
The bezels attach and detach with a simple twist, and you also get a choice of over 180 watch faces to further customize the watch’s look. The watch’s features include the ability to track winter sports like skiing, snowboarding, ice-skating, and curling, and there are also some Apple Watch-style one-handed gesture controls for good measure. It’s joined by a new Wear OS smartwatch, the Xiaomi Watch 2. Prices start at €149 for the S3, and €199 for the Watch 2.
According to 9to5 Google, you’ll soon be able to tap the Pixel Watch 2 and it’ll tell you the time through vibrations. There are two modes — one that tells you the hour and minutes via varying vibration lengths, and another that rounds the current time to the nearest quarter hour.
I’m eager to try it whenever it officially rolls out. It could be helpful for folks with low-vision, and it’s always good to have discreet ways to tell time without being rude.
If you’ve got a broken Pixel Watch 2, you can now skip the customer support process to get a discounted replacement. All you have to do scroll down the Google Store site and click Repairs. You should see a form. Fill out the information requested and select the mail-in option when it appears.
This is an improvement over Google’s previous Pixel Watch repair policy, but still has some holes. First-gen Pixel Watches aren’t eligible, and this service is only available in the US and EMEA.
Despite mixed earnings, Tim Cook doesn’t seem to be sweatin’ the Apple Watch ban. Apple Insider spotted Cook telling CNBC on a live broadcast that it’s “focused on appeal” and that customers have “lots of reasons to buy the watch even without the blood oxygen sensor.”
Masimo CEO Joe Kiani has publicly said he hasn’t heard from Apple about potentially licensing the company’s blood oxygen tech. However, this is the first time we’ve seen Cook officially confirming it.
If you got a Series 9 or Ultra 2 before Apple had to remove the blood oxygen feature from new ones on January 17th, congrats!
But if you break your watch doing parkour and replace it with AppleCare, will you lose the feature? That’s a “definite maybe,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. He wrote today in the subscriber version of Power On that Apple has told AppleCare reps that replacements might not have it.
One of the biggest complaints that reviewers — myself included — had with the Pixel Watch 2 was that it only came in one size: 41mm. That’s fine if you’re petite-wristed like me, but it’s not great if you’ve got a larger frame. Well, 9to5 Google cites an unnamed Google source as saying the company is working on two sizes for the next Pixel Watch. That’s about all we know but if true, it’s a step in the right direction. After all, Apple, Samsung, and Garmin all offer their flagships in multiple sizes.
Word of this comes not from US Customs, but Masimo’s own lawyers in a letter published by 9to5Mac. It says the updated watches “do not contain pulse oximetry functionality,” which is a step further than last month’s report that Apple engineers were working on new algorithms.
It means Apple can continue importing the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 despite the patent infringement dispute — just without blood oxygen reading features enabled.
