Tag Archives: Wearable

Apple Watch Series 6 and SE Launches With Blood Oxygen Level Sensor

September 16, 2020 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Apple’s highly anticipated September 2020 event just happened last night. Of course, like everything else these days, it happened virtually. If you watched it, it is still pre-recorded, clearly.

The event did not bring a new iPhone though, to Apple iPhone enthusiast’s dismay. Instead the event brought out two stars of the show. The first is what we all saw coming all along – the Apple Watch Series 6.

Apple Watch Series 6

The Apple Watch Series 6 is, as we all know, is Apple’s latest and greatest in smartwatch technology. For the first time ever, you do not need an Apple iPhon4 smartphone to use and fully work with the Apple Watch. Actually, more about that later.

The new Apple Watch Series 6 comes in three colours, for now. There is the usual Stainless Steel variant, that was so popular since its introduction. There is now a Red and Blue variant to the Apple Watch Series 6. They are made of aluminium of course.

There is a new health sensor too boot as well with the Apple Watch Series 6. It still has an ECG sensor that was hyped about with the Series 5. Additionally, there is a new blood Oxygen sensor that is more accurate than ever. It only takes 15 seconds for you to see what your blood oxygen level looks like. It is a clever little system that analyses the colour of your blood.

Even when you sleep, the watch is still active. It tracks your sleep data or whatever data it collects anyway and stores it within the fitness app. No it does not send data and exchange its data with a central server. You can be sure that your sleep and fitness data is private. Even if you do not wear it to sleep, it measures data at intervals and stores them within the app for you to view later anyway.

But it is not just on the surface that the Apple Watch gets an upgrade. Within its svelte body is an S6 processing chip that is based on the powerful A13 Bionic architecture. That also means that the Apple Watch is quite a bit more powerful than ever before.

The new processor allows the Apple Watch Series 6 to pack a brighter display on the device while boasting improved battery life performance. The display is now 2.5x brighter than before too, which means there is no need to squint under bright sunlight.

Source: Apple
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The added brightness and outdoor visibility benefit the Always On display function too. The always-on function can now display the alti-meter on full time for you to track your hikes. On top of that, the Apple Watch Series 6 has added fitness functions and cleverer fitness detection. We will talk about that later though.

Apple Watch SE – Still an Apple Watch, but More Affordable

Apple Watch Series 6 too rich for your blood? Do not want a Series 3 either? Then there is the Apple Watch SE.

The Apple Watch SE is everything that the Apple Watch Series 6 is. It is more affordable that the Apple Watch Series 6. That does not mean that you are getting a sub-par product though. You get the same bright display as the Series 6, the same sizes, and the same fittings and finishes. You even get the Apple WatchOS 7 that is supposed to be loaded on the Apple Watch Series 6.

Source: Apple
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There are a few differences still though. You do not get the EKG sensor that was introduced on the Apple Watch Series 5. It packs a similar chipset with the Apple Watch Series 5 though. You also do not get the blood oxygen sensor that the Apple Watch Series 6 gets.

Apple Fitness+

In that front, Apple introduced their new Fitness+ service. The Fitness+ app can be accessed via Apple’s Fitness app. It is technically an additional subscription service for Apple Watch users.

The Fitness+ service is a new service that makes use of your Apple Watch with the rest of your Apple devices. You could make do just with an iPhone and the Apple Watch though, with the Apple Fitness+. You do not even need to be at home to take advantage of Fitness+.

As a subscriber to Fitness+, users gets access to various trainers and exercises virtually. You get new workout challenges, schedules, and even types every week too. Every week you also can get access to new trainers. The trainers and workout types are also recommended based on the data collected by your Apple Watch.

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
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The Apple Fitness+ Fitness app service is available now to any Apple iPhone users. The subscription starts from US$ 9.99 a month. If you go for a yearly subscription, you are paying US$ 79.99 a year.

Apple Watch Family

With the new Apple WatchOS 7, Apple Watch users does not have to have their own iPhone anymore. Before you get overly excited though, it does not mean that the Apple Watch is compatible with Android devices though. It just means that you do not need your own Apple iPhone to work with an Apple Watch.

What that means is that you can now connect a few Apple Watch devices to a single Apple iPhone device. That also means that you can connect your kids’ and parents’ Apple Watch devices to your Fitness app. Through the app you have full control over monitoring the locations and activities of the other Apple Watch users in your family.

Availability and Pricing

The Apple WatchOS 7 will be available for mot Apple Watch devices from the series 3 onward by the 17^th September 2020. The Apple Watch Series 6 is available in the United States this Friday onward for US$ 399, no word on availability in Malaysia. Prices will start at MYR 1,749 though for Malaysia. The Apple Watch SE is available this Friday in the United States too this Friday onward for US$ 279. No official word on Malaysia’s availability just yet, but it will be priced at MYR 1,199. The Apple Watch Series 3 is also now priced at MYR 849.

The new Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE will also be available with some new strap selections for the Apple Watch. The most interesting strap option they have with the new Watch, to us, is the Solo Loop Strap. The Solo Loop Strap effectively makes your Apple Watch into a slip-on bracelet type fitness tracker. It is available in 7 different colours and two different material types. If also comes in various strap sizes to properly fit differing strap sizes.

Health, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 Platform Unveiled

July 1, 2020 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Wearables are the rage these days. Well, they have been for the past few years. Of course they would be; they offer unparalleled flexibility and function to something as simple as a wrist watch. Your wrist watch is now your smartphone companion, your fitness tracker, your notification bell, your personal assistant, and your alarm.

The introduction of the new Apple WatchOS just about a week ago also marks a sort of new age for wearables. The same cannot be said, however to the aging platform that is Wear OS. Not that there is nothing new with Wear OS.

The latest Wear OS is technically still in its second generation (2.18 as launched in May 2020). You are already seeing the fourth generation of Wear OS devices in the market currently. The ones that has been pushing for Wear OS plenty is Fossil these days. They do have some pretty good-looking Wear OS devices on offer right now too, for not very much money.

There is another problem, however. The platform that they have been sitting on, the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear System on a Chip (SoC) that Wear OS rides on is also aging. To be fair, nothing much is really wrong with them. At the same time, they do leave a little bit to be desired.

2020 sees the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform. In this new line-up there are two processors unveiled. The top performing being the Qualcomm Snapdragon War 4100+ platform, and then there is the regular 4100 platform.

The headlines are pretty much expected. It is more powerful than the two year-old Qualcomm Snapdragon 3100. It is a lot more energy efficient too, making energy-efficient mode more colourful and functional. There is a whole slew of improvements in managing other features too, including a promised better GPS support. Oh, apparently there is better camera support too for whatever reason.

Of course, all these things are quite expected. To put them into perspective though, you have to look at numbers. Keep in mind that Wearable tech is still in its infancy and is still growing at an exponential rate.

The new 4100 platform is clocked 85% faster than the 3100 platform. Its memory clock is also that much faster while GPU performance is claimed to be more than twice faster than before. No, you might not want to use it for gaming still in a display no bigger than your webcam.

But that allows developers and Google more room for fancy animations, better looking interfaces, and generally plenty more functions to be loaded on top of Wear OS. Heck, it could even mean that you get different variants of Wear OS that fits form and function distinctly.

Apparently also the new 12nm Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform offers 25% more battery life compared to the outgoing 3100 platform. While that is still nothing to shout about, it is an improvement. Now you can have a Wear OS device that lasts to bedtime, rather than one that has to be charged when you get home after work. Or not, depending on what the watchmaker feels like fitting into their hardware.

There is a new 4G modem too in case you want the device to be an eSIM device. That also means you might be able to leave your smartphone behind during a jog in favour of a more secure, lighter package you wear on your wrist. Of course, new improved antenna also means better GPS coverage and tracking.

Currently nothing in Fossil’s line-up will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 platform. The first Wear OS device with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 platform will be the Mobvoi TicWatch line up. We can expect to see Fossil to follow suit later in the year. The Wear OS platform now might be worth a look.

Health, Lifestyle, News

Fitbit Unleashes the Charge 4, Now with GPS, Active Zone Minutes and More

April 2, 2020 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Fitbit has become a brand synonymous with health and fitness. While the company has recently been acquired by Google, it doesn’t seem to have slowed them down. In fact, Fitbit has just announced a new entry to their Charge line up, the Charge 4.

The new Fitbit Charge 4 comes with all the features that made everyone fall in love with the previous Charge devices. However, it has a few upgrades. The Charge 4 is the first tracker in the line up to have GPS. This allows you to track where and how far you’ve gone on your runs. This comes as an enhancement to the now essential features of any fitness tracker including customisable watch faces, notifications and even sleep tracking.

The Fitbit Charge 4 introduces Active Zone Minutes. This is developed based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Heart Association. Both organisations recommend that everyone should have 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigourous activity weekly. Based on this recommendation, the Charge 4 will track your heart rate with Fitbit’s PurePulse 24/7 heart tracking. Using personalised data, it will determine how much effort you are exerting for an activity. This will allow for better tracking. In fact, the Charge 4 will be able to notify you each time you enter or exit zones. This will allow you to better optimise your workouts. If you want to get more detailed data, it’s accessible via the Fitbit App.

The Charge 4 comes with a promised 7 days battery life or 5 hours if you’re continuously using GPS. It is water resistant up to 50 metres and is swimproof. According to Fitbit the Charge 4 is able to operate between -20° to 60° C and up to an altitude of 8,535m.

Pricing & Availability

The Charge 4 will be available in stores starting late April. The regular version will retail for MYR 698. It will be available in black, rosewood and storm blue/black. The Special Edition will be available at MYR 798 in granite reflective/black wooven band. It will also come with a classic band for when you workout.

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