And finally: Samsung Gear S4 evidence mounts with wireless charger details

All the other news stories from the week
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It's time for And finally, the place where we dig out some of the smaller stories from the wonderful world of wearables that might have escaped your attention.

If you need a recap of the big news, we've got you covered. The Fitbit and Jawbone legal wrangling is clearly not over as six former and current Fitbit employees were charged from stealing secrets from its former fitness tracker rival. Meanwhile Garmin unveiled the Fenix 5 Plus series, adding Garmin Pay, music player support and more new features to its popular outdoor watch.

Microsoft confirmed that it has no plans for VR on the Xbox One and its seems the introduction of LTE on the Apple Watch has given smartwatches in general a big boost.

There's been plenty of other stories that didn't quite make the news cut, but we've saved them for you. We're nice like that. Read on to catch up on the best of the rest.

Samsung Gear S4 model surfaces

And finally: Samsung Gear S4 evidence mounts with wireless charger details

Evidence of an imminent Samsung Gear S4 unveiling continues to mount. The charger for the upcoming Gear smartwatch received certification in South Korea while also revealing the SM-R805 model number, which appears to be one of the Gear S4 variants. It's worth mentioning that the Gear S3 was classified as SM-R760 and the Gear Sport was SM-R600.

There are no details on the nature of how the charger will work but it seems likely it won't be too different to the Gear Sport and Gear S3. Samsung's next-gen smartwatch is rumoured to feature a slimmer design, a bigger battery than the one inside the Gear S3. It's also tipped to launch alongside Samsung's Note 9 phone in August.

Wear OS watch faces get interactive

And finally: Samsung Gear S4 evidence mounts with wireless charger details

Facer, the platform that lets you build your own watch face, has for the first time allowed interactive watch faces for Wear smartwatches. That means faces made for Wear will be able to do things like launch frequently used apps, implement mini-games and trigger fun and random animations. The ability to build this interactive watch faces is currently only available on faces that the Facer team has collaborated on with designers, but here's hoping it gets rolled out so everyone can get on the action.

Chirp brings full Twitter to Apple Watch

And finally: Samsung Gear S4 evidence mounts with wireless charger details

After Twitter ditched its official Apple Watch app, Chirp is hoping it can provide an alternative to help you get your tweeting fix. The Watch app promises to deliver the full Twitter experience on the wrist including the ability to view your timeline, post tweets, retweet and check in on what's trending. It's free to download now from the App Store and there are in-app purchases that will unlock additional features.

Xiaomi rolls out first Mi Band 3 update

And finally: Samsung Gear S4 evidence mounts with wireless charger details

Xiaomi unveiled its next-generation fitness tracker back in May and it's already issued its first software update that adds features promised at launch. The update brings the ability to mute your smartphone from the Mi Band 3, but for now the feature will only be available for owners of Android smartphones. The Mi Band 3 is currently only available in China with an English-friendly model tipped to land over the coming months.


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Michael Sawh

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Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.

He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.

Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech. 

Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.


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