And finally: Gear S3 brings Samsung Pay to any Android smartphone

The latest tech rumours and murmurings
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If you haven't been frantically chasing Snapchat's Spectacles vending machine around America this week, you may have found time to catch up on some of the other news.

Such as the arrival of Vinci's quirky smart headphones, Google's push to get VR into schools around the UK, the glamorous new Withings Steel Gold, and word that Apple is working on a pair of AR smartglasses.

But what about the stuff that didn't make the main headlines? Let's take a look at some of the smaller stories and rumours from the last seven days.

Samsung Pay for everyone! (who owns an Android phone)

And finally: Gear S3 brings Samsung Pay to any Android smartphone

Samsung's Gear S3 smartwatches have finally arrived, and they come bearing good news: Samsung Pay will work regardless of your choice of Android smartphone. Until now the service has been exclusive to Samsung phone users, but it's being widened out to anyone else using an Android 4.4 KitKat smartphone with the S3 watch.

As Pay is such a big feature for the smartwatch, the move certainly makes sense, and gives the payments platform a better chance at taking off. Right now the Samsung Pay app is exclusive to Samsung phones, and it's not yet clear if it will simply be stuck on the Google Play Store, or if it will work in another way.

Read next: Samsung Gear S3 - the essential guide

Alexa learns a new skill

And finally: Gear S3 brings Samsung Pay to any Android smartphone

This week AT&T announced that customers will be able to send messages through Amazon's Alexa assistant. You'll just have to say "Have AT&T text" followed by the name of the contact, followed by the message you want to send. You'll need to add the contacts to Alexa first, but once you have it'll offer an easy way of sending a quick message when you can't be bothered to pick up the phone.

We're not sure we'd rely on it when spelling is of utmost importance, but otherwise we reckon it could be handy, and hopefully something other networks will follow in the near future.

Stay hydrated, kids

And finally: Gear S3 brings Samsung Pay to any Android smartphone

We all know how important it is to keep your hydration up, and Styr Labs this week announced a smart water bottle to help you keep a better eye on your water intake. Not only does it track your hydration and activity through the day, it delivers reminders to ensure you're topping up.

There's a little touch display on the cap that will display your progress, but naturally there's a companion app too where you'll get a more detailed overview of your custom fluid intakes and electrolyte recommendations. At $59 it's rather dear for a water bottle, but at least you'll have no excuse for not getting enough fluids.

Must-read: Why it's important to know your body composition

Myo oh Myo

And finally: Gear S3 brings Samsung Pay to any Android smartphone

Earlier this year we told you about the Myo band, Thalmic Labs' gesture-control wearable. Worn on the forearm, the device is able to track movement with impressive precision - and it's being used in some incredible ways. Now, the company is on a big hiring spree, mobilesyrup reports, hinting that its next wearable is on the way.

The mission statement on the website reads: "We're making revolutionary wearable technologies that will fundamentally change the way we interact with computers" - and we can't wait.


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Check out the big headlines of the week on our dedicated news page.




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Hugh Langley

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Now at Business Insider, Hugh originally joined Wareable from TechRadar where he’d been writing news, features, reviews and just about everything else you can think of for three years.

Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider.

Prior to Wareable, Hugh freelanced while studying, writing about bad indie bands and slightly better movies. He found his way into tech journalism at the beginning of the wearables boom, when everyone was talking about Google Glass and the Oculus Rift was merely a Kickstarter campaign - and has been fascinated ever since.

He’s particularly interested in VR and any fitness tech that will help him (eventually) get back into shape. Hugh has also written for T3, Wired, Total Film, Little White Lies and China Daily.


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