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David Nield
Article History:
Fixing Wear OS: How Google could fight back against the Apple Watch
There's no doubt Wear OS is living in the shadow of the Apple Watch right now β while manufacturers are usually coy about exact smartwatch sales, analysts suggest the Apple smartwatch has a substantially bigger market share than Google's platform. The Apple wearable has also been given consistent and useful refreshes in the three years…
The best Wear OS watch faces to download
So you've got your Wear smartwatch, made your way through that tutorial and now you're ready to see what that watch is made of. One thing you know it's going to be able to do, of course, is tell the time, and you should be able to find a bunch of watch faces already pre-installed…
β5 ways smartwatches could break out as medical devices
With each passing year smartwatches continue to pile on the features, whether that's monitoring your heart rate, tracking your location or making calls to your friends without any help from a smartphone whatsoever. When it comes to using these wrist-based computers as medical devices though, smartwatches are just getting started. They're always on and always…
Health tracking from the wrist: Apple Watch compatible health devices to own
The Apple Watch grows in power and capability with every new version that the folks at Cupertino put out. You can also enhance the wearable even further with the right choice of accessories and add-ons. But we're not talking Apple Watch straps or somewhere to drop your smartwatch when you need to charge it at…
Best Wear apps: Essential downloads you need in your smartwatch life
You've got a brand new Wear OS watch for your fancy Android or iPhone and you're looking for some apps to use on it. We get it, it can be a bit of a hassle to know where to start - especially if you're new to the ecosystem. And you very well could be, as…
AsteroidOS review
AsteroidOS is a smartwatch operating system that wants to offer an alternative to Google's Wear OS. If you've got a compatible smartwatch, you can try out the OS now and even get it running alongside Google's smartwatch software if you want. Developed and built by French computer scientist Florent Revest, the open-source OS is based…
How to install Asteroid OS and get it running on your Wear smartwatch
When you buy a smartwatch, you don't have any choice but to use the operating system it comes with out of the box. Whether that's Apple's watchOS, Fitbit OS, Wear or Samsung's Tizen, there's no budging from that. Until, that is, AsteroidOS turned up. Several years in the making and the passion project of French…
40 essential fitness apps and devices that work with Apple Health
The main aim of Apple Health is to provide a single point of reference for all your aggregated health and fitness data. Sure, a good amount of the info is captured via the motion co-processor nestled inside your iPhone and the sensors in your Apple Watch But it also collects data from third-party devices and…
How it works: βWe explain how your fitness tracker measures your daily steps
It sits quietly on your wrist: counting up your steps, tracking your sleep, monitoring your heart and calculating the difference between a light jog and a mad sprint. But how exactly does your fitness tracker come up with all the statistics that appear on the accompanying app? Well, whether you've grabbed a new Fitbit or…
βHow to get music on your Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch
Android Wear watches can store your music, meaning you can still gain access to your favourite tunes when you go for a jog around the park. But how do you get your music on your smartwatch, and how do you link up your headphones to listen to them? Well, whether you're using a device running…
Movie tie-ins and multiplayer: Inside Europe's first IMAX VR Experience Center
With the rise of multiplexes we've seen all kinds of added extras bolted on to cinemas β coffee shops, pizza restaurants, bowling alleys, laser shoot-outs, art galleries β so why not virtual reality experiences? IMAX and Odeon are betting that a good number of you are going to want to enjoy some immersive VR goodness…
βHow to set up and connect Android Wear
You've bought yourself a shiny new Android Wear watch, and a world of wrist notifications, smart gestures and mini apps awaits. But first you need to get your watch hooked up to Wi-Fi and your phone. With Android Wear 2.0, watches like the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 and Emporio Armani Connected can do much…
9 useful things the Apple Watch can do without your iPhone
The Apple Watch depends on an iPhone for a lot of things, with its Bluetooth connection acting as an umbilical chord for notifications and Apple Watch apps. However, its smarts aren't completely lost if you happen to leave your phone behind. Apple has added LTE to the Watch equation with Series 3, building upon GPS…
The best wearable action cameras for extreme sports and more
Wearable action cams and head-mounted cameras are big business, and with 4K video, underwater recording and some of the best frame rates on the market, you can see why. Whether you're snowboarding down Mount Fuji, swimming with dolphins in the Caribbean or just spending quality time with the kids on your holiday in the Med,…
How to install apps on your Android Wear smartwatch
If you're rocking an Android Wear smartwatch, you may be wondering how to install apps - especially with the refreshed method coming through version 2.0. Well, wonder no more, as we reveal everything you need to know. When you unbox your new smartwatch, connect it up to your Android phone, and β hey presto β…
How to buy a fitness tracker: Everything you need to consider
There are few wearable categories that offer up such a dizzying number of options as the fitness tracker. The number of models and brands is ever increasing, from Fitbit and Garmin to Misfit and Xiaomi, picking between them is getting increasingly tricky. While the previous crop of activity trackers just offered step and sleep tracking,…
βOK Google: Useful voice commands for your Android Wear smartwatch
Behind the slim, compact frame of your Android Wear smartwatch sits a wealth of functionality, mostly provided by the Google search and the Google Assistant now available with Android Wear 2.0. Voice control is the best way of unlocking the potential of your shiny timepiece: everything from appointments and holidays to emails and fitness can…
Design and install your own custom Android Wear watch face
If you want your smartwatch to stand out from crowd, a customised watch face of your own is the way to go β and just about every Android Wear watch makes it possible, provided you have the right app installed. You don't need to be a design wizard or a coding genius, either, and it's…
βThe best wearable payment devices
Wearables aren't just for checking your smartphone notifications or tracking your fitness (or lack of it). They're also for paying for stuff without having to take out your wallet or digging for a cash or card. We already have Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, and there are NFC wearable payments on the way…
Living with Asteroid OS - The open source Android Wear alternative
Asteroid OS is an open source, Linux-based smartwatch OS developed primarily by a French student and hoping to take on the might of Android Wear β so does it stand a chance? We strapped on an LG G Watch and installed Asteroid OS to put it through its paces and see whether this fledgling OS…