And finally: DC Comics smartwatches turn fitness into justice

It's the calm before the storm. We're about to be showered with a whole bunch of new announcements at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, and you can expect plenty in the world of wearable tech.

However, we still had our fair share of big stories this week. Amazon is pushing Alexa onto wearables, Fitbit is investing into glucose-detecting tech and the Samsung Gear S4 could feature extra battery power in the straps. Then there's the customary Apple news, as we learned that hospital employees in ICUs are seeing their Apple Watch Series 3's randomly restart.

But what else happened this week? We've collected some of the smaller stories and assembled them right here. As always, you can head over to our dedicated news section if you haven't gotten your fill.

One61's DC Comics-based smartwatches

One way smartwatch makers have looked to get people into fitness is by turning it into a game. With One61's new smartwatches, do enough exercise and you beat the baddies with the help of DC Comics heroes.

You'll get notifications, step tracking, sleep monitoring and move reminders (and that's about it). The key feature here is that as you complete goals, you'll also defeat the villains. Walk a certain amount in a day and you may help put The Joker behind bars (until he breaks out again, that is).

You have three options: The Flash, Batman and Wonder Woman. While The Flash and Batman appear to be full-on smartwatches, it looks like Wonder Woman will instead be a hybrid watch. There aren't too many details on how else the Wonder Woman watch will differ, but - like a whole lot of other things - it looks like they'll debut at CES 2018 next week.

The fat-burning wearable patch

Losing weight can be a huge pain in the rear, and we all wish that there was a faster way. Well, scientists from Nanyang Technological University may have figured something out.

They've created a micro-needle patch that injects fat-burning drugs into your body. These needles are thinner than human hairs, and when you press the patch into your skin the micro-needles detach and fuse with your body. The drug molecules on said needles then turn your stored fat into burning fat.

The researchers tested the patch on mice over a four-week period and found that they were able to suppress the mice's weight gain and reduced fat mass by over 30%.

There are no indications of when this patch could make your dreams come true, but the team is looking to expand to continue research.

Humon Hex now available to order

Humon is a company that firmly believes that measuring oxygen levels is a metric that everyone is going to want, and its big bet in that area is the Humon Hex, a clinically-validated wearable that lets athletes measure muscle oxygen levels.

Today, the company announced that the Hex is available to order. You can order the device on Humon's website for $275, and shipping is expected to begin 28 February.