A roundup of the week's lesser news stories
Welcome to And finally, your place to catch up on the latest rumours and news tidbits you may have missed from the past seven days.
It’s a week that saw the GoPro’s Fusion 360-degree camera unveiled, Apple and Nike collaborate to create the Apple Watch NikeLab and both Huawei and Asus see progress towards an Android Wear 2.0 update.
Read this: The week in virtual reality
Facebook, meanwhile, gave us a glimpse at the future at its F8 conference, showing off its Spaces VR app, brain-controlled AR/VR plans and teasing its new 360 cameras.
Read on to find out everything else that went down this week, and head over to our dedicated news section for the bigger stories.
Apple increasing its AR efforts?
The chances of an Apple VR headset feel increasingly unlikely at this point, while hints continue to drop that the Cupertino giant is actually preparing a pair of augmented reality smartglasses instead.
That feeling has grown a little stronger, after a patent detailing “a method for representing virtual objects in a real environment” was granted. In the filing, this would be achieved through the power of a “recording device”, which captures a 2D image of the environment. This is then used as a reference for a virtual object’s position in the real world.
Essentially, this would aim to bring together the virtual and tangible in a way that feels close to the real thing. But of course, as is the case with any patents, this doesn’t guarantee this tech will see the light of a production line. What it does indicate, though, is Apple’s continued interest in the area.
Mercedes-Benz gets friendly with Echo
Mercedes-Benz has announced that all of its 2016 and 2017 vehicles in the US can now connect with both Amazon and Google’s voice assistants.
That means Mercedes drivers can now prompt their Google Home or Amazon Echo to remotely start or lock their vehicles, while also sending routes to pop up the in car’s navigation system.
As you might remember, Mercedes isn’t the only car manufacturer to seek the integration of a voice assistant, with Ford set to release Alexa-donning vehicles and Hyundai implementing voice control via Google Home as well.
Apple tests its Watch with artificial sweat
If, by some chance, you’ve ever considered how Apple makes sure its Apple Watch doesn’t irritate your skin when you exercise, the company has finally spilled the details.
Sure, it tests reactions, but instead of using human sweat, the company instead opts to create a substance, which mimics the same properties. So, for example, to test the rate in which nickel transfers from the metallic module to sweat, bands are placed in a jar filled with the artificial sweat.
We’re sure the likes of Samsung and Garmin also have a designated, erm, sweat guy in their ranks, but for now their identities remain hidden.
Withings adds tracking for infants
For parents wanting to keep tabs on their infant’s weight, Withings has introduced a new feature, “Baby Mode”, to its Body Cardio and Withings Body smart scales.
To get involved with the new metric, a parent simply needs to hold the infant during the weighing process. This data is then stored over time, allowing parents to check in on their child’s potential weight loss or gain in the early days of development.
