All the lighter stories you may have missed this week
Welcome to And finally, your round-up of what’s been going on in the world of wearables in the past week.
There’s been plenty of action this week, with details of the Fitbit Versa 2 leaking – it looks like the smartwatch could pack Alexa, a first for Fitbit. In other news on the company, it admitted the Versa Lite Edition didn’t sell well at all, so it will certainly be hoping the Versa 2 can drum up some excitement.
Read next: The week’s big VR and AR news
Elsewhere, Samsung could be working on smart contact lenses, the wearables market as a whole is worth £50 billion, and wearable accessories are more important to Apple’s earnings than ever.
If you’re still on the hunt for a few more tidbits, keep reading to find out some of the other stories that emerged this week.
Apple to stop listening to Siri chats
Apple has revealed that it will stop its workers listening to voice recordings made through its devices including the Apple Watch.
A recent report by the Guardian revealed that contractors employed by Apple had been encountering recordings made unwittingly by Apple product owners via Siri.
The most common way those recordings were being accidentally triggered was through the raising of an Apple Watch to wake up Siri. These recordings featured private discussions between doctors and patients, business deals and even sexual encounters.
In a statement, Apple said it was suspending Siri grading globally stating that it was, “Committed to delivering a great Siri experience while protecting user privacy.”
Nvidia demos AR smartglasses
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Siggraph is a treasure trove of interesting projects every year, and this year’s show has been no different. One of the highlights was Nvidia’s vision for AR smartglasses.
Nvidia is working on two different AR prototypes. The first is called Prescription AR and is effectively a thinner, lighter set of smartglasses with a wider field of view than most current smart specs. It can also be tweaked to work for users with different prescriptions.
The second project is less obviously named. It’s called Foveated AR and tracks the user’s gaze, adjusting the resolution and focal depth to maximise the quality of the image being presented. It uses two displays, cunningly, to give a lower-resolution view to your peripheral vision, while making sure that your central vision is higher-fidelity. You can get a sense of how it all works in the video above.
Check out our pick of the best smartglasses you can buy right now.
Sony is planning a wearable air conditioner
The world’s getting more and more familiar with searing heatwaves, and Sony is keeping up with the times, announcing a crowdfunding campaign for a new wearable air conditioner it has in the works.
The Reon Pocket sits in a pocket in a specifically-designed t-shirt. It uses a phenomenon called the Peltier effect to cool or warm your body by decent amounts. It can raise your temperature by 24F or cool it by 14F, silently and simply.
The device would be controlled through a companion app, and packs a couple of hours worth of charge. At around $117, it’s not the cheapest way to keep cool, but could just be the most subtle.
SmartGym gets Apple Watch support
Highly-rated workout app SmartGym got a major update this week, rolling out an entirely new Apple Watch app.
One addition brings HIIT (high intensity interval training) into the fold, allowing users to customise the timings of any exercise. For users who like to work out at home without equipment, a new home workout mode will filter workouts down to those that don’t require any gear, a great shortcut.
The app’s also added motivational awards, some pre-designed workouts and the ability to work out with voice guidance, adding some serious value to its features. All that should contribute to making it a great Apple Watch workout option.
SmartGym is free to download, offering a premium subscription for $4.49 monthly.
Check out our round-up of the best Apple Watch apps to download.