Welcome to this week's instalment of And finally, your one stop shop for all the wearable tech news from the week.
On the site this week, it was a big one for the big G as Google paid $40 million for Fossil secret smartwatch tech while its Study Watch's ECG feature got the thumbs up from the FDA. We also had a bunch of new reviews hit the site including the Casio Pro Trek WSD-F30, the Withings Pulse HR and a sports watch to rival Garmin and Polar's watches.
We've saved up three more stories to tuck into, plus give you a quick recap of all the biggest stories from the week. Enjoy.
The next Apple Watch could get smarter gesture controls
The latest Apple Watch patent published at the US Patent & Trademark Office suggests Apple is exploring how it can use wrist movements to help control core features on its smartwatch and keep you tapping less on that touchscreen.
From the many patent illustrations and figures shared in the patent that was filed back in March 2018, Apple envisages tilting your wrist wrist up and down to reply or dismiss messages. It also suggests the possibility of scrolling through responses to use to respond to those messages by tilting the wrist. Further images show that answering an incoming call could be achieved simply by clenching your fist.
Would these really be easier ways to control these functions than simply tapping on the screen? It could improve the way the smartwatch is used when you can't reach the touchscreen. So in emergency situations or even when you're working out and don't want to play around with that digital crown or touchscreen.
Whether we will ever see these implemented in an Apple Watch soon, we can never be sure. As is the case with all patents, these ideas don't always come to fruition.
Have a read of our Apple Watch Series 5 wish list to find out what we want to see from the next iteration of the award-winning smartwatch.
Fitbit wants your help to fight diseases
The wearable tech heavyweight and the National Institutes of Health announced a new Fitbit Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) project to aid researchers in the prevention and treatment of diseases.
The project, which is part of the All of Us Research Program launched in May 2018, enables Fitbit users currently enrolled in the program to sync their Fitbit accounts to share data such as sleep, activity and heart rate data. Fitbit's devices are the first to be included in the program that seeks to enrol 1 million participants to share health and fitness data to benefit one of the largest precision medicine studies.
The program is said to have strict safeguards in place to protect participant privacy while Fitbit users don't necessarily have to use a device to synch health data with the program. You can alternatively share data manually uploaded to Fitbit's companion app including water and food intake.
If you do own a Fitbit, check our comprehensive guide to Fitbit's heart rate monitor to make the most of the key feature.
Huami to make e-sports wearables
Huami, the company behind the Amazfit and Xiaomi's wearable range, has announced a partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies (a division of the auto company McLaren) to develop wearables for e-sports.
The collaboration will see the two companies co-build build devices with the aim of monitoring biometric and activity data in the bid to improve performances for participants in virtual racing games.
Huami will kick of its partnership at the McLaren Shadow Project e-sports competition where Huami's tech will be used to select the winner of the competition that involves both virtual and real-world racing as well as human performance testing.
Find out whether any Huami built devices feature in our list of the best smartwatches to buy right now.
In case you missed it
We get it, you're a busy person. And while you'd love to keep up with all the latest happenings in the world of wearables, sometimes it's just not possible.
We've already mentioned the big Google news up top so what else has been going on? An Apple Watch fitness band could be in the works according to a patent that has surfaced. There's no sign of a proper Swatch smartwatch yet, but the watchmaker is bringing its NFC payment tech to Europe.
It fell under the CES radar, but Soul Electronics' Blade wireless earbuds pack in a real-time running coach and heart rate and could be a hearable to watch out for in 2019.
And we finish on a sad note that exciting AR startup Meta has closed for business. If AR is the future, this is one startup that unfortunately won't be part of it
How we test
By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.