Week in wearable: RIP Intel smartglasses as Nest bids to rescue Nokia Health

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. That's the phrase that comes to mind looking back at the big news stories from another eventful week in wearable tech. It was a week where one major company decided to stop investing time and resources in its wearable efforts, and another could be rescued from a most unlikely source.

But let's not get too down in the dumps. There are plenty of reasons to be cheerful this week. Especially if you love all things Apple Watch and Garmin.

We've picked out the headlines plus our pick of the best reads on the site to go check out after. So let's get into it...

Intel backs away from wearables

The biggest story of the week without doubt is the news that Intel is axing its wearables division. That means anything the division was working on can now be considered dead, including Intel's exciting Vaunt AR smartglasses.

While its collaborations with the likes of Tag Heuer appeared to be paying off, Intel's own wearable efforts have been very hit and miss. Lest we forget the big Basis Peak recall after the fitness wearable was burning users. Intel also recently decided to axe its Alloy VR headset.

It's always disappointing to hear another company has given up on wearables, but even more so when it's someone with the stature of Intel, which could have been a driving force for the industry. You can read what US editor Hugh had to say about Intel's long and winding relationship with wearables.

Nest is interested in buying Nokia Health

When Nokia said it was reviewing its Health division, we feared this could be the end of its involvement in wearables and connected health. But there's speculation that it could be given a lifeline from an unlikely source.

Nokia Health is up for sale and Alphabet smart home subsidiary Nest is in the running to snap it up. There's apparently also interest from two French-based companies, but it's the mention of Nest that's really interesting here.

Nokia's Health products do offer smart home integration and its newly launched Nokia Sleep sensor plays nice with a host of smart home kit. So maybe there's legs that Nokia Health could be a good fit for Nest, and hopefully we'll see its existing wearables, like the Nokia Steel HR, continue to be supported.

Apple to bring the third-party watch faces

So let's get back onto a more positive note. Let's talk Apple. Specifically, watch faces. We like Apple's watch faces, but the lack of third-party options away from the Disney and Pixar tie-ins as always been a bit of a gripe with watchOS.

Some pretty big evidence discovered in the latest watchOS software update suggests that could well all change, hinting that Apple is prepping to add that third-party support. That would open the door for more developers to build faces. It's something we think would be a great addition to our favourite smartwatch, and our reporter Conor believes it's time for watch faces to shine on the Apple Watch.

Main image credit: Vjeran Pavic, The Verge