And finally: The Samsung Gear S4 will come with more in-depth sleep tracking

And other smaller stories from the week
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We're heading into Easter weekend and, at least for tech companies, that seems to mean it's perfect time to release some software updates. Samsung released a surprise update for the Gear S2, cleaning up its interface and adding some new features. After a billion betas, Apple released watchOS 4.3, bringing HomePod and iPhone music control as well as a smarter Siri watch face.

As for the future, we also learned that watchOS 5 might include StreamKit, which would coincide with the debut of Spotify's official Apple Watch app. The Apple Watch Series 4 is also set to get a redesign with a larger display, if you believe the claims.

It wasn't all good news though, as Under Armour revealed a data breach has compromised 150 million MyFitnessPal accounts, marking the biggest breach of the year.

It's been a packed week, but that's not all that happened. Read on for even more, and if you're still not satiated be sure to head over to our dedicated news section.

Samsung is working on the Gear S4

And finally: The Samsung Gear S4 will come with more in-depth sleep tracking

It's been a long wait for the Gear S4. The Gear S3 is getting long in the tooth, and the more athletically-focused Gear Sport felt like a stop-gap until the Gear S4 was ready. Now Sammobile is reporting that it may be coming down the pike.

Specifically, Samsung is working on a smartwatch with the model number SM-R800. The Gear S3 Classic, Frontier, and Sport bear the model numbers SM-R770, SM-R-760, and SM-R600 respectively. That's a good sign that this seems to be a new generation of device rather than anything else. It's also codenamed Galileo, after the man who essentially birthed modern science.

The Gear S4 will reportedly double down on health, improving on the health and fitness features of S Health. It'll also apparently offer more in-depth sleep tracking. There's not much more on the potential features, but it's likely to make its debut later this year.

Apple Watch data helped police make arrest

And finally: The Samsung Gear S4 will come with more in-depth sleep tracking

Myrna Nilsson was found dead in the laundry of her home in Adelaide, Australia back in 2016. A neighbor called the police at about 10:10pm after Myrna's daughter-in-law Caroline Nilsson left the home gagged and distressed. Caroline told police a man had followed Myrna and argued with her outside her home for about 20 minutes.

But data on Myrna's Apple Watch didn't corroborate that. The data showed that about 6:30pm, Myrna's heart rate was consistent with her body going into shock and losing consciousness. That leaves just over three hours from her death until Caroline left the home, giving her enough time to clean up the scene of the crime.

The data helped police make the arrest in the first place, and the judge denied Caroline's bail due to the strength of the prosecutor's data-driven argument. The matter will return to court in June.

Now Huami's CEO is teasing the Mi Band 3

And finally: The Samsung Gear S4 will come with more in-depth sleep tracking

Back during the Lunar Festival in China, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said the company would debut a new fitness tracker by the end of the year. We've also seen Bluetooth certification for the Mi Band 3.

Now Huami CEO Huang Wang has tied the two together and confirmed that the Mi Band 3 is headed our way. He didn't say when it's coming, or what features it will have, but it's the most blatant sign yet that Xiaomi's latest fitness tracker is on the way.

What kids want from smartwatches

And finally: The Samsung Gear S4 will come with more in-depth sleep tracking

Kids these days, with their Snapfaces and Instatubes. They do, however, represent future generations and the technology decisions they make ultimately set the standard moving forward (usually, at least).

Curry's went ahead and asked kids across Britain what they wanted from a smartwatch and got some fascinating responses back. There's Karina Davies' Time Travel smartwatch, which does what you think it does. Then there's Mason Carruther's Dance Watch, which allows you to point to a friend and instantly play their favorite song. There are even buttons to turn on dance lights and order pizza.

Reneh Miller's World Wide Watch is a portal to the world. It changes color based on your mood, there's a holographic projector to chat to your friends and it self-charges when you're not using it. Oh, and if that wasn't enough it can teleport you around the world, gain whatever knowledge you want, shape shift and change the weather. Just the basics really.

Thomas Mowatt's Spacecore 2.28 is like a hearable on the wrist. It can adjust the volume of the world for you and can even tell when someone's lying. Oh, and it can translate any language in the world. If you're feeling down, it can even make you happier. The best part? It's made of a custom "lightweight SpaceCore moldable magnetic material" that conforms to any wrist.

There's also Benjamin Long's Amigo 3000, which is more of an AI assistant powered by wind turbines who can tell you the time at any moment. Amigo also runs on a single wheel.




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Husain Sumra

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Husain joined Wareable in 2017 as a member of our San Fransisco based team. Husain is a movies expert, and runs his own blog, and contributes to MacRumors.

He has spent hours in the world of virtual reality, getting eyes on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Samsung Gear VR. 

At Wareable, Husain's role is to investigate, report and write features and news about the wearable industry – from smartwatches and fitness trackers to health devices, virtual reality, augmented reality and more.

He writes buyers guides, how-to content, hardware reviews and more.


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