In an industry that's moving as quickly as wearable tech, there's so much news happening it's hard to cover it all. And finally is our weekly round-up of the tidbits, wild rumours and interesting wearable stories from the week. This week we have the first rumblings of a new Moto 360, the quest to get the Apple Watch into production and a ear-borne wearable that tells you how to eat.
New Moto 360 2 on way?
The dust hasn't even settled on the Moto 360 launch yet, and the company is already talking up its successor. As Motorola starts to customise the original Moto 360 with new straps and colours, Gleb Mishin, the vice president of Lenovo's (the new Moto owners) Eastern Europe division, revealed in a Q&A that the next version would have a "modified design" and would be “more beautiful and more like a clock."
Check out our Moto 360 definitive review and see how it stacks up versus its rival the LG G Watch R.
Apple to buy Sapphire plant
The bankruptcy at the plant responsible for producing the millions of Sapphire displays that Apple requires for its forthcoming watch has been a thorn in the Cupertino company's side, but it looks like a solution could be reached. The company, which is based in Arizona has revealed in an interview that Apple is looking at ways to keep the plant open. Mesa City Manager Christopher Brady said in a recent interview:
"They've [Apple] indicated their commitment to us: They want to repurpose that building and use it again."
We still can't believe that a company could go into bankruptcy as it's about to start producing a major component of Apple's biggest product in years.
O2 looking to wearables
Telefonica owned UK network giant O2 wants to become a leader in wearable tech, its CEO Ronan Dunne has said. At a wearable tech event in Central London, Dunne said that he wanted to see the company move towards embracing wearables, which is especially prudent given that forecasts for sales over Christmas exceed £100m. This week the company also launched the O2 Sharer Plan, which enables customers to share data plans across SIM cards, which works for wearables such as the Samsung Gear S and I.am+ Puls band by Will.i.am – of which the network has exclusivity.
“We see our role as not only a phone provider but being at the centre of that ecosystem, which operates around mobile connectivity,” Dunn said.
Check out our hands-on Samsung Gear S review.
FES watch makes E-Ink beautiful
One wearable that caught our eye this week is the beautiful FES watch, a crowdfunding project that uses E-Ink to beautiful effect.
Instead of just using E-Ink for the screen, the display tech extends across the entire strap, which means the wearer can take advantage of 24 different design combinations.
However, that's as far as the smart features go, and there's no notifications or activity tracking built in – but the makers do boast the low-power screen enables two months between charges.
The watch costs around $167 but it's limited to Japan only at present.
BitBite is Fitbit for your jaw
Tracking your eating habits normally means laboriously logging calories, but this healthy eating wearable focusses on the way you eat instead. You slide the Indiegogo listed sensor into your ear – yes, you read that right – and BitBite tracks the times of your meals and how much you chew, before feeding back on how you can make your eating habits healthier.
Check out our round up of the best calorie tracking apps and wearables.
VB Cricket Watch is a real thing
Calling all cricket fans: Victoria Bitter, the ale-purveying sponsors of Australian cricket, have made a smartwatch entirely dedicated to keeping up with the scores. The VB Cricket Watch will tell users the scores and particulars in any given Australia match and a push of the "B" function button will add information on major events, ranging from boundaries to hat-tricks.
New Moto 360 2 on way?
The dust hasn't even settled on the Moto 360 launch yet, and the company is already talking up its successor. As Motorola starts to customise the original Moto 360 with new straps and colours, Gleb Mishin, the vice president of Lenovo's (the new Moto owners) Eastern Europe division, revealed in a Q&A that the next version would have a "modified design" and would be “more beautiful and more like a clock."
Check out our Moto 360 definitive review and see how it stacks up versus its rival the LG G Watch R.
Apple to buy Sapphire plant
The bankruptcy at the plant responsible for producing the millions of Sapphire displays that Apple requires for its forthcoming watch has been a thorn in the Cupertino company's side, but it looks like a solution could be reached. The company, which is based in Arizona has revealed in an interview that Apple is looking at ways to keep the plant open. Mesa City Manager Christopher Brady said in a recent interview:
"They've [Apple] indicated their commitment to us: They want to repurpose that building and use it again."
We still can't believe that a company could go into bankruptcy as it's about to start producing a major component of Apple's biggest product in years.
O2 looking to wearables
Telefonica owned UK network giant O2 wants to become a leader in wearable tech, its CEO Ronan Dunne has said. At a wearable tech event in Central London, Dunne said that he wanted to see the company move towards embracing wearables, which is especially prudent given that forecasts for sales over Christmas exceed £100m. This week the company also launched the O2 Sharer Plan, which enables customers to share data plans across SIM cards, which works for wearables such as the Samsung Gear S and I.am+ Puls band by Will.i.am – of which the network has exclusivity.
“We see our role as not only a phone provider but being at the centre of that ecosystem, which operates around mobile connectivity,” Dunn said.
Check out our hands-on Samsung Gear S review.
FES watch makes E-Ink beautiful
One wearable that caught our eye this week is the beautiful FES watch, a crowdfunding project that uses E-Ink to beautiful effect.
Instead of just using E-Ink for the screen, the display tech extends across the entire strap, which means the wearer can take advantage of 24 different design combinations.
However, that's as far as the smart features go, and there's no notifications or activity tracking built in – but the makers do boast the low-power screen enables two months between charges.
The watch costs around $167 but it's limited to Japan only at present.
BitBite is Fitbit for your jaw
Tracking your eating habits normally means laboriously logging calories, but this healthy eating wearable focusses on the way you eat instead. You slide the Indiegogo listed sensor into your ear – yes, you read that right – and BitBite tracks the times of your meals and how much you chew, before feeding back on how you can make your eating habits healthier.
Check out our round up of the best calorie tracking apps and wearables.
VB Cricket Watch is a real thing
Calling all cricket fans: Victoria Bitter, the ale-purveying sponsors of Australian cricket, have made a smartwatch entirely dedicated to keeping up with the scores. The VB Cricket Watch will tell users the scores and particulars in any given Australia match and a push of the "B" function button will add information on major events, ranging from boundaries to hat-tricks.
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