wearables – Michmutters

Tag: wearables

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Technology

New range of Samsung Smart Watches announced with health focus

Samsung has announced new additions to its SmartWatch portfolio, with the Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Watch5 Pro to be released in late August.

The company says the new devices are intended to help users reach their health goals and milestones, with a range of new features and technologies involved.

Monitoring and analysis is a key feature of the new products, says Samsung, with the Galaxy Watch5 being equipped with Samsung’s BioActive Sensor.

This technology was first introduced on the Galaxy Watch4 series, and uses a single chip that combines three health sensors – Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart Signal and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis – to deliver more readings for the body. This includes heart rate, blood oxygen level, and stress level analysis, and there is also a newly introduced temperature sensor.

The Body Composition measurement tool is also said to provide a complete snapshot of the user’s overall health, also giving them a tailored approach to set goals and track progress. There are also new customization options relating and smart features relating to rest and recovery as well.

Samsung has also said the products are designed with an increased surface area and have more direct contact with a user’s wrist. The Galaxy Watch5 Pro comes with a D-Buckle Sport Band that will offer more durability and comfort. The enhanced Sapphire Crystal and titanium casing will also protect the display with a protruded bezel design.

There is also extended battery life and time, which the company says will allow the device to last for longer than previous models. The Galaxy Watch5 comes with 13% larger battery and provides eight hours of sleep tracking with eight minutes of charging, which is 30% faster than the Galaxy Watch4.

New interactive features that have been announced include the utilization of Google Assistant and an upcoming feature with Google Maps where users can find their way without a smartphone connection. New apps like SoundCloud and Deezer are also featured, along with One UI Watch4.5, which offers a fuller typing and accessibility features.

Samsung Electronics president and head of mobile eXperience business Dr. TM Roh says the new products showcase the company’s commitment to promoting health and wellness, and the analytical features help provide better and more comprehensive insights.

“We’re dedicated to giving our Galaxy Watch community the tools, data and resources needed to not only understand their overall health and wellness better, but to coach them on their journey,” he says.

“With Samsung’s groundbreaking BioActive Sensor, we’re empowering users with the most complete picture of their health-related insights yet.”

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Technology

How to Watch Samsung’s Z Flip, Fold 4 Unpacked Event

How to Watch Samsung's Z Flip, Fold 4 Unpacked Event

Samsung is holding a big fall event today, where we expect to see two folding phones—the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4—along with two Galaxy Watch 5 watches and new Galaxy Buds earbuds.

Super-leaker Evan Blass recently published a massive gallery of all the new devices on the Indian website he works with, 91Mobiles. He shows every device in an array of different colors. I encourage you to go to Evan’s story to see the full array.

The event will be virtual, held at 9 am ET on Aug. 10, and you can watch it on Samsung’s website or on YouTube (embedded below).

If you aren’t on ET, here are some other time zones for the Unpacked event:

  • 6 a.m. PT
  • 2pm BST
  • 3 p.m. CET
  • 7 p.m. in Mumbai
  • 9 p.m. in Taipei
  • 10 pm in Seoul
  • 11 p.m. in Sydney

Folks in New York City get a special surprise: A massive, mysterious Samsung pop-up space has appeared on 10th Avenue near the High Line in Manhattan (photo above), and the hours on the currently closed door say it will be open from Aug .11-31.

When Will These Products Be Available?

You can currently “reserve” the new Samsung products to get a special coupon, with no commitment necessary. They are anticipated to go on pre-sale shortly after the event ends, with a sale date of Aug. 26.

They will be available at all the major US carriers as well as Samsung, Best Buy, and Amazon. Samsung will almost certainly have aggressive trade-in deals for your old phones and watches.

pop up space

The new pop-up space takes up most of a block along Tenth Avenue.

How Much Will They Cost?

One of the big questions around the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 is how much they will cost in the US.

Samsung’s mobile head TM Roh says he’s aiming to make foldables “mainstream” this year, which may signal more affordable prices. The Galaxy Z Flip3 cost $999.99 and comprised 70% of last year’s Samsung foldable sales; the Galaxy Z Fold3, at $1799.99, was the other 30%.

A recent leak of a Dutch Amazon page for the Z Fold 4 claims that the phone will cost $10,374. I can say with 100% confidence that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will not cost more than $5,000.

Samsung Galaxy ZFlip 4

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 looks a lot like the Z Flip3, according to renders and leaks. The biggest immediate change is what looks like a less protruding hinge, which will make the whole device feel slightly smaller in your pocket.

A writer for 91Mobiles claims to have specifications for the phone. The most important is a bigger battery: 3,700mAh versus 3,300mAh in the Z Flip3. I cited the Z Flip3’s battery life as its biggest minus in my review. He also says the front screen is a touch bigger, going from 1.9 to 2.1 inches.

Samsung Galaxy ZFold 4

Reliable leaker Ice Universe showed a Fold 4 (right) next to a Fold3 (left) and calls it “a further optimized version of Fold3.” You can see in his comparison that the Fold 4 is slightly shorter and wider, giving the front display a more natural aspect ratio; the bezel also appears to be slimmer.

Ice also tweeted some other specs earlier this year, including a new camera system with 50MP, 12MP ultra-wide, and 10MP 3x zoom cameras. Maybe I just like Ice right now because it’s 90 degrees in my home office.

One Twitter leaker who I don’t know, has been endorsed by Ice Universe, a leaker I trust. He gives good news about some performance improvements with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, but points out that charging is still limited to 25 watts.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5

A French website, Dealabs, appears to give many of the details on the new watches, which go on sale on Aug. 26. The main Watch5, which replaces the basic Watch 4 model, will come in 40mm and 44mm sizes in Bluetooth and 4G models. The Galaxy Watch5 Pro, a more rugged device, will come in only a 45mm size.

The watches run Google’s Wear OS on Samsung Exynos W920 processors, according to the site, and are IP68 rated for waterproofing.

hours

The new pop-up space will be open for two weeks after the product launch.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro

German website WinFuture claims to have full information on Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro earbuds. According to the site, the buds will have eight hours of battery life per charge, with a total of 29 hours in their charging case.

The Buds will have 10mm main drivers and a 5.3mm high-frequency tweeter. They’ll offer a 33dB reduction in ambient sound with their active noise cancellation. They’ll be expensive, though: at $233 in Europe, they’re competing with Apple’s AirPods Pro.

We hope to have hands on with these new devices right after the launch event.

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Categories
Technology

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Images Offer The Best View Of Samsung’s Next Wearable

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Images Offer The Best View Of Samsung's Next Wearable

Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Watch 5 on August 10, and a series of images published by 91mobiles offer the best preview of the watch’s design yet.

The images are the typical renders you’ll see on an online retailer’s website, showing off the Watch 5 series from all angles.

They are most useful as a way to decide whether you would be more interested in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 or Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, the two key models Samsung is likely to introduce in just under two weeks.

The base Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 has a slighter appearance, the Pro version more a severe metal rim around the display.

These pics also suggest the black Galaxy Watch 5 will have more of a sporty leaning, although all members of this family are likely to have similar core features.

There is also no sign of a rotating bezel in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, which has been a defining feature of this series since the beginning. It suggests the watch may have a redesigned version of Samsung’s watch UI, which was still partially constructed around the rotary bezel controller in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.

Without a rotating crown to replace it, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will have to rely on touchscreen control unless the screen surround acts as a capacitive touch surface to allow for gesture controls without moving parts.

The images also show off the watch’s colours: lilac, cream and dark gray for the Galaxy Watch 5, black and grey, or perhaps sage green, for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.

Samsung also uses a different strap style for the two models. The base Galaxy Watch 5 has a classic watch strap, the Pro a clasp.

However, these images don’t tell the full story. Samsung is expected to launch both 40mm and 44m versions of the standard Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, while the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will likely have a 46mm watch face.

My presumption is we’re looking at the 46mm and 44mm versions here, leaving the 40mm models out of the picture.

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