News/Wearables
Apple unveils 15 major accessibility features including brain computer interface
Apple unveiled a comprehensive suite of accessibility enhancements coming to iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and watchOS later this year, coinciding with Global Accessibility Awareness Day. These updates represent some of the most significant accessibility improvements in recent Apple history, introducing entirely new capabilities alongside meaningful upgrades to existing features. The announcement, made ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, showcases the company's continued commitment to making technology more inclusive. From breakthrough features like Brain Computer Interface support to practical improvements like system-wide reading modes, these updates will meaningfully impact how millions of users interact with their devices. 15 major accessibility features coming...
read Jun 6, 2025Meta’s Aria Gen 2 smart glasses track biometrics to train AI robots
Meta has unveiled its experimental Aria Gen 2 smart glasses, research-grade wearables packed with advanced sensors that can track users' gaze, movement, and heart rate to understand both their environment and emotional responses. The glasses are currently being used to train robots and develop AI systems that could eventually power consumer smart glasses, representing a significant step toward machines that can interpret the world like humans do. What you should know: The Aria Gen 2 glasses are a major upgrade from Meta's 2020 research glasses, featuring lighter weight, higher accuracy, and more natural appearance while packing sophisticated sensory equipment. Four...
read Jun 3, 2025Barking rad AI-powered Fi Series 3+ smart dog collar detects behavior
The integration of AI into pet technology is creating new opportunities for health monitoring, with Fi's latest smart collar offering advanced behavioral tracking alongside improved GPS capabilities. This progression of wearable technology for pets demonstrates how AI is expanding beyond human applications to provide pet owners with unprecedented insights into animal health and activity patterns, potentially transforming veterinary care through more comprehensive data collection. The big picture: Fi has upgraded its smart dog collar lineup with the Series 3+ that incorporates AI-powered behavior detection to monitor specific pet activities while offering enhanced GPS tracking capabilities. The collar can now detect...
read May 23, 2025Pin envy: Jony Ive’s AI device reportedly bigger than Humane’s
Jony Ive and Sam Altman's forthcoming AI device appears to be taking shape as a wearable with iPod Shuffle-like elegance that could be worn around the neck. This collaboration, now officially part of OpenAI following a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ive's company, represents a significant hardware play from one of AI's most influential companies. The 2026 launch target signals a deliberate development timeline for what could become a pioneering product in the emerging wearable AI category. The big picture: Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's research suggests the OpenAI-Ive device will be larger than Humane's AI Pin but maintain a "form factor...
read May 23, 2025Why Apple is betting big on smart glasses despite lagging in AI
Apple's struggle to catch up in AI development contrasts sharply with its accelerated timeline for AI-powered smart glasses, creating a high-stakes gamble for a company that can't afford another product miss. This strategic pivot comes after several significant missteps—including the underwhelming Apple Vision Pro and the abandoned Project Titan—while competitors like Meta have successfully leveraged existing AI research to capitalize on the generative AI boom through products like their Ray-Ban smart glasses. The big picture: Apple finds itself in an unusual position of playing catch-up in the AI space while simultaneously rushing development of AI-powered smart glasses. The company has...
read May 22, 2025OpenAI’s secret AI device heads to mass production in 2027
OpenAI and Jony Ive's mysterious AI device is targeted for mass production in 2027, according to respected supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The collaboration between the AI research powerhouse and Apple's former design chief has ambitious manufacturing plans, with The Wall Street Journal reporting an intended production run of 100 million units. This wearable device represents a significant hardware play in the emerging consumer AI market, though its exact functionality remains largely shrouded in secrecy. The big picture: The AI wearable is currently designed as a compact, elegant device meant to be worn around the neck, drawing design inspiration from...
read May 22, 2025Google’s new Android XR smart glasses aim to balance function and fashion
Google's upcoming Android XR smart glasses represent a significant advance in wearable computing, integrating Gemini's multimodal AI capabilities into a practical, everyday form factor. Revealed at Google I/O 2025, these glasses merge AI assistant features with augmented reality displays while offloading processing to users' smartphones—potentially solving the weight and battery life issues that have plagued previous smart eyewear. By partnering with established eyewear brands like Warby Parker, Google appears poised to deliver the first smart glasses that balance style, functionality, and comfort when they launch later this year. The big picture: Google is shifting its Android XR platform focus toward...
read May 20, 2025How an accidental AI experiment resulted in a working Apple Watch app
A casual AI experiment led to a functional Apple Watch app in a single evening, highlighting how generative AI can rapidly transform ideas into working prototypes. This accidental development shows the growing capability of AI to assist in software development, while still demonstrating the crucial role human expertise plays in refining AI-generated code for production-ready applications. The big picture: A simple query to Claude unexpectedly resulted in functional code for a ChatGPT client for Apple Watch, which later evolved into a published app called WristGPT. Key technical components: The AI-generated application incorporated several advanced technologies into a compact wearable experience....
read May 19, 2025AI assistant Gemini coming to Samsung and Sony earbuds
Google plans to expand Gemini AI assistant access to various audio devices across its ecosystem, marking a strategic shift away from Google Assistant as the company pushes its newer AI technology to more hardware. This expansion brings enhanced AI capabilities to earbuds and wearables, allowing for more sophisticated interactions than previously possible with Google Assistant. The big picture: Samsung will bring Gemini to its Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Watches in the "coming months," while Sony earbuds will also gain Gemini integration as part of Google's broader expansion to cars, TVs, and Pixel Watches. Key capabilities: Gemini on these audio...
read May 19, 2025Android devices gain major Gemini AI boost across cars and watches
Google is bringing Gemini, its conversational AI assistant, to virtually every Android-compatible device in a sweeping ecosystem expansion. This integration will transform how users interact with their technology, enabling more natural, context-aware assistance across smartwatches, cars, televisions, and XR devices. The comprehensive rollout represents Google's strategic push to embed AI capabilities more deeply throughout its product lineup ahead of its annual developer conference. 1. WearOS integrationGemini will arrive on WearOS smartwatches later this year, offering hands-free conversational assistance directly from users' wrists. This update allows users to access Gemini's capabilities without needing their phones nearby, particularly useful when hands are...
read May 19, 2025Symptom Checker? Check! Fitbit Labs unveils 3 AI features to simplify health data
Fitbit is introducing three AI-powered health features that transform how users interact with medical information and track their physical wellbeing. These experimental Fitbit Labs capabilities bring sophisticated health monitoring to consumer wearables, marking a significant step toward personalized digital health management. The new tools aim to bridge the gap between complex medical data and everyday health understanding, though they come with important limitations about their diagnostic capabilities. The big picture: Fitbit announced three Gemini-powered AI features exclusively for Fitbit Labs users that help interpret medical records, check symptoms, and identify unusual health trends. The company's parent Google is leveraging its...
read May 14, 2025Health data gets a makeover with Fitbit’s Gemini upgrade
Fitbit is expanding its AI capabilities with a new suite of health tools powered by Google Gemini. These experimental features introduce users to AI-enhanced health insights, allowing them to better understand lab results, decode symptoms, and receive alerts about unusual health metric changes. The integration represents a significant advancement in consumer health tech, where AI is being leveraged to translate complex medical information into accessible formats while maintaining appropriate boundaries between AI assistance and professional medical care. The big picture: Fitbit Labs is introducing three new Google Gemini-powered experimental features that transform how users interact with their health data. The...
read May 12, 2025Apple explores AI model for potential smart glasses
Apple's new FastVLM visual language model represents a significant breakthrough in on-device AI for wearable technology, potentially powering future Apple smart glasses. This lightweight, high-speed model processes high-resolution images with minimal computing resources, suggesting Apple is developing the foundational AI technology needed for its rumored 2027 smart eyewear that would compete with Meta's Ray-Bans. The big picture: Apple's Machine Learning Research team has developed FastVLM, a visual language model designed specifically for Apple Silicon that processes high-resolution images with unprecedented efficiency. The model is built on Apple's open ML framework MLX, released in 2023, which enables local AI processing on...
read May 9, 2025AI headphones clone multiple voices for real-time translation
Yes, please do listen to the voices in your head. Researchers have developed a groundbreaking AI headphone system that can simultaneously translate multiple speakers in real-time, potentially eliminating language barriers in multilingual group conversations. The Spatial Speech Translation system not only converts foreign languages into English text but also preserves each speaker's unique vocal characteristics and emotional tone, creating a more natural translation experience than existing technologies. This innovation could transform international communication by enabling people to confidently express themselves across language divides. How it works: The University of Washington's Spatial Speech Translation system uses AI to track and translate...
read May 9, 2025AI pushes construction towards zero-incident workplaces
Construction's embrace of AI technologies is driving a transformative approach to workplace safety, building on a century of progress that has already reduced occupational fatalities by 90%. Today's innovations combine advanced wearables, autonomous monitoring systems, and AI-powered analytics to create proactive safety ecosystems that protect workers while maintaining productivity. This technological evolution represents the industry's commitment to reaching zero workplace incidents and ensuring every construction worker returns home safely. The big picture: Construction companies are leveraging artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to revolutionize workplace safety, moving beyond traditional approaches to create comprehensive safety ecosystems. The industry has already made remarkable...
read May 2, 2025Scanning the horizon: Meta expands data collection from Ray-Bans to enhance AI
Meta is expanding data collection from Ray-Ban smart glasses, significantly reducing user privacy options while bolstering its AI capabilities. The company's recent email to customers reveals substantial changes that automatically enable voice recording storage for Meta AI interactions and default camera access, removing previous opt-out options. These changes reflect an aggressive push to gather more user data while maintaining minimal technical escape routes for privacy-conscious consumers. The big picture: Meta has fundamentally altered its Ray-Ban smart glasses privacy settings, now collecting and storing voice recordings by default when users interact with Meta AI. The company has eliminated the option to...
read Apr 24, 2025Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses expand to 3 new markets
Meta is expanding its Ray-Ban smart glasses to new global markets while adding styles and AI features, positioning the wearable as a key product in its hardware ecosystem. The glasses, which combine on-device AI with open-ear audio, cameras, and hands-free controls within Ray-Ban's iconic frame designs, are seeing increased distribution beyond their initial North American and European availability. Key expansion details: Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses will soon launch in India, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates, though specific dates remain unannounced. The company is also expanding Meta AI access on its glasses to more European Union countries starting immediately. The...
read Apr 24, 2025Humane’s AI Pin revival bypasses HP’s printer expertise
Former Apple executives' failed Humane Ai Pin has found new life through an open-source project called OpenPin, after HP acquired the intellectual property and deactivated the service that powered the device. This unexpected development transforms what had become expensive paperweights into potentially more capable devices, now that development restrictions have been removed and the community can expand the hardware's functionality beyond its original limitations. The big picture: Humane's Ai Pin wearable device has been revived through open-source development after the original company shut down its backend services. The project, available at openpin.org, allows owners of the bricked devices to restore...
read Apr 24, 2025Spring techno-fashion: Meta rolls out AI features for Ray-Ban smart glasses in Europe
Meta is expanding its AI assistant capabilities on its Ray-Ban smart glasses across Europe, signaling the tech giant's continued push to integrate artificial intelligence into wearable technology. This expansion represents a significant milestone after Meta's initial European AI rollout faced delays due to the region's strict privacy regulations, highlighting the challenges tech companies face when deploying AI technology in different regulatory environments. The big picture: Meta is bringing its AI assistant to Ray-Ban smart glasses in seven additional European countries after navigating EU regulatory hurdles. Users in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland can now interact with Meta...
read Apr 21, 2025AI gives Bionic Man-style edge training for runners and athletes
AI fitness wearables are poised to transform athletic performance through innovative technologies that provide deeper biological insights and personalized guidance. Three emerging design approaches are reshaping how athletes train: edge-based AI processing that keeps personal data local, advanced dehydration detection algorithms, and digital twin modeling that creates comprehensive biological profiles—all pointing toward unprecedented capabilities to optimize human performance through data-driven feedback systems. The big picture: AI-powered fitness wearables are moving beyond simple metrics to provide comprehensive biological insights by processing data directly on devices rather than in the cloud. Alexander Amini explained that new AI models can now run efficiently...
read Apr 17, 2025AI is reshaping the mobile industry in 5 key ways in 2025
Mobile World Congress 2025 has definitively transformed AI from an emerging technology to a foundational element across the mobile industry. With over 109,000 attendees and 2,900 exhibitors, the Barcelona event showcased how artificial intelligence is now embedded in everything from smartphone chips to network infrastructure. This mainstreaming of AI signals a significant shift in how mobile technology will develop, with implications reaching far beyond premium devices into midrange phones, wearables, and telecommunications infrastructure. 1. More Phone Makers Are Going All In on AI Honor and Oppo unveiled ambitious AI initiatives that signal major strategic shifts in mobile technology development. Honor...
read Apr 15, 2025Study: AI camera system helps visually impaired navigate 25% faster than canes
A groundbreaking AI-powered camera system is helping visually impaired individuals navigate their surroundings with greater ease and independence. The technology, which combines wearable cameras, real-time AI processing, and multi-sensory feedback, represents a significant advancement over traditional mobility aids like white canes. Its demonstrated ability to improve navigation efficiency by 25% could transform daily mobility for the visually impaired community. How it works: The system uses AI-powered cameras mounted on glasses to interpret surroundings and provide real-time navigational guidance to visually impaired users. The glasses' camera captures live images that are processed by machine-learning algorithms trained to detect people, doors, walls,...
read Apr 13, 2025Meta’s new Ray-Ban smart glasses will feature a display for $1,300
Meta is preparing to elevate its smart glasses technology with a new Ray-Ban collaboration featuring an integrated display. The upcoming "Hypernova" glasses represent Meta's push into more sophisticated augmented reality eyewear, positioning the company to compete in the growing market for wearable computing devices that blend digital information with the physical world. The big picture: Meta plans to release advanced Ray-Ban smart glasses with a built-in display later this year, significantly upgrading their current audio-only offerings while maintaining the familiar sunglass form factor. The new glasses, codenamed "Hypernova," will feature a monocular display in the lower right quadrant of the...
read Apr 11, 2025Limitless AI’s $499 pendant promises to be your always-on memory assistant
Limitless AI's new pendant device represents the latest evolution in wearable AI technology, offering unprecedented personal memory augmentation. The $499 device (currently discounted by $100) continuously listens to conversations and personal insights, then processes this unstructured data into useful summaries and reminders. This technology marks a significant shift in the AI wearables market, raising important questions about the balance between personal data collection and practical utility in our increasingly AI-enhanced daily lives. The big picture: Limitless has launched a pendant-style wearable that functions as an AI memory assistant, capturing conversations and personal reflections throughout the day. The elegant, lightweight device...
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