Category Archives: smart watch

OnePlus’ Refreshing Summer Launch Event

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OnePlus LogoOnePlus refreshed its product line with no less than five new devices which I feel must be a record for OnePlus. None of them were really a secret as they were all announced back in mid-June. However, we now have details and pricing on the devices, so let’s review what was launched and see what the picks are.

First, up there are two new phones, the Nord 5 and the Nord CE5. The Nord 5 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Mobile Platform, which provides plenty of processing power for the mid-range phone and a significant boost over the previous generation. The launch video make it pretty clear that they’re going after the gamers with the Nord 5: smooth graphics, fast RAM, big battery and built-in cooling.

Looking at the screen, the 6.83″ 144Hz Swift AMOLED display has a resolution of 2800 x 1272 pixels giving 450 ppi. The battery is a chunky 5200 mAh squeezed into a phone only 8.1 mm thick and the form is designed to feel good in the hand. The new Bypass Charging allows the phone to draw power directly from the charger when playing demanding games which relieves stress on the battery.

For the creators, the Nord 5 features 50 MP cameras front and back with an additional 8 MP ultra-wide lens on the rear. HDR and natural colour algorithms are lifted from the OnePlus 13 so the pictures are going to be good.
Pricing for the Nord is £399 (8+256GB) and £499 (12+512GB) though there are combinations of discounts, trade-ins and vouchers that can bring that price down.

Turning to the Nord CE5, it uses the MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Apex chipset powered by a similar 5200 mAh battery. The screen is slightly smaller at 6.77″ (but you’re unlikely notice the difference as it’s only a little over a millimetre in real units). The screen refreshes up 120 Hz and pixels come in at 2392 x 1080, so the pixel density is lower at 387 ppi.

On the camera front, the selfie cam is 16 MP, and round the back there’s a 50MP main lens along with an 8MP ultrawide. As with the 5, there’s similar photographic crossover from the 13 and if you need more storage, the CE5 can take a MicroSD card up to 1TB.
For the CE5 expect to pay £299 (8+128GB) and £349 (12+256GB) respectively, and as with the big brother 5, there are additional discounts, gifts and benefits.

Both phones come with OnePlus’ OxygenOS 15, based on Android 15 with the addition of Open Canvas, the multitasking windowing extensions that make the space more useful. Gemini features in both too, plus the Nord 5 comes with OnePlus’ new AI features like AI Plus Mind, which recognises on-screen content, storing it and morphing it into useful data such as calendar events.

Sticking with handheld devices, building on the successful launch of the Pad 3, OnePlus has launched the Pad Lite, an affordable, entry-level tablet. It’s £199 for the 6+128 GB Wi-Fi version and £229 for the 8+128 GB 5G one, which is competitive against similar devices. There are some additional savings and special offers for purchases through end of August. Although it’s not mentioned in the press release, I think we can expect the Lite to replace the Go in the OnePlus portfolio.

The Pad Lite has an 11″ 1920 x 1200 pixel display driven by MediaTek Helio G100. Powering everything is a a substantial 9,340 mAh battery which, while watching videos, should keep the Lite going for about 11 hours. There are cameras front and back but they’re nothing to write home about at only 5 MP: that’s still perfectly adequate for video calling or online meetings. Of course, the Lite comes with the Open Canvas Android extensions to take full advantage of the larger display.

Moving onto smaller devices, OnePlus has launched the Buds 2, which integrate well into the ecosystem with Google Fast Pair, Dual-Device connections and low latency game mode. Obviously there’s Active Noise Cancellation here, with the Adaptive ANC adjusting 800 times per second and intelligently switching between transparency and noise cancellation depending on the environment. The OnePlus Buds 4 are available in the colours Zen Green and Storm Gray and are priced at £119, though they’re down to £99 for early birds.

And finally, a new version of the Watch 3 coming in a 43 mm case size and priced at £269 with a £20 discount to £249. This is perhaps the one I’m most interested in as my Fitbit Sense 2 comes to EOL. A smaller version of the larger 46 mm Watch 3 in steel rather than titanium, it continues to use OnePlus’ Dual Engine architecture combining long battery life with Google’s WearOS. The Watch 3 offers 60 hours of wear in smart mode and up to 7 days when in power saving mode.

Speaking about the OnePlus Nord 5 series, Pete Lau, Founder of OnePlus, said: “OnePlus Nord series combines minimalist design with industry-leading flagship technology, earning the trust and love of users around the world. Driven by our Never Settle spirit, we continue to raise the bar across all price segments. By bringing flagship-grade performance and advanced OnePlus AI features to more users, we believe the OnePlus Nord 5 Series will become an essential companion in everyday life.”

There’s a somewhat quirky launch video which probably isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste, but you can find it here. Skip through to about four minutes in for the start.

OnePlus Builds The Ecosystem

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OnePlus LogoOnePlus didn’t have any hardware surprises at today’s summer launch event – the Nord 4, Tablet 2 and Watch 2R and Buds 3 Pro were all officially revealed in advance of the show. But what was interesting was OnePlus commitment to an ecosystem of affordable products. OnePlus might have started out with “flagship killer” phones but we’re beginning to see a ecosystem to rival Samsung. Of course, I don’t think OnePlus are going to start selling fridges and washing machines, but for smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and earbuds they’re doing a pretty good job of joining the dots. As is de rigueur for today, Nord 4 and Pad 2 will feature “AI” (though I’m still unconvinced that AI does anything useful for anyone normal).

Milano, Italy, hosted the Summer Launch Event, opening with Tuomas Lampen, head of Business Strategy in Europe, revealing the Nord 4 smartphone. It’s priced at £429 / €499 for the 12 GB + 256 GB and £529 / €599 for the 16 GB + 512 GB version and there are some discounts, trade-ins and gifts available at launch. Full specs are over on the web site but the aluminium unibody really makes it stand out from the current crop of glass phones.

Available in three colourways, or Nordtones as OnePlus now brands them, Mercurial Silver is the one to get. Apparently it takes 12 mins to laser engrave the case for that scalloped look. Performance-wise the Nord 4 is running a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, which will outperform a top-end phone from 2022 (8 Gen 1). Charging the battery from 1 to 100% takes only 28 minutes and there’s Battery Health Magic to keep the battery in good shape for at least four years.

James Paterson, Global PR, demonstrated the Nord 4’s Aqua Touch in an artificial rainstorm and fortunately he was in a raincoat as it got pretty wet. Aqua Touch is a feature that allows the phone to respond as if the screen was dry rather than being covered in rain drops. It’s perfect for playing Pokemon Go in bad weather, which is most of the time in the British Isles.

The Nord Buds 3 Pro were next on stage. Priced at £79 / €79 / $79.99, these earbuds have 49 dB active noise cancellation and pair well with other OnePlus phones and tablets. They come in a neat pebble-style charging case with an overall battery life time of 20 hours with ANC on and 44 hours with it off. Two colourways offer Starry Black and Soft Jade.

The OnePlus Pad 2 brings us back to flagship killing with a new tablet built round the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. By all accounts, the original OnePlus Pad and the newer, Go, have been successes for the company. The new Pad 2 is very much in the same vein as its predecessors with the centrally positioned rear camera. Coming in at £499 / €549 / $549, this is an impressive price point for a latest gen chipset (cf Samsung Tab S9 FE+). It’s a 3K 7:5 ratio 12.1″ screen with Dolby Vision and six speakers round the edges for great sound. The Pad 2 has the multitasking Open Canvas from the OnePlus Open baked, which is good for productivity and upgrades to the keyboard and stylus enhance the tablet’s usefulness. There’s tight integration between the Pad 2 and OnePlus smartphones.

Finally, the OnePlus Watch 2R took to the stage. It’s an evolution of this year’s Watch 2 with an aluminium (rather than steel) which makes it about 25% lighter which is handy for a big watch like this. It’s in the style of a super compressor dive watch with two crowns on the right hand side and it’s swimming pool safe. The 2R comes in at £249 / €279 / $229. I like it. As you’d expect, there’s a complementary app to record your activity.

That’s the Summer Launch Event in a nutshell and I think you should be able to see how OnePlus is building that ecosystem to compete with the likes of Google, and Samsung. Yes, it’s a form of lock-in but it’s also productivity enhancing and it looks to have much to offer. Every device competes well on value with devices from the competition and with OnePlus’ commitment to updates for many years, that value will be maintained.

You can watch whole event here – the show starts 5 minutes in.

FDA Warns Against Using Smartphones And Smart Rings To Measure Blood Sugar

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The US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning Wednesday about the risks of using smartwatches and smart rings that claim to measure blood glucose levels without piercing the skin, CNN reported.

According to CNN, the FDA notes that it has not authorized or approved any smartwatch or smart ring that is intended to measure blood glucose levels on its own. The use of these devices can lead to inaccurate measurements of blood glucose, also known as blood sugar, and errors in diabetes management that can be life-threatening, the agency warned.

These unauthorized devices are different from smartwatch apps that display data from FDA-approved continuous glucose monitoring devices that pierce the skin.

The FDA did not name specific brands but said the sellers of these unauthorized smartwatches and smart rings advertise using “non-invasive techniques” to measure blood glucose without requiring people to prick their fingers or pierce their skin. However, these devices do not directly test blood glucose levels, the agency said, urging consumers to avoid buying them for that purpose.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted the following warning:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers, patients, caregivers, and health care providers of risks related to using smartwatches or smart rings that claim to measure blood glucose levels (blood sugar) without piercing the skin. These devices are different from smartwatch applications that display data from FDA-authorized blood glucose measuring devices that pierce the skin, like continuous glucose monitoring devices (CGMs). The FDA has not authorized, cleared, or approved any smartwatch or smart ring that is intended to measure or estimate blood glucose values on its own.

For people with diabetes, inaccurate blood glucose measurements can lead to errors in diabetes management, including taking the wrong dose of insulin, sulfonylureas, or other medications that can rapidly lower blood glucose. Taking too much of these medications can quickly lead to dangerously low glucose, leading to mental confusion, coma, or death within hours of the error…

The Verge reported if you see a smartwatch or smart ring for sale that claims to non-invasively measure your blood glucose levels, don’t believe it.

According to The Verge, to be crystal clear, no major wearable maker has a smartwatch or smart ring that’s currently capable of this. The most any Apple Watch, Fitbit, Samsung watch, or Oura Ring can do is support integrations with an FDA-authorized continuous glucose monitor (CCM), which are wearable devices that use needles to read blood sugar levels. These integrations allow users to monitor data gathered from connected CGMs that have companion smartphone apps.

Instead of those well-known wearables, the FDA’s warning seems to target scammy devices making unsubstantiated claims.

In my opinion, I think that the FDA stepping in to make it abundantly clear that smartwatches and smart rings can provide inaccurate information is a good way to protect people from harm. Those who have diabetes need to know this before they purchase one of the inaccurate, no-needle-stick, versions.

OnePlus Watch 2 Launches Next Week at MWC

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OnePlus LogoOnePlus is returning to wrists with the OnePlus Watch 2, three years after their first model came out in Spring 2021. The details on the new model are fairly scarce with only a few pictures, a promised 100 hour battery life and a quote from the  COO and President of OnePlus, Kinder Liu.

“After a three-year hiatus and a reflective pause following the OnePlus Watch 1, the Watch 2 re-emerged, and we are more confident than ever about this product. This confidence is not unfounded, it’s built on a foundation of substantial advancements in our technological ecosystem and capabilities. Watch 2 indicates our determination to transform from “Flagship Killer” to “Ecosystem builder”. It will provide you with experience that’s not just improved, but transformed.”

In addition, a 100 hour battery life has been claimed while in Smart Mode – that’s 4 and a bit days, if you are trying to do the maths and failing. That comfortably exceeds the duration of competitors such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch series which tops out at 80 hours for the 5 Pro.

The Watch 2 will follow the design aesthetics of the new 12 and 12R smartphones, and will come in two versions, Black Steel and Radiant Steel.

There’s no news on the OS but the smart money is on a WearOS device rather than the proprietary OS of the Watch 1. OnePlus seems to be all-in with Google as OnePlus rounds out the ecosystem but it’s not without pitfalls While the Pixel Watch 2 looks great, it’s battery life is poor and Google’s approach to Fitbit hasn’t exactly endeared itself to fans of the original brand. There’s definitely an opportunity here if OnePlus executes well.

Price hasn’t been revealed though there are some discount offers over at OnePlus for early interest.

The OnePlus Watch 2 will be fully launched at MWC in Barcelona on Monday 26th February. More news then.

Xiaomi October Global Launch – Smartphones, Vacuums, Tablets and Earbuds

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Xiaomi Logo - an orange squircle with stylised white MI lettersReturning to an in-person event, Xiaomi‘s global launch took place in Munich, Germany with Abi Go, Head of Product Marketing, kicking off the event. Looking at the company, Xiaomi are now #266 in the Fortune Global 500, primarily through 160% growth in the premium smartphone category. The phones are no longer cheap and cheerful, and the Xiaomi 12 received some good reviews, including from myself. Xiaomi isn’t only about phones too – they’re rapidly growing in autonomous driving and robotics as well – but as you’ll see from the launches, Xiaomi is getting well established in consumer electronics.

First up was the Xiaomi 12T series, with the 12T and the 12T Pro smartphones. Both very similar in design, with a large main lens dominating the camera array on the rear. To reinforce this, the Pro comes with a whopping 200 MP main sensor and the standard 12T is fitted out with a still-fairly-big 108 MP sensor. Every part of the imaging system has been optimised, from the lens (8P) to the sensor (1/1.22″) and the software (advanced imaging processing). The new ProCut software uses AI to crop and frame images to make any scene look its very best, and the In-sensor zoom allows 2x zoom at the sensor level for clear portraiture. Both phones have an 8MP ultrawide, a 2MP macro and 20MP selfie camera on the front.

Inside the 12T Pro is a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 with a MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Ultra featuring in the 12T itself. Each chipset offers significant improvements in performance and power consumption over the previous generation. Both phones sport a 6.67″ 1220p resolution and 120 Hz CrystalRes AMOLED display covered by Gorilla Glass 5. The AdaptiveSync display will adjust the screen frequency for a fast and smooth refresh when needed and then revert to a lower power saving rate when not. Sound is by Harmon/Kardon and supports Dolby Atmos for a detailed and rich soundscape.

Keeping the power on is a 5,000 mAh battery with 120 W charging which will charge the battery from 0% to 100% in 19 minutes. With all the improvements to the CPU, the display and the battery, users can expect 13.5 hours of normal screen-on time and nearly 8 hours of gaming. That’s impressive.

Coming in three colours: blue, black and silver, the phones look, and I imagine, feel the part. The Xiaomi 12T Series will be available for sale starting on 20th October via Xiaomi official channels. The Xiaomi 12T Pro (8GB+128GB) will have an RRP of GB£699, and the Xiaomi 12T comes in two storage variants, 8GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB, with an RRP of £499 and £549 respectively.

Next up were vacuum cleaners, starting with the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X10+ which offers great cleaning for carpets with mop pads that lift up out of the way when the robot encounters carpet. S-Cross AI uses a pile of extra sensors to navigate the home and avoid hazards. X10+ comes with an all-in-one docking station that charges the robot, empties the dirt bag, cleans the mop pads and adds water to the X10+’s reservoir. Of course, the X10+ can be controlled by an app too. The vacuum robot is priced at 899€.

The W10 Wet Dry vacuum series are a series of wet and dry battery powered vacuum cleaners with a variety of features from assisted power, heated water rollers and base stations. Prices start from 599€.

The third set was for TVs and Xiaomi’s second generation TV Q2 series with QLED screens will come in 50″, 55″ and 65″ sizes. All the TVs support Dolby Vision IQ and Google TV is built-in. Prices start from 599€

Xiaomi’s been producing smart bands for several years and this time it’s the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro. It’s a bit bigger than the previous bands but it’s much more stylish in a rectangular design that’s in keeping with current trends, i.e. it looks a fair bit like one of the market leading smart watches. The 1.64″ AMOLED screen is 84% bigger than the previous generation and the 7 Pro now has GNSS (GPS) built-in for route tracking so your smartphone doesn’t have to come along for the tracking. As before, the Band 7 Pro comes in a range of colours with two new vegan bands, pine green and moon grey, added to the selection. Battery life is around 12 days. All this doubles the cost and the Band 7 Pro will be priced at GB£84.99 / 99€.

Finally, Xiaomi announced the Redmi Pad, an all-in-one pad for fun. The Redmi Pad comes as a slim and durable medal unibody and is available in mint green, graphite grey and moonlight silver. At 445g it’s roughly twice to three times the weight of a phone but it’s easily portable. The screen is 10.6″ with 2K resolution at 90 Hz and the viewing experience is enhanced by quad speakers supporting Dolby Atmos. Inside is the MediaTek Helio G99 CPU along with an 8000 mAh battery. The camera is sensitively placed along the long edge to make video calls a little bit more natural (cf Samsung Galaxy Tab series) and FocusFrame tracks the users faces to ensure they’re in the picture. MIUI has been enhanced for the Pad and prices start at GB£269 / 279€ for the 3GB+64MB variant. I like this…

Although not covered in the presentation, Xiaomi also announced the Redmi Buds 4 Pro and Redmi Buds 4. Both offer noise cancellation and charging cases. The Redmi Buds 4 Pro offer 9 hours of listening on a single charge with a total of 30 hours when the charging case is used. The Buds 4 will go 6 hours on a single charge but offer 36 hours total when recharged from the case. Redmi Buds 4 and Redmi Buds 4 Pro available from £49.99 and £84.99 respectively via Xiaomi’s official channels. Available in the UK from 4th October.

The livestream is available here.

Pre-Orders Open for OnePlus Watch

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OnePlus’ partnership with Hasselblad has produced two very well-received devices in the shape of the 9 and 9 Pro smartphones. I’ve been using the OnePlus 9 for a couple of weeks now and it’s a lovely phone that takes great pictures…but we’re not here to talk about the phones but rather the new OnePlus Watch.

A Black Smart WatchThe OnePlus Watch is the company’s first global foray into wearables (ignoring the OnePlus Band which was only available in India) and pre-orders open on Wednesday 14th April for the two new smartwatches. Priced at GB£149/US$159/€159, it’s competitive against similar smartwatches from Fitbit, Samsung and Huawei. Deliveries are expected at the end of the month and the Watch goes on general sale on 30th April.

Two models are expected to up for pre-order, Moonlight Silver and Midnight Black, with the announced Cobalt Limited Edition coming later. With a 46 mm case, it might be a minimalist design but it’s a big watch that’s not going to be missed on anyone’s wrist. The Watch supports over 110 activities including swimming which is possible due to the IP68 water resistance rating. There’s built-in GPS so no need to carry your phone on a run.

The round display is a 1.39″ AMOLED display at 326 ppi and is protected by a sapphire glass crystal which provides good protection against scratches. Handily, the Watch takes standard watch straps so it’s easy to switch them out for something more personal.

Battery life is rated at over 2 weeks (yep, two weeks) and even the most active athlete will get over a week. The Watch uses Warp Charging and about 40 minutes will get it charged up from flat.

I’m looking forward to buying one for myself: I really need to lose a few pounds after lockdown but I think I’m going to wait for the Cobalt LE.

Pre-orders open Wednesday at OnePlus.com and Amazon.co.uk for £149.

OnePlus 9 Series Launches Tomorrow To No-one’s Surprise

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OnePlus‘ spring event usually heralds the launch of the company’s products for the year, with a further hardware refresh in the autumn – the xT models. This past year’s been a bit different on two fronts, and not just because of a global pandemic. To start with, the Nord series of mid-range phones was announced at a summer event and secondly, the CEO of OnePlus, Pete Lau, seems to have given away all the surprises in advance of the main event. For sure, OnePlus always did drop a few heavy hints as part of the publicity run-up, but this time I think they’ve outdone themselves. Maybe there will be a “one more thing” but who knows?

Here’s what we do know already.

  • There will be three phones, the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9R for India. Colours are “Morning Mist”, “Pine Green” for the 9 Pro and “Winter Mist” for the 9 but I imagine there will be others. The camera array has moved to the top left and appears to be coloured as the back of the phone.
  • The display is LTPO, QHD+, smart 120Hz refresh, native 10-bit color depth (1.07 billion colors), 1300 nits brightness, MEMC and HDR10+.
  • The phones will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G chipset.
  • There will be a 4500 mAh battery with Wireless Warp Charge 50 giving 50 W of wireless charging that will go from 0% to 100% in 43 minutes. Using the cable will take 29 minutes.
  • There’s a strong partnership between OnePlus and Hasselblad to co-produce the imaging on the 9 series with a focus on Natural Colour Calibration. The cameras will use the Sony IMX789 and IMX766 sensors. The latter is used with the ultra-wide lens for 50 MP images. There will be a new tilt-shift feature for that miniature model world look.
    From the pictures, it appears that the 9 will have three lenses with four on the 9 Pro.
  • There might be some interesting cases.
  • A OnePlus Watch will be announced with 110 workout modes. It’s going to have a round dial.

So, if after all that, you still want to watch the launch event, you can follow along at www.oneplus.com/launch with the event kicking off on 23 March at 10:00 am EDT / 14:00 GMT / 15:00 CET / 7:30 pm IST.