Even as Samsung and Motorola have introduced foldable Android phones such as the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Motorola Razr reboot, Apple hasn’t come out with a foldable of its own. For years, we’ve been following reports of a foldable iPhone, possibly called the iPhone Flip. But the latest rumors say Apple might not enter the foldable ring until 2025. 

Way back in 2017, it was predicted that a foldable iPhone could be coming in the futuristic-sounding 2020. (That didn’t happen.) Analysts and leakers have been kicking the release date down the road ever since, and rumors and wish lists have simmered. Here’s everything we know so far.

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Apple’s foldable may be coming later than expected

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Release date: The iPhone Flip launch is a moving target

It seems to be an open secret that Apple has its sights set on a foldable iPhone. The company has been registering patents for foldable mechanisms and devices for almost a decade now with no launch date in sight. The question is whether any of them will ever see the light of day, and if so, when? 

Early rumors pointed to 2021 as a potential target date, but the year passed with no foldable iPhone in sight. A March 2021 report from longtime Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo (via MacRumors) suggested 2023 might be more realistic, if it ever happens. According to Kuo, Apple still needs to figure out technology and mass production issues before bringing a device like this to market, hence the wait. Speculation later in 2021 from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman aligned with Kuo’s predictions: In his Power On Newsletter, Gurman said that the foldable iPhone may not arrive for another two to three years.

But since then, new rumors have pointed to an even later release. Reliable display analyst Ross Young said in February that the foldable iPhone has been pushed back to 2025, and Kuo revised his predictions to 2025 in a tweet on Friday.

“Apple may launch its first foldable product in 2025 at the earliest, which may be a foldable iPad or a hybrid of iPad & iPhone,” Kuo wrote in the tweet.

Read more: Top Foldable Phones for 2022

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Design: What will the foldable iPhone look like?

A report from Bloomberg last year indicated Apple already has a working prototype of a foldable iPhone display. While it’s not yet a working model, it’s a step up from a patent — which, until then, was all we had seen. 

Apple seems to have taken out every patent under the sun when it comes to foldable displays, including an origami-style folding display, a flip-up display and even a wraparound display. And while we don’t know which one will make the final cut, both Kuo and Bloomberg seem to agree that the current prototype is more of a traditional fold-out design.

Unlike Microsoft’s Surface Duo, which has the hinges on the exterior, Apple’s would have one continuous display with a hidden hinge mechanism like the Galaxy Fold. 

However, Apple leaker Jon Prosser reported in early 2021 that the iPhone Flip will likely use a clamshell design and come in several “fun colors.” Between the flashy purple iPhone 12, and the new blue and pink options for the iPhone 13, an array of fun colors for Apple’s first foldable device is definitely a possibility.

YouTuber ConceptsiPhone also gave us a glimpse into what the iPhone Flip could look with concept art of the foldable iPhone in the colors blue, red, gold and green.

Roadblocks: What still stands in Apple’s way? 

While Samsung and others have been testing the waters, Apple has been learning from the pain points of their foldable devices and figuring out how they’d be used.

One of these pain points: the crease. A lot of the current cover materials, including the glass and plastic mix that Samsung uses for the Z Fold and Z Flip, show a visible crease when folded out to full screen. To avoid it, Apple would likely have to wait for Corning, Apple’s glass provider, to create some kind of bendable version of its Ceramic Shield screen. The company is already working on a bendable glass, but hasn’t announced a launch date for it. 

Kuo tweeted on Friday that Apple is testing a foldable OLED screen. Korean tech news site The Elec also said Friday that Apple is working with LG to develop a foldable OLED panel. 

Cost: Foldable phones don’t come cheap

Price is another major problem for these types of devices. Although Samsung lowered the price for its most recent foldable phones, its previous model, the Fold 2, cost $2,000, which is over twice the price of Samsung’s other flagship phones. And, a foldable iPhone wouldn’t be any cheaper. Apple’s foldable needs to be in line with current foldable and nonfoldable models to be able to compete against other brands and entice iPhone users to ditch their single-screen devices and pay more for a foldable.

A report last year found that half of American consumers are interested in buying a foldable phone, though Apple customers are slightly less willing to make the leap than Samsung or LG users. But perhaps the “Apple effect” will change those stats if and when a foldable iPhone ever becomes reality.

For more, check out everything we’ve heard about the iPhone 14. You can also see the most exciting phones to look out for in 2022. 

The post Sorry, Foldable Fans: Apple’s Rumored iPhone Flip Might Not Arrive Until 2025 first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

Whether you’re training for a marathon or a first-time jogger, the Apple Watch has lots of perks for runners. The best part is that you don’t need the latest Apple Watch Series 7 (or the rumored Apple Watch Series 8) to take advantage of these features. These tips work for all models, including the Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 3. 

If you’re used to tracking your runs on a mobile app, the Watch will help lighten your load. Nike Plus Run Club, Runkeeper and Strava are just some of the major running apps that are also available on the Apple Watch, allowing you to leave your phone behind. But if you’re not tied to any third-party running app yet, the native Activity app on the Apple Watch has most of the features you’ll need to log those miles and keep you motivated while you run. You just need to know how to find them.

Here are a few tips to make your Apple Watch a better companion for your runs.

More Tech Tips

• How the Apple Watch Could Turn You Into a Serious Cyclist
• You Need to Try These Apple Watch 7 Features
• Got an Apple Watch? You’ll Want to Change These Settings

Update your stats

First things first: Make sure the Apple Watch knows who you are. This means gender, weight, height, age and all the indicators its needs to accurately measure distance and calories burned.

You may have set this up in your Health app when you first set up your Apple Watch, but if you haven’t or if your weight has changed since then, make sure your profile has the updated info.

Go to the Watch app on your phone, select the My Watch tab on the bottom, then go to Health and press Edit on the top right to make the changes.

Calibrate the Apple Watch

Another important part of the “getting to know you” stage is calibrating the watch to your individual pace and stride to get a more accurate read of distance when you leave your phone behind or GPS isn’t reliable.

If you’ve never done this before, you may just want to start off with a clean slate. Go to the My Watch tab of the Watch app on your phone and click on Privacy and select Reset Fitness Calibration Data.

To recalibrate, Apple recommends taking your watch out on a jog in a flat open area where you get good reception. Series 1 users will have to bring a phone along on this first run. Next you’ll need to start an outdoor run or walk in the Workout app on the Apple Watch and do either for at least 20 minutes. If you don’t have 20 minutes to spare, you can also do this in 5- or 10-minute intervals, just know you need to reach a total of 20 minutes to accurately calibrate.

Once you’ve logged the initial 20 minutes’ worth, you can ditch the phone and resume your usual running routes. The watch will continue to learn about your stride and calibrate over time.

Tighten that band

Once you have stride and distance figured out, you’ll need to make sure you’re getting an accurate heart rate reading. The Apple Watch uses heart rate (along with other metrics) to calculate calories burned, and the gadget can be used to help keep you in check during training or in a race. But the heart rate sensor has to be in direct contact with your skin to get an accurate read, which means you may have to tighten up the band before you go on a jog to make sure the Apple Watch stays in place when you’re swinging your sweaty arm up and down. Just don’t overdo it and cut off circulation to your hand — and maybe loosen it up once you’re done. 

It’s also designed to work best on top of your wrist, so putting the sensor on the bottom side of your wrist (where you would normally take your pulse) is actually counterproductive. If you want to get even more precise with your read, you can pair it with an external heart rate monitor.

Customize your metrics for success

On outdoor runs the Apple Watch can keep tabs of multiple metrics, ranging from average pace to elevation gain, but that doesn’t mean you have to see all of that info on the screen while you run. Figure out the numbers that get you pumped, and then customize your Workout interface from the Watch app on your phone.

Scroll down to the Workout option on the My Watch tab on your iPhone, and once you’re in, click on Workout View at the top. Next, select the Outdoor (or Indoor) Run option, hit Edit on the top right and add, delete or rearrange as you see fit. You’ll be able to view only five metrics at a time.

Set custom running goals on the Apple Watch

You can also set goals before every run from the Workout app on the Apple Watch. Click on the three dots next to the type of run you’re selecting and set your goals based on distance, calories or time. 

This is also where you can set pace alerts, so the Watch will buzz when you fall below or rise above your target pace. Before starting an outdoor run, tap the three dots and then set an alert.

Activate Auto Pause

This feature is essential for surviving city runs without having to adjust your Watch at every stoplight. You can activate Auto Pause from the Watch app from your phone or directly on the Apple Watch itself, so take your pick.

On the Watch, go to Settings/General/Workout, and toggle Auto Pause. If you’re on the Watch app on the iPhone, select the My Watch Tab, Workout and toggle Running Auto Pause. This works for outdoor runs and on a treadmill, so that stoplight stall or water break won’t bring down your time and pace during a run.

Maximize battery life to make the Apple Watch last longer

As you’ve probably learned the hard way, runs are not good on battery life. And if you’re a night jogger like me, you may find yourself running on empty. Or worse yet, the battery may die before you finish your run — which means the run won’t show up in your activity log!

If you’re running dangerously low on juice, try activating Power Saving Mode before you start. This is different than the Power Reserve option you get when you’re down to 10 percent, which basically turns off all features other than time. Power Saving Mode is a pre-emptive step that’ll help extend battery life while still retaining most of the basic tracking features. 

To activate Power Saving Mode from the Apple Watch, go to Settings/General/Workout and toggle the Power Saving Mode option. You can also do this from the Watch app on your iPhone and deactivate once you’ve completed your run.

You may see a slight variation in calories burned because this mode also shuts off the heart rate sensor, but it should still give you an accurate read of your run. If you need heart rate data but are running low on juice, you could also consider pairing a Bluetooth-enabled chest strap with the Watch.

Don’t have an Apple Watch yet? Read our comparisons of the latest models so you can make your decision:

• Apple Watch 7 vs. 6
• Apple Watch 7 vs. SE 
• Apple Watch 6 vs. SE vs. 3

Apple Watch Series 7

$350 at Amazon

Apple Watch SE

$280 at eBay

The post 7 Apple Watch tips for runners first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

There’s a reason why the Apple Watch ($199 at Best Buy) continues to dominate smartwatch sales. It can do almost as much as your smartphone, it’s one of the best fitness trackers out there and it even keeps your vitals in check. I’ve spent a lot of time wearing the latest Series 6 ($399), the $279 SE and $199 Series 3. I also over-research every purchase in my life. So trust me when I tell you there’s no bad choice when it comes to buying an Apple Watch. (See the chart below for a full specs breakdown, including international prices.)

Even the Series 3, which still has its shortcomings (like battery life), will give you most of the features you need in a smartwatch. Everything beyond that is a “nice to have” that will mostly depend on your budget. Here’s a breakdown of Apple’s smartwatches to help you narrow it down. 

Apple Watch Series 3: The most affordable option with a few trade-offs

If you’re still unsure about making the leap from analogue wrist watch to smartwatch, or if you’re on a budget, the Apple Watch Series 3 may just be your ticket. Starting at $200 the square watch face looks almost exactly the same as the more expensive models and packs in all the core fitness and smart features you need.

It’s an extension of your smartphone that lets you make calls, send texts, get notifications and listen to music, as well as a fitness tracker that pushes you to improve your activity levels with a ring-based system. 

Like the more expensive Apple Watches, the Series 3 automatically detects over 12 different workouts, including swimming and cycling, and it gives you access to Apple’s new Fitness Plus service, allowing you to stream guided workouts from home. And thanks to its built-in GPS, you can track your route even when you don’t have your phone in tow. 

The Apple Watch Series 3 will also keep track of your cardio fitness levels. It has a lot of the same health features as the SE and the Series 6 including basic sleep tracking; cycle tracking; and measuring high, low and irregular heart rate alerts. The health features it misses out on include the built-in ECG, blood oxygen or SpO2 tracking, noise alerts and fall detection.

Series 3 downsides: No LTE and it’s the older model

Despite its draws, there’s the risk that this watch may have a shorter shelf life. It’s currently the oldest model to receive WatchOS updates (Apple’s smartwatch operating system) and only offers 8GB of storage which would preclude any larger updates in the future. This doesn’t mean it’ll stop working all of a sudden, but if and when it’s left out of the WatchOS update cycle, you won’t have access to the latest features and the integration with the iPhone ($285 at Amazon) may not be as seamless. 

Also, Apple only offers a GPS version of the Series 3, so it won’t work if you’re buying it as a primary device for a child or family member and you want to use Family Setup. 

Apple Watch SE: The best bang for your buck

The Apple Watch SE is the Apple Watch I recommend for most people because it has the best balance of price and features. It costs more than the Series 3, but if you have a little wiggle room in your budget it may be worth it for the faster processor (S5 chip vs. S3), a bigger and brighter screen, louder speaker, fall detection and longer battery life. That last one is key if you’re using the Watch to track your sleep. The SE is also the cheapest option if you need an LTE model of the Apple Watch. 

Apple Watch SE downsides: No extra health features, no always-on screen

The Apple Watch SE has a raise-to-wake screen, meaning it fades to black when it’s not in use. So if you’re not a fan of having to flick your wrist to see the time, this might be a deal-breaker. You won’t miss it if you’ve never used a watch with an always-on screen, but now that I’ve had a taste of the always-on display on the Series 6, it’d be hard for me to go back.

You also won’t get the advanced health sensors found in the Series 6: the ECG and the blood oxygen monitor.

Apple Watch Series 6: The FOMO-free smartwatch 

Starting at $399, the Apple Watch Series 6 has the most advanced features Apple offers on a smartwatch, with an even brighter screen than the Apple Watch SE that’s easy to see even when it’s on standby. 

The Series 6 is the only Watch with an always-on display and it has a built-in ECG app on your wrist. (These features were first introduced on the Apple Watch Series 5 in 2019, which Apple has since stopped selling.) The Series 6 is also the first, and only Apple Watch to monitor blood oxygen levels both on demand, or automatically as you go about your day (and while you sleep). It’s not FDA-cleared like the ECG app and is not intended to be used as a medical device, but you can see all your readings plotted out over time in the Health app on your iPhone. Most people won’t need all this data, but if you’re a health nut, or have any respiratory issues, it’s yet another source of information to keep tabs on. 

The Series 6 is the only Apple Watch that comes in a blue and red aluminum finish (aside from the silver, space grey and gold options) and the only model that’s available with a stainless steel or titanium frame. 

Apple Watch Series 6 downsides: Faster charging but shorter battery life 

For all its convenience, the always-on display drains the battery faster. The Apple Watch SE usually gives me a day and a half of battery before I need to recharge, while the Series 6 with always-on lasts 2 hours less. You can always disable the feature to get more out of the Watch, but that kind of defeats the purpose of getting it in the first place. 

The silver lining is that the Series 6 charges faster than its predecessors and reaches a full charge in 1.5 hours, versus 2 hours on the SE. 

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The next Apple Watch update finally has a release date and its bringing two game-changing features to your Apple Watch. With WatchOS 7.4, the Apple Watch becomes the key to unlock your iPhone with FaceID, even if you’re wearing a mask. It also brings AirPlay compatibility to Apple’s Fitness Plus service so you can cast your workouts on even more screens.

Read more: iOS 15: Every rumor about Apple’s new operating system we’ve heard

Unlock with Apple Watch 

With WatchOS 7.4 and iOS 14.5 on the iPhone (available to download next week) you’ll be able to opt in to a feature on the iPhone that lets you use the Apple Watch to authenticate Face ID when your face is covered. 

To activate the feature, both the Apple Watch and the iPhone need to be running the latest version of their respective software and must be password-protected. 

Toggle the feature on the iPhone under the Face ID and passcode option in the settings and make sure your Apple Watch is unlocked and on your wrist. You may be required to type in your password on the first try, but after this you should be able to swipe up to unlock the iPhone with Face ID.

The Watch will give you an alert and haptic feedback to let you know your iPhone has been unlocked.

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Cast Fitness Plus on Airplay 2 devices

If you have an Apple Watch and you’re trying out Apple’s new Fitness Plus service, you’ll now have more ways to work out. You can now cast the Apple Watch workout service on any device or TV with AirPlay 2. At launch, the service was only available to view on an iPhone, an iPad or a newer version of the Apple TV. 

You’ll still need to select a workout in the Fitness Plus app on your iPhone or iPad. Then either press the casting icon in the lower right hand corner of the screen or select screen mirroring in the quick settings section to cast to a device. 

The Apple Watch will get many of the same features found in iOS 14.5, including the 217 new emoji and the option to change your default music. Apple also released updates for iPadOS and TVOS.

The post WatchOS 7.4: Best new Apple Watch features to try first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

The OnePlus Watch looks and feels like a premium smartwatch without the price tag to match. For $159 (£149, roughly AU$270) the OnePlus Watch offers basic smartwatch features like getting notifications from your phone, plus advanced health features like blood oxygen monitoring, high and low heart rate alerts and a big battery that can last for a week or more. On paper, it sounds almost too good to be true, in practice, it is. 

In my week of testing I experienced serious connectivity issues and found some of the health metrics to be inaccurate. In its current state it’s hard to recommend the OnePlus Watch, but I expect it to evolve and improve in the coming months as the company addresses some of these issues in the public version of the app.

6.0

OnePlus Watch

$159 at OnePlus

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Like

• Elegant, circular design
• Cheaper than its competitors
• Battery lasts a week (or longer)

Don’t Like

• Watch regularly loses connection with the phone
• Heart rate data is unreliable
• No mobile payments

For the purpose of this review I was given an early version of the OnePlus Health app, which I loaded onto my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. The OnePlus Watch is only compatible with Android devices at launch, but the company says it will be rolling out iOS compatibility in the future. 

Nothing cheap about its design 

It’s rare for a product to look better in person than in photos, but the OnePlus Watch is the exception. I was immediately taken by its strikingly large 46mm circular screen, enclosed in a sleek stainless steel frame and slim silhouette which rested comfortably on my wrist. I like the simple design: no dials or rotating bezels, just the touch screen and two small buttons on the side. The silicone watch bands can easily swap out with a quick release button latch. My one complaint with the design is that the watch only comes in one size which overwhelmed my wrist and would suit larger wrists better. Fortunately, it didn’t get in my way too much during sleep.

Up close with the sleek OnePlus Watch

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Very basic smartwatch functionality 

The OnePlus Watch is Wi-Fi only, meaning it’s a perfectly acceptable phone companion (when it actually connects), but is far from a phone replacement. It mirrors notifications, makes and answers phone calls, and can serve as a remote for your phone camera or OnePlus TV. It can store music, but you have to load it manually using the mobile app. It has no Spotify support, or any third party apps for that matter. It also lacks NFC for mobile payments.

My biggest issue with the watch was that the connection with the phone was inconsistent. It would randomly disconnect from the phone and I’d have to unlock my phone, open the app and sometimes even re-pair the watch for it to sync. This would happen even when the phone was in Bluetooth range. As a result, I would stop receiving notifications on the watch and the watch would stop transmitting data to the app. 

Health and fitness metrics need work

The watch can track over 110 different workout types including swimming, as it has a 5ATM IP68 rating which means it is water resistant down to 50 meters. You should be able to leave your phone behind on a run, because the OnePlus Watch does have built-in GPS to track your route, but it’s not the most reliable. I went on a couple of runs where the GPS didn’t connect and as a result I couldn’t see my route after I completed my run. 

I like that it breaks out your heart rate zones based on intensity during workouts so I could see how hard I was working in each exercise, but the numbers were off. I compared the heart rate from the watch to my chest strap — the gold standard for tracking heart rate during a workout — and noticed some inconsistencies between the two. Heart rate on the OnePlus Watch lagged behind the strap’s during my runs and couple be anywhere from 5-15 beats per minute off when compared in real time. Once on the workout summary in the app, the numbers seemed to even out and showed a much smaller difference in peak and average bpm between the watch and the chest strap, but if you’re looking for minute by minute accuracy this is not the watch for you. 

Even smartwatches that have received medical accreditations like FDA clearance should never be used in place of a physician, but the OnePlus Watch missed the mark on more than just heart rate tracking during a workout. I wasn’t expecting hospital grade accuracy from the OnePlusWatch, but having viable heart rate data is important to fitness tracking, calculating calories burned and for heart rate alerts. 

In addition to continuous heart rate monitoring, the OnePlus Watch also alerts you when your heart rate is higher or lower than a certain threshold. I received a high heart rate alert from the watch one morning while lying in bed. Concerned, I strapped on another HR tracker to cross-check and my heart rate was in the normal range. The false positive from the watch was enough to put me on edge for the rest of the day.

Read more: OnePlus Watch vs. Apple Watch spec comparison: Not in the same league

The watch also measures SpO2 (blood oxygen levels) on demand or during sleep as well as stress levels throughout the day using heart rate variability. When I took a reading on demand, the SpO2 data was within range of my pulse oximeter (the standard device for this type of measurement), but I felt as though the low stress reading was not indicative of my actual stress level during a particularly nerve-wracking week. This anomaly is not exclusive to the OnePlus Watch however, as I’ve had similar conflicting results from other heart rate-based stress detectors on other smartwatches. 

The biggest issue I had was that none of my sleep data synced with the OnePlus Health app, including the SpO2 data. Every morning the watch gave me a brief sleep summary on the screen, which appeared to reflect my activity at night, but after six nights with the watch, none of this data ever showed up or synced to the app. OnePlus says the final version of the app will address the sleep tracking issue, but I have yet to test it out for myself. I will update this review once I have. 

Battery life is on track 

The one feature it does deliver on is battery life. I didn’t have to charge it once in the seven days I had it on my wrist. The company claims the watch will last two weeks between charges with normal use, but features like SpO2 tracking at night and GPS use start to add up, so I’m ending my week with little to spare. This is still miles ahead of the battery life from some of its competitors like the Apple Watch SE and Galaxy Watch Active 2 — which don’t go past the two-day mark — and not having to charge it every night before bed is great for sleep tracking, as long as you can actually get the watch to sync in the morning to see your data. But despite the long-lasting battery, you do sacrifice certain things like an always on display (it’s raise-to-wake only) and overall screen brightness as I found it hard to see the screen in direct sunlight even with the brightness set to maximum. 

The watch charges quickly: You can get a full day of power from five minutes on the charger, or wait 20 minutes for a week’s worth of charge.

Pending fixes, proceed with caution

The OnePlus Watch is the company’s first smartwatch so I expect it to get better with time. If you’re already in the OnePlus ecosystem, the price alone should be reason enough to consider it, once the company has had more time to iron out the kinks. While it does most of what it promises on paper, it was particularly buggy at launch. The good news is that this may improve as OnePlus fixes its syncing and software issues with subsequent app updates. But the inconsistencies in metrics like heart rate tracking during a workout and high heart rate alerts may be harder to fix, and I still wouldn’t rely on this as a serious sports watch.

First published April 13.

The post OnePlus Watch review: It would be hard to recommend this smartwatch, honestly first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

Fitbit is betting on a fashion-first fitness tracker with the Luxe band. The $150 (converts to about £110 or AU$200) tracker is a slimmer, sleeker version of previous Fitbit trackers like the Inspire 2. It can be camouflaged to look like jewelry with a wide range of band options. It packs in some of Fitbit’s best health features like advanced sleep metrics and stress tracking, but misses out on others like built-in GPS and mobile payments with the same five-day battery life as Fitbit’s other trackers. 

A design that makes it stand out from the crowd

My first impression of the Fitbit Luxe is that it looks like a hybrid between the Fitbit Charge 4 and the Inspire, but with rounded edges and a slimmer body. It has a small rectangular touch screen that curves to the shape of the wrist and it’s the first of Fitbit’s trackers with a full-color display enclosed in a stainless steel frame (available in gold and platinum). 

What elevates its aesthetic is its wide array of bands that can easily be swapped out to make it look less like a tracker, and more like a bracelet. Fitbit offers everything from silicone sports bands to leather loop bands for the Luxe. The company has also partnered with jewelry maker Gorjana for a chain-link special edition version. 

Better health monitoring, basic fitness tracking

Unlike other trackers, fitness is not the main purpose of the Luxe. 

Instead, Fitbit is positioning it more as a holistic wellness tracker than a dedicated fitness band. The two main factors that it’s looking at are stress and sleep. Instead of using a designated sensor like the $250 Fitbit Sense, which has an electrodermal activity sensor to monitor stress, the Luxe uses activity levels, sleep and heart rate to calculate the body’s ability to handle stress. Then, it issues a daily stress management score. It measures breathing rate, heart rate variability, resting heart rate and skin temperature variation. It will also be able to measure blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) in the future. The stress management score will also be rolling out to other Fitbit devices with heart rate tracking.  

Even though fitness is not the focus, the Luxe tracks up to 20 workout types and has automatic workout detection if you forget to start a session. But unlike the Charge 4 which has built-in GPS, the Luxe relies on your phone to track routes for outdoor workouts. 

It also includes a six-month subscription to Fitbit Premium ($9.99 a month) which gives users a more comprehensive look at their health metrics as well as providing guided workouts, meditation sessions and wellness coaching.

Limited smart features and OK battery life

Everything else on the tracker is secondary. It displays notifications, reminders and can serve as an alarm or stopwatch, but lacks mobile payments through Fitbit Pay and it doesn’t come with any kind of music control or storage. Fitbit claims a five-day battery on the Luxe, but it may depend on usage. 

The Fitbit Luxe is available in the US starting April 19 for $150. Its combination of looks and features may entice a new type of user that doesn’t need all the extra bells and whistles or extra bulk from a full-fledged smartwatch. However at $150, plus the cost of accessories — which can add anywhere from $30 to $200 –it faces steep competition from other Fitbit devices and cheaper trackers like the Xiaomi Mi Band 6, which costs half the price. 

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The Nurvv Run insoles have made me rethink the way I run. I’ve been experiencing major knee pain after my runs and wanted to figure out if these $300 smart insoles could help improve my form and in turn help me run pain-free. I’ll admit, I had ulterior motives beyond this review when I first started my testing. 

Running is a form of therapy for me, so I want to do everything in my power to ensure that I can keep doing it for as long as my body will allow. After a month of using the Nurvv Run in my regular running shoes, they’ve helped me make some changes that could have long term effects on my health and technique.  

There are two parts to the Nurvv: the insoles that house all the sensors, and the two trackers that clip onto your favorite running shoes. Each insole has 16 sensors that detect the pressure you’re putting on your foot with every step you take. Together with the app and trackers, they can analyze everything from step length to foot strike balance in real time to give you feedback on how to reduce injury. While the insoles themselves aren’t new, the company has rolled out major updates since their launch in the first half of 2020. 

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Setting up the Nurvv Run

Just slip the smart insoles under the regular insole of your running shoes and clip the sensors to the outside of the shoe, near your ankle. I was worried about running with extra hardware on my feet, but over time I forgot they were even there. 

You have to make sure those sensors are clipped in tight before every run, because they’re hard to maneuver once your foot is in the shoe. Once they’re in, they are supposed to stay on, but I did find they came loose on a few occasions and started flapping around my ankles mid-run. They’re mud, rain and sweat resistant, although I wasn’t bold enough to jump in a puddle to test this out.  

On paper you should get about five consecutive hours of run time, but I haven’t maxed them out considering most of my runs are around 30 minutes (roughly 5K). I’ve been able to squeeze about four 30-minute sessions before having to recharge. 

See it at Best Buy

Going for a run 

Once everything is in place and you’ve turned on the trackers, the next step is to pair them with the Nurvv app. They paired relatively quickly, but sometimes I’d have to reboot the app to get them to connect. The app is also tricky to navigate and going back to a previous page often meant I’d have to leave the app altogether and start again. 

But once you get past the teething problems and the Nurvv Run are paired, you can see the information from the insoles pop up in real time on your phone screen. Each sensor will light up a different color based on the amount of pressure you apply which is fascinating to watch live. Big jumps would turn them red, and light taps would turn them green.  

If all the sensors are active, then you’re ready to roll. There are three ways to start a run: You from the app if you’re planning to take your phone with you; link to your smartwatch and go phone free; or ditch all devices and start a run directly from the trackers. The indicators will flash green when the trackers are connected to GPS (built-in) and will start tracking when you press the side button. 

The Nurvv is compatible with a long list of smartwatches including the Apple Watch and Garmin watches, but it had a hard time connecting to my Apple Watch — I think this could be fixed with a software update. 

During a run you can see your standard metrics like pace, distance, elapsed time and heart rate on your phone or on your wrist if you’ve connected to any Bluetooth heart rate tracker like your watch.

But the real fun starts after your run. The app breaks it down into different metrics that go beyond what any smartwatch or fitness tracker could give you like cadence, step length, pronation and foot strike (this shows what part of the foot you land on). 

Click into each category to see your data mapped out over the course of your run, plus a detailed explanation of what each metric means. This was extremely helpful for me, especially because the app offers suggestions on how to improve each metric, both during and post run. 

I learned that I could use work on all fronts, but what resonated the most with me was learning about my pronation and foot strike balance. I learned I was favoring my heel during runs and I should distribute the force more evenly throughout my foot to reduce impact on my joints (aka my knees) and reduce injury. It also recommended I strengthen specific muscle groups in my legs to help with balance and gave me specific exercises I could do.

A personal running coach in your ear 

Once you’ve logged about four runs, you can start doing coached runs to meet a goal, such as improving your time or a recovery run. Once I was able to make peace with having a robotic voice in my ear, I found the coached runs helped keep me in check with my optimal step length and cadence. 

This would be helpful if I was training for a  race, but the coach didn’t give me much else to work on. That said, I haven’t tested a recovery run yet to see whether that would provide any more feedback about balance or pronation. Unfortunately the coach doesn’t seem to factor in hills, which are plentiful in San Francisco where I run, and it expected me to maintain the same step length and cadence even when going up a steep hill. 

The app also gives you a running health score so you can check to see if the tweaks to form are paying off. After logging five runs on the app, it seems like I’ve been putting the feedback into practice because my data is on an upward trend on all fronts. 

The verdict

I haven’t worn these long enough to know what the long term effects on my knee pain will be, but so far I’ve noticed a few improvements in my running form and speed.  The real benefit so far has been knowing what I can do to improve my form during and after a run, or specific exercises to strengthen my muscles. 

I can also see the Nurvv helping me shave a few seconds off my PR (personal record) next time I’m training for a race. The company says the insoles will have to be replaced every three years or so, but you can keep the trackers and pay around $170 for just the insole replacements. In short, if you’re an avid runner, and looking to take your workout to the next level, I would recommend at least checking them out. 

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OnePlus has entered the wearables market with its new OnePlus Watch, a seemingly high-end smartwatch in both looks and features, but at a lower price than the competition. The $159 (£149, roughly AU$270) OnePlus Watch has a lot going for it. It has a sleek design, advanced health sensors to keep tabs on blood oxygen and stress levels, and a week-long (or more) battery life that could put the Samsung Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch to shame.

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But it’s not without its shortcomings. It’s not compatible with iOS devices (yet), and has fewer third-party apps. 

In addition to its new watch, OnePlus has also introduced two new phones, the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro.

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Simple, circular design  

At first glance, the OnePlus Watch bears a striking resemblance to the Galaxy Watch Active, Samsung’s $250 sports watch. It has a round watch face and AMOLED touchscreen enclosed in a stainless steel frame. But unlike the Galaxy Watch Active, which comes in two sizes, the OnePlus Watch is only available in a 46mm case with interchangeable watch bands that can be swapped out for third-party alternatives. The watch also lacks a rotating bezel or digital crown and you’ll have to use either the touchscreen or two side buttons to navigate. It feels comfortable to wear, but I was surprised by how massive it looked once I strapped it on my medium-sized wrist.

Basic smartwatch functionality 

The OnePlus Watch does everything you’d expect a smartwatch to do in 2021: display and respond to notifications, make and answer phone calls, play music and serve as a remote for your phone camera and OnePlus TV. But it doesn’t have Spotify support or any other music app, for that matter. Instead it comes with 2GB of internal storage for music. That translates to about 500 songs, which you can listen to on the go when paired with Bluetooth earbuds. It’s only compatible with OnePlus and other Android phones for now, but the company says iOS support will come in time. 

Health and fitness features go beyond the basics

The watch also does your basic fitness tracking with over 110 different workout types to choose from and automatically logs your runs regardless of whether or not you have your phone with you. It has built-in GPS and a 5ATM IP68 rating, which makes it safe for swim tracking. 

It also goes beyond the basics and can measure SpO2 (blood oxygen levels) on demand, as well as detect stress levels and flag abnormally high heart rates. We’ll report back on accuracy on both fitness and health features once we’re able to test it out for ourselves. 

Battery life for days  

The other big selling point for the OnePlus Watch, aside from its price tag, is its battery life. Even if it doesn’t last the two weeks of normal use that the company claims (one week firing at all cylinders), it’s still miles ahead of the Galaxy Watch 3 and Apple Watch, which barely make it to the 48-hour mark. 

The watch also charges fast: You can get a full day of power from five minutes on the charger, or wait 20 minutes for a week’s worth of charge.

Time will tell

The One Plus Watch seems to check all the boxes when it comes to price, features and design, but the jury’s still out on whether or not the company’s first smartwatch can deliver on all of its promises. Once I finish testing it out, I’ll be able to tell you whether it’s as good of a deal as it sounds. 

The OnePlus Watch goes on sale April 14. It’s available from OnePlus. 

The post OnePlus Watch: Premium looks without the premium price first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

At first glance it seems like the Apple Watch has a worthy competitor in the new OnePlus Watch. For starters, it has a sleek circular screen that looks more like a traditional wristwatch than the square Apple Watch. It also shares a lot of the same health features as the $400 Apple Watch Series 6 including SPO2 (or blood oxygen) tracking and high heart rate alerts but it costs $160. The OnePlus watch is even $40 cheaper than the entry-level Series 3 Apple Watch, which starts at $200. 

But even with all these features and a cheaper price, the OnePlus Watch has one major shortcoming preventing it from competing in the same league as the Apple Watch. It’s not yet compatible with the iPhone. 

Read more: Apple Watch SE vs Series 6 vs. Series 3: How to choose?

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iOS compatibility: Worth the wait?

OnePlus says iOS compatibility is coming to the Watch in the future, but we don’t know exactly how it will work. Apple does support pairing non-Apple wearables to the iPhone, but the experience is not the same as using the Apple Watch. 

Fitbit, Samsung and the One Plus watches for example allow you to respond to notifications and take calls on Android, but iPhone users can’t so much as send a thumbs up emoji from their wrist, let alone take a quick call, unless they own an Apple Watch. One of the main benefits of having a smartwatch is being able to quickly glance and respond to notifications on your wrist, otherwise you might as well wear a simple fitness band. 

You may also be limited when it comes to other connectivity options like LTE. The Apple Watch has a version with built-in LTE so you can use your watch independently of the phone, while the OnePlus Watch only has a WiFi model.

Anecdotally, I’ve also found that non-Apple watches don’t  sync as fast when connected to iOS compared to the Apple Watch. 

Specs compared 

If you’re willing to overlook the compatibility shortcomings on iOS in favor of the cheaper price tag and longer battery life there are other things to consider. 

In terms of design, it’s a matter of preference. Do you like square-ish or circular watchfaces? They both have AMOLED screens, but screen brightness is just as important and we haven’t seen the OnePlus in action yet so can’t say if it’s as bright as the newest Apple Watch. 

The other design factor is size. While the Apple Watch offers a 40 and 44 mm option, the OnePlus Watch only comes in a 46 mm watch face option with a black frame, which may overwhelm smaller wrists. Both have interchangeable watch bands. 

Accuracy on health and fitness tracking is TBD

Both watches track pace, distance and heart rate with built-in GPS and water resistance, so you can use them to track swims. The OnePlus Watch offers over 100 different workout options compared to over 40 on the Apple Watch. There’s even a parkour option which you won’t find on the Apple Watch. 

Health features seem similar. They both have high heart rate alerts, monitor blood oxygen levels and track sleep. The OnePlus also uses heart rate to track stress which the Apple Watch doesn’t, but lacks an electrocardiogram like what you’ll find on the top of the line Series 6. 

But Apple has a good track record in validating its health and fitness features, including FDA-clearance for the ECG app. The OnePlus Watch is completely new to the space and will require testing and validation, both from reviewers and medical associations alike. 

Music is lacking on the OnePlus Watch

If music is a must on your smartwatch, then the Apple Watch takes the crown. You can stream Apple Music or Spotify on the LTE version of the Apple Watch, or store songs from your own library for offline listening, with storage capacity varying on the version. If you want to listen to music on the OnePlus watch you’ll have to preload it yourself. It has 2GB worth of storage which is good for about 500 songs. 

Unbeatable battery life on the OnePlus Watch

OnePlus is the clear winner when it comes to battery life, claiming two weeks of runtime before needing a charge. Obviously this must also be taken with a grain of salt until we can run our own tests, but even if the OnePlus Watch delivers just half of what it promises, it’s still miles ahead of any Apple Watch which lasts a day and a half at best. The Apple Watch also takes anywhere between 1.5 to 2 hours to reach a full charge, while OnePlus says its watch can get a full week of charge in 20 minutes. 

Jury’s still out 

Even with iOS compatibility, the OnePlus Watch has a lot to prove. On paper it seems like a worthy Apple Watch rival, but we won’t know how well it executes on all of its promises until we test it out for ourselves. In the meantime, the $200 Apple Watch Series 3 continues to be the best budget option for iPhone users. 

The post Apple Watch vs. OnePlus Watch: One big reason there’s really no competition first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.

7.8

Fitbit Versa 3

$230 at Fitbit

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Like

• Up to six days’ battery life
• Bright, always-on AMOLED display
• Advanced sleep tracking
• Onboard GPS
• Mic and speaker for text dictation

Don’t Like

• Relies heavily on mobile app
• Slow to sync
• Health metrics are hard to find
• Notification replies are Android-only

The Fitbit Versa 3 is Fitbit’s best smartwatch for most people. With an always-on display, built-in GPS, blood oxygen and temperature tracking during sleep, and a battery that lasts six days, the Versa 3 holds its own against some of its pricier competitors like the Apple Watch SE and even the Fitbit Sense. While you don’t get the stress tracker and FDA-cleared electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) like the Sense, the rest of the Versa 3’s smartwatch and fitness features are similar. As an added bonus, the Versa 3 costs $100 less than the Sense.

Better design all-around 

The Versa 3 still has the same square-ish watch body and metal frame as its predecessor the Versa 2, but it now has a larger 1.58-inch AMOLED screen with slimmer bezels. It’s bright, crisp and easy to see in direct sunlight. It can stay always-on (as a toned-down version with fewer metrics displayed) to give you a quick glance at the time without moving your wrist. And since Fitbit supports third-party watch faces, you have hundreds of different options to choose from. 

Despite its aesthetic improvements, the touchscreen and Fitbit interface still aren’t as responsive as what you’d get on an Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch, which also have AMOLED screens. The Versa 3 lags a bit between swipes and takes a while to load apps and display information.

Instead of a physical button on the side of the watch like its predecessors, the Versa 3 now has an indented haptic side button. In theory, this works exactly like a real button, but the haptic feedback is nowhere near as satisfying as pressing a real button and it takes some getting used to. 

Fortunately, not all the design changes have a learning curve. Fitbit has also overhauled the strap mechanism on the Versa 3 and now all you have to do to swap out bands is press a button. It’s so much easier than previous models, which had a tiny, fiddly clasp.

Better training tools for fitness tracking

At this point it’s safe to assume most Fitbit devices can handle your basic fitness-tracking needs, measuring steps, distance, calories burned and heart rate. The Versa 3 covers the basics well and has the same fitness features as the more expensive Sense. It tracks 20 different activities including indoor and outdoor swimming and has automatic workout detection for some exercise types like running if you forget to start a session. 

It’s also the first Versa smartwatch to have built-in GPS, although not the first Fitbit, as the Charge 4 and Sense also have built-in GPS. As a runner, not having GPS on earlier Versa models was a big pain point for me as I would have to take my phone to get a map of my run (or bike ride). With the Versa 3, I can leave my phone behind and still get the distance and route information of my outdoor workouts. The one downside is that the watch can take a few minutes to lock on to a GPS signal. You’re supposed to stand still while it does this, but I would forget and take off immediately after pressing start, then it would take about four minutes before receiving the confirmation. 

The Versa 3 can also give you heart rate zone notifications during workouts. These use your heart rate to determine your effort level, so the watch buzzes to notify you as you enter different zones such as fat burn, cardio or peak for example. This can help you have a sense of when to push yourself a bit harder, or ease up a bit during training. Instead of using steps taken as the sole measure of success during your day, the Versa 3 has a metric called Active Zone Minutes which uses heart rate data to determine how long you’ve engaged in some sort of physical activity, even the ones that don’t require walking around much. So rather than aiming for 10,000 steps, you can aim for something like 20 or more Active Zone Minutes, depending on your goals. According to Fitbit, Active Zone Minutes are a more accurate representation of your fitness level than steps alone. 

I like that the Versa 3, as well as other Fitbit devices, sets weekly activity goals rather than judging you on a daily basis. As a parent of two small kids, working from home and trying to squeeze in workouts during a pandemic is tough. I definitely have my off days, so weekly goals were much more realistic and encouraging. I’d look at my daily stats on the watch as a work in progress rather than as a complete failure. The Versa 3 notifies you (and celebrates with an on-screen animation) when you reach your goal before the end of the week. You’ll continue to accumulate points until the end of the week and can see a detailed breakdown of your activity in the Fitbit mobile app.

You can even find out how fit you are if you’re willing to dig deep enough into the settings. The Versa 3 uses your heart rate to estimate your Vo2 max (maximum oxygen consumption during exercise) and plots it on a graph to tell you how you compare to your demographic. On the Fitbit mobile app it’s called Cardio Fitness levels and you can find it by pressing the heart rate tile on the Today summary and swiping left on the graph.

Fitbit Premium subscribers also have access to guided workout programs and videos. A premium subscription costs $10 a month, but you get three months free with the Versa 3. You follow along on your phone with classes from brands such as Popsugar and Daily Burn, or you can download an entire workout to your watch using the Fitbit Coach app. Downloading a workout was more practical for me, as I could usually squeeze in a 10-minute ab workout right after a run without having to look at my phone for instructions. 

Read more: Best smartwatches of 2021

Plenty of health data if you want it 

But the Versa 3 is much more than a fitness tracker. It also monitors other aspects about your health, including SpO2 (blood oxygen levels), breathing rate and variations in skin temperature while you sleep, which can collectively help paint a broader picture of your overall health.

It’s important to note, however, that this is not a medical device, and should not be used for diagnostic purposes. Always consult with a physician or other qualified health provider about any health-related issues you may have about a medical condition or health objectives. Only the ECG on the Fitbit Sense has received FDA clearance. 

Fitbit shines when it comes to sleep tracking and the Versa 3 provides one of the most comprehensive looks at your sleep compared to any other smartwatch. Whether that’s actually helpful to you is another thing. 

It takes into account duration as well as the different stages of sleep (deep, light and REM), which is standard when it comes to sleep tracking. But then it also breaks out your breathing rate, heart rate, blood oxygen levels and variations in skin temperature while you sleep, and you can review all these stats in the Fitbit app in the morning.

Fitbit also offers advanced sleep analytics for Premium subscribers which put some of this information into context by telling you how you compare to the average person, which was helpful for an amateur sleep tracker like myself. It also gives you tips on how to improve your sleep. For me, that includes getting to bed earlier, which I was already well aware of. Sadly it can’t force me into bed at 10 p.m. — yet.

But one of the biggest pain points for me was that you can’t get this information at a glance on your watch face when you wake up. There’s a summary of your sleep and your SpO2 range (as long as you use a specific watch face), but you’ll have to switch to the Fitbit app for more insights. To me, that kind of defeats the purpose of having a smartwatch. I’d often go days or sometimes even weeks without checking the app. When I did go in and check, though, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the data I found. For skin temperature variability for example, I noticed the dips in the chart coincided with some of the changes in my menstrual cycle (note that the Fitbit Sense also monitors skin temperature too) and I can see how you could start to make correlations between some of these data points over time. Temperature tracking is not something you’ll probably use on a daily basis, but it’s nice to have so much data about yourself to look back on if you ever need it. 

The Versa 3 will soon get a new Readiness Score for Fitbit Premium users that takes into account heart rate variability, sleep data and activity level so you can determine if you should push yourself on a workout, or take a rest day. You’ll also receive recommended workouts, meditations and a personalized active zone minutes goal depending on your score.

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The Versa 3 gets smarter, but still can’t catch the Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch

Fitbit’s previous smartwatches lagged behind competitors such as the more expensive Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch as they lacked a wide selection of third-party apps and LTE connectivity. The Versa 3 has the same drawbacks and relies heavily on the phone, but it’s at least starting to catch up to the pack, especially when paired with an Android phone. 

The Versa 3 now has a built-in microphone and speaker so you can take quick calls on your wrist if you have an Android phone or iPhone. You can also pair the Versa 3 with Bluetooth earbuds. Incoming call notifications will be displayed on the watch regardless of which phone you have, but only Android users will be able to respond to messages from their wrist with quick replies, or by dictating a response. 

You can also bark orders at your wrist with two choices of voice assistant on the Versa 3: Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant. And while I haven’t had a chance to fully compare them yet (Google Assistant launched while I was already well into my review) for now Alexa is the only one that can read your responses out loud rather than just displaying them on the screen. 

You can also make contactless payments with the Versa 3 with Fitbit Pay and listen to music from Pandora or Deezer. There is no onboard music storage for songs you own, like MP3 files. Instead, you’ll need a Pandora or Deezer subscription to save and store songs for offline listening. While the Versa 3 does have a Spotify app, you can only use it as a remote to control playback on your phone. 

Battery life is second to none

The Versa 3 may not be the smartest watch, but it destroys the competition on battery life. Even firing on all cylinders with the always-on display active, a couple GPS workouts and sleep tracking, I was still able to get almost three days of battery out of the watch. You can extend this up to six days with more moderate use and by disabling the always-on display. The Versa 3 also charges faster than previous Versa watches: Fitbit says 12 minutes on the charger will get you a full 24 hours of battery, and 30 minutes on the charger gets you to 100%. But if you’re updating from a previous model, note that the Versa 3 uses a new, proprietary charger so it’s not compatible with your previous one. It’s magnetic and must be positioned at just the right angle to charge, which takes some getting used to. 

A happy medium of health features and fitness tracking

The Versa 3 has enough health metrics for people looking to learn more about their bodies without having to spend extra on the Fitbit Sense. It offers practical fitness tools for training and can finally be regarded as a viable option for outdoor running and cycling thanks to its built-in GPS. And it does sleep tracking better than any smartwatch I’ve tested so far. 

While the Versa 3 is a solid smartwatch option for Android owners, the Charge 4 may be a better bet for iPhone users wanting a a Fitbit device. For about $100 less, you get a lot of the same great health and fitness features. You lose the some of the added smart features like voice to text replies, but many of them aren’t iPhone-compatible anyway.

Read more: Fitbit Sense, Versa 3 and Inspire 2 are here: How to decide which to buy

First published Dec. 1

The post Fitbit Versa 3 review: A smartwatch that over delivers on health features first appeared on Joggingvideo.com.