Comprehensive sleep, recovery and health tracking without a smartwatch appeals, but cost and fit won’t suit everyone Smart rings are having a bit of a moment with the Oura seen adorning the fingers of celebrities and elite sportspeople alike. It promises the health-tracking features of a smartwatch squeezed into a much smaller, less techie device focused on sleep, recovery and resilience. But can it deliver for regular people, too? Now several years into its third iteration, the Oura Gen 3 is the most popular smart ring on the market, available in a range of attractive colours, metals and sizes. It looks and feels like an attractive piece of jewellery, and is priced accordingly, costing from £299 (€329/$299) and requiring a £6-a-month subscription on top. Keeping up with celebrity crazes has never been cheap. Continue reading...

Meet Friend: a ‘Tamagotchi with a soul’, wearable AI companion that records your interactions and texts back Your friend is named Amy. Or Jackson. Or whatever name you’d like. They support you, rib you and check in on how you’re doing. They’re a blisteringly attentive listener who will never ask you to help them move, or to come see their one-man play. They cost $99 and are expected to ship out in early 2025. Meet Friend: a new wearable AI companion that you wear around your neck. The small, white, puck-shaped device records your every word and interaction and responds accordingly by text. (The company says it does not store the audio; according to the website, data is encrypted and users can delete “memories”.) An ad for the product shows people wearing it while they hike, game, work and flirt. “How’s the falafel?” Friend asks a woman eating falafel wrap. “You’re getting thrashed, it’s embarrassing!” Friend texts a guy playing video games with friends (human). Continue reading...

Squeezing high-end features into a more affordable frame makes for an excellent mid-range smart sports tracker Garmin’s latest smart sports watch condenses all the great features from its higher-end Forerunner models into a cheaper, simpler running tracker with a bright OLED screen and long battery life. The Forerunner 165 is the new base model in Garmin’s new lineup, priced from £250 (€280/$250/A$429) compared with the £430 Forerunner 265. Screen: 1.2in AMOLED Case size: 43mm Case thickness: 11.6mm Band size: standard 20mm Weight: 39g Storage: 4GB Water resistance: 50 metres (5ATM) Sensors: GNSS (GPS, Glonass, Galileo), compass, thermometer, heart rate, pulse Ox Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+ (wifi with music) Continue reading...

Spec bumps keep Apple top of smartwatch pack, with faster Siri and new hands-free gesture Apple’s smartwatches get their first speed increase in years along with brighter screens and new hands-free gestures – keeping the market leader still miles ahead of the pack. The Apple Watch Series 9 comes in various sizes and materials and starts at £399 (€449/$399/A$649) – a £20 price cut in the UK. It launches alongside the Ultra 2 costing £799 (€899/$799/A$1,399), which is £50 cheaper than last year’s model. Continue reading...