Sense
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Fitbit unveils Sense 2, Versa 4 and Inspire 3 in smartwatch and fitness tracker refresh
Fitbit offers major updates to its Sense and Versa lines, and gussies-up the Inspire for good measure.
Fitbit smartwatches now detect snoring and other loud noises
Fitbit is rolling out snore and noise detection on Sense and Versa 3 smartwatches — you may learn if those sounds are disrupting your sleep.
Fitbit's Sense smartwatch falls to a new low of $240 at Amazon
This is your chance to grab Fitbit's Sense smartwatch for $90 less than its original price: It's now available for $240 on Amazon.
Fitbit trackers and smartwatches are at all-time low prices
You can now pickup Fitbit's Sense smartwatch for $249, the cheapest price we've seen yet.
Fitbit's Sense smartwatch begins receiving ECG app update
One of the Fitbit Sense’s most notable features is its ability to assess heart rhythms for atrial fibrillation through an ECG app. When the FDA cleared that app for use back in September, Fitbit said it would be available for users this month. Now, the fitness wearable maker has revealed that the ECG app has started rolling out in the US and select regions in Asia and Europe.
Fitbit's OS for the Sense and Versa 3 won't come to earlier smartwatches
Fitbit's Sense and Versa 3 smartwatches have a new OS with interface improvements, but it won't be available on older models — not even the Versa 2.
Fitbit gets FDA clearance for its Sense smartwatch and ECG app
Fitbit's Sense smartwatch will be able to detect atrial fibrillation when it arrives in October.
Researchers built robotic skin with a sense of touch
Using Intel's neuromorphic Loihi chip, researchers created a robotic skin that detects touch more than 1,000 times faster than the human sensory nervous system.
Google researchers taught an AI to recognize smells
For decades, perfumers and scientists have struggled to predict the relationship between a molecule's structure and its scent. While scientists can look at a wavelength of light and identify what color it is, when it comes to scents, scientists can't simply look at a molecule and identify its odor. Researchers from the Google Brain Team are hoping AI might change that. In a paper published on Arxiv, they explain how they're training AI to recognize smells.
Researchers create an artificial skin that makes your phone ticklish
We're so reliant on our smartphones that it's probably fair to say they've become an extension of ourselves, so the fact that scientists have now developed an artificial "skin" for our devices -- that has the ability to make them ticklish -- is not a huge surprise. Horrifying, maybe, but it was only a matter of time.
Schlage Sense now locks itself with an Alexa voice command
You can already lock and unlock Schlage's Sense smart deadbolt with your voice through Siri, but you now have another choice if you're not a fan of Apple devices. The smart lock is now compatible with Amazon Alexa, so you can lock (but unfortunately, not unlock) it or check out its status by barking out voice commands through an Echo speaker or any of the e-retail giant's Alexa-enabled devices. If you want to play with the integration a bit more, you can fire up the Alexa app and create "routines" for your smart devices triggered by key words. For instance, you can create a sequence that automatically locks your front door and switches off the lights when you say "good night."
Will we be able to control the killer robots of tomorrow?
From ship-hunting Tomahawk missiles and sub-spying drone ships to semi-autonomous UAV swarms and situationally-aware reconnaissance robots, the Pentagon has long sought to protect its human forces with the use of robotic weapons. But as these systems gain ever-greater degrees of intelligence and independence, their increasing autonomy has some critics worried that humans are ceding too much power to devices whose decision-making processes we don't fully understand (and which we may not be entirely able to control).
Peter Thiel-backed bed sensor company Hello is put to sleep
In an announcement posted yesterday on Medium, Hello's founder James Proud said that his company would be shutting down. And Hello's product, the sleep monitor Sense, will be shutting down along with it.
Hello's 'Sense' sleep sensor gets voice controls
Hello Inc. has launched a new version of its sleep sensor called "Sense with Voice," with the highlight being (wait for it) voice commands. As a reminder, it consists of a sphere-shaped monitor and pill-shaped sensor that attaches to your pillow and detects your movements. Rather than just controlling it with a smartphone as before, you can now say "Okay Sense" to set the alarm, gauge your sleep quality or check environmental factors like the humidity and temperature.
Silk Labs Sense: Not your typical home monitoring camera
As useful as Nest's Dropcam is, it isn't the best looking home monitoring camera. Still, there aren't many of them that do a better job design-wise. Silk Labs, a startup founded by Mozilla's former CTO, Andreas Gal, sees this as an opportunity to offer something different. Enter Sense, which is similar to Dropcam in functionality but also comes with a few notable differences. For example, it's said to be smart enough to recognize multiple faces; that can be used to let you know if it thinks a stranger is in your home, or play music based on a particular individual's taste.
This is the HTC One M9
Surprise! After months of speculation and leaks, HTC is finally ready to show the world its latest flagship, the One M9. Sorry to disappoint, but those leaks were, for the most part, spot on. As they suggested, there's no major change in terms of industrial design here; the M9 looks a lot like the M8, which in turn looked a look like the original One. That means you're getting an aluminium unibody design with a 5-inch 1080p display framed at the top and bottom by HTC's trademark BoomSound speakers. Sure, it's a bit narrower, a little shorter, and a shade thicker than the M8 it replaces, but you'd be hard-pressed to tell the handsets apart at first glance.
Leaked HTC One M9 videos confirm new cameras and software tricks (updated)
If HTC was hoping to keep at least some of the One M9's details a secret, it's going to be sorely disappointed. Well-known tipster @Upleaks has posted three promo videos that reveal... well, just about everything. They confirm that the M9 will have a much higher-resolution 20-megapixel camera at the back, as well as an UltraPixel (likely 4MP) front cam for your low-light selfies. You'll also get Dolby surround sound from the One's signature BoomSound speakers. And that's just the hardware -- there's plenty on the software side, too.
HTC One M9 store images hint at an evolutionary phone design
HTC's plans for March 1st might just be out in the open. MobileGeeks has spotted German store listings for a new One phone whose images bear an uncanny resemblance to the One M9 spy photos from last month, complete with an oversized camera space and a flashy silver-and-gold color scheme for one model. The claimed 2GHz Snapdragon 810 chip, 20-megapixel rear camera and 4-megapixel front shooter will all sound familiar if you've been following rumors, but there are a few new twists here. The BlinkFeed news stream is different enough to suggest new software, and the body is a tad thicker than its predecessor -- possibly to offer space for the new camera, a bigger battery (supposedly 2,900mAh) or both. It's hard to say for sure that this is what you'll see in a week's time given contrasting reports, but it's at least plausible.
Mother welcomes developers into her creepy connected world
It's often said that "mother knows best," but sometimes, even mothers need council. Alright, so perhaps that's not true for tough, human matriarchs, but it does apply to Mother: the creepy-looking, internet-connected hub that's intended to make your dumb home smarter. You see, Mother communicates with small, multipurpose sensors called "Cookies," and instructs them to monitor one thing or another and report back, so it in turn can relay data and notifications back to you. Sense, the company behind Mother, has come up with various uses for Cookies, such as monitoring steps or sleep, but now it's seeking external inspiration. That's why, next month, it's launching a public API so developers can start dreaming up all kinds of new applications for the sensors. They'll also be able to plug data from Cookies into other apps and platforms -- your step count from a pedometer Cookie could be fed into a third-party fitness app, for example.
Sense sleep sensor monitors your zzz's and wakes you up at the best time
You're lucky if you can sleep easily and wake up feeling refreshed all the time -- some people need a bit help to get a good night's rest from apps and gizmos, like this new device called Sense. The gadget, which looks like a crystal ball with rubber bands, acts as some sort of a bedside sleep guardian that monitors not only your sleeping habits, but also environmental conditions. It comes with a "Sleep Pill" that clips to your pillow, which tracks your tosses and turns, automatically transmitting data to Sense via Bluetooth Low Energy and ANT. The gadget then relays all the info you need, including a sleep number to let you know how well (or how bad) you've slept, through the system's iPhone or Android app.
