Latest news with #smartwatch
Phone Arena
15 hours ago
- Phone Arena
Samsung's 2025 Galaxy Watch lineup is... interesting, but there's something missing
I absolutely hate that I even need to say this, but while color options are not particularly important (for me, at least) when it comes to new smartphones, smartwatches are an entirely different story. These are fashion items just as much as they are tech gadgets, which means that every design element can greatly matter for a prospective buyer. That includes the product's shape (which I'm actually not going to comment on today, as I'm not too bothered by the "squircle" Samsung will apparently expand to its entire Galaxy Watch family this year), key details like weight and thickness, and yes, paint jobs. The Galaxy Watch 8 is by no means what you'd call an eye-catching product. | Image Credit -- Evan Blass And while we're on the subject, why do "mainstream" rugged smartwatches have to come in a single size? That was the case for the first-gen Galaxy Watch Ultra, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Ultra 2, and there's apparently a very good chance the next-gen Galaxy Watch Ultra will offer no case size diversity whatsoever. I know, I know, a smaller-than-47mm Watch Ultra might need to cut some serious battery life corners, but who says there's no market for a compact rugged timepiece with no more than a day of running times between charges, a sleeker and thinner body, and ideally, a lower price point? Besides, if Garmin can pull off multiple sizes for so many of its popular robust smartwatches, why wouldn't Samsung be able to do the same thing? Of course, the single-size Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is a big problem too, and because it follows in the footsteps of a Galaxy Watch 6 Classic available with both 43 and 47mm cases, this problem is also hard to wrap my head around. Did anyone complain about too much variety on any of Samsung's previous wearable devices? If not, what is the company thinking?! Most of you will probably not agree with me on this, but I consider the Galaxy Watch FE to be the best Samsung smartwatch available right now. The reasons are fairly simple, and it obviously helps that I'm not exactly what you'd call a smartwatch power user. But even those of you who'd never think about buying anything but the latest and greatest high-end devices have to admit that the bang for buck is mighty strong with the first-ever Galaxy Watch Fan Edition, which is why Samsung should probably strike while the iron is hot and think about releasing a new generation as soon as possible. The first-gen Galaxy Watch FE is a great product, but a sequel could obviously be even better. | Image Credit -- Samsung Now, I'm fully aware that it's against the company's traditions to unveil budget-friendly Fan Editions alongside new flagships, but traditions are made to be changed, and if the Galaxy Watch 8 can look radically different from its predecessor, why couldn't a Galaxy Watch FE (2025) see daylight in an "uncharacteristic" timeline? Just think about it - a new $200 and up intelligent timepiece based on the Galaxy Watch 6 (or even the Watch 7) instead of the Watch 4 with pretty much all the health monitoring tools you need, a reasonably powerful processor, and stellar software support. Why would you ever consider the undoubtedly pricier Galaxy Watch 8 ? Oh, yeah, I get the problem now. I admit that this is just a pipe dream of mine right now, and I'm not entirely sure that it would work, but if there's one segment where tech companies should try to slim down their products and gauge demand, that's the wearable industry and not the smartphone market. Am I the only one who feels a Galaxy Watch Edge makes more sense than the Galaxy S25 Edge? | Image Credit -- PhoneArena Can you even picture a Galaxy Watch Edge or Galaxy Watch 8 Edge with a sub-9mm waist, sub-40-gram weight, premium build materials, a big and beautiful AMOLED touchscreen, and all the latest and greatest health and fitness tracking features around? That's more or less the description of the new Garmin Venu X1, so it can (probably) be done if we put enough pressure on Samsung... and understand that battery life could be a disaster if something like this ever materializes. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase This offer is not available in your area.
Finextra
18 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
Axis Bank introduces NFC-enabled smartwatch
In a strategic leap into wearable fintech, Axis smartwatch payments just became more seamless. 0 Axis Bank has launched an NFC-enabled smartwatch in collaboration with BoAt and Mastercard, transforming how consumers make contactless transactions on the go. Wave Fortune is designed to empower users with convenience, security, and a next-level smartwatch experience. Axis Bank cardholders can now securely tokenize and store their debit and credit cards on the WAVE Fortune Smartwatch via Crest Pay, boAt's official payment app and make contactless payments effortlessly. This feature, powered by Mastercard's tokenization technology and supported by the robust token requestor infrastructure of TAPPY Technologies, allows single-step payment of up to ₹5,000 on a POS device without entering card PIN, ensuring both speed and security. This launch further strengthens Axis smartwatch payments by integrating Mastercard's secure tokenization with BoAt's wearable design. Powered by Mastercard, the payment system allows users to securely tokenize and store their cards within the smartwatch strap for quick and seamless transactions. Axis Bank credit and debit cardholders on Mastercard and VISA networks will continue to enjoy the rewards and benefits of their linked card while making payments with the Wave Fortune smartwatch. Commenting on the partnership, Arnika Dixit, President & Head - Cards, Payments and Wealth Management, Axis Bank, said, 'At Axis Bank, we have been continuously working on innovation-led partnership models to offer innovative and secure digital banking solutions to customers. In this effort, we are delighted to have partnered with boAt to truly make payments on-the-go, seamlessly integrating contactless payments into people's day-to-day lives. Bringing in our expertise in tokenized contactless payments, 'Wave Fortune', a cuttingedge smartwatch will allow the users with the highest standards of safety and security, combined with a quick and convenient payment experience.' The rollout represents a leap forward in Axis smartwatch payments, making banking on the go both stylish and functional. Sameer Mehta, Co-founder and CEO, boAt, said, 'At boAt, we are always striving to push the boundaries of technology to enhance everyday convenience. Our partnership with Axis Bank brings secure, effortless payments to the wrist, making contactless transactions more accessible than ever.' Gautam Aggarwal, Division President, South Asia at Mastercard said, 'In the near future, payments will be gesture-based — integrated into our daily routines, with transactions occurring in a frictionless manner. Wearable devices, irrespective of the form factor, will play a key role in this evolution, offering quick and secure payment experiences. As a company committed to shaping this future of commerce, Mastercard is delighted to power the tokenization enabled smartwatch, empowering users to pay with their credit or debit cards
Gizmodo
21 hours ago
- Gizmodo
Garmin vívoactive 5 Smartwatch Is Cheaper Than Last Prime Day and Matches Its Black Friday Price
The warmer weather is here, the suns out well into the evening—now is a great time to start doing your workouts outside. Hit the roads and the trails, get some miles under your belt, and track it all using a premium fitness smartwatch. This Garmin vívoactive 5 will make the perfect gift to yourself. It's normally priced at $300, but right now you can get it for 33% off which brings it down to just $200, its lowest price ever. See at Amazon Designed for Your Lifestyle For those into fitness be it a specific activity, going for runs, or working out in the gym, Garmin's interface has dozens of different activity types. So you can track every time your lift, go for a hike, kayak, paddle-board, golf, rock climb, or whatever is you do to stay active. With built-in GPS, you'll be able to keep track of your distance covered and pace The screen is a vibrant 1.2-inch AMOLED display that's easy to see even in direct sunlight. Like other smartwatches, you can receive calls, text notifications so you can always stay connected without having to take your phone out of your pocket—compatible with both Android and iPhones. You can even view photos and other media texted to you directly from your watch's screen. You can also connect a credit card to you can use tap-to-pay right from the watch. Download music onto your Garmin watch for on-the-go listening. Individual songs or full playlists can be added from your Spotify, Deezer or Amazon Music accounts and listened to when connecting a pair of Bluetooth headphones. It will also help you get better sleep at night by tracking your sleep metrics. You can view personalized insights and recommend how much sleep you should be getting for the night ahead. It can even detect your naps and will show you how much it's reenergized you via a change in your Body Battery—a metric which considers your sleep, heart rate, daily steps, and more to assign your estimated energy level throughout the day. Speaking of battery, this watch is designed to keep up with you for weeks at a time. You'll get up to 11 days of battery life when using smart watch mode. The Garmin vívoactive 5 comes in several different choices of band colors. Choose between the stunning ivory, the cool navy, the floral orchid, or the classic black watch band to best match your own personal style. Get yours today for the reduced price of $200, saving a whole $100 in the process. See at Amazon
Phone Arena
a day ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
Limited-time sale brings the 44mm Galaxy Watch 7 back to its best price on Amazon
Completing your Galaxy ecosystem doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg—take the Galaxy Watch 7, for example. The 44mm version of this wearable can usually set you back as much as $330, but you can now get it for 30% off at Amazon. That's a limited-time sale, by the way, which is live only on the model in Silver. So, hurry up and get yours while you still can. $100 off (30%) For a limited time, you can buy the Galaxy Watch 7 with a 44mm case and Bluetooth connectivity for as much as 30%. This excellent promo saves you a hefty $100, but only on the model in Silver. Get yours and save while it lasts. Buy at Amazon That's a solid $100 off the smartwatch's original asking price, in case you're wondering. Also, it's the best discount that's gone live on Amazon so far in 2025. In fact, it's only been available once before, making this a rare savings opportunity you won't want to miss. The Galaxy Watch 7 is getting an update soon, but it's still one of the best Galaxy watches on the market. It packs a gorgeous 1.5-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with an impressive brightness level of 3,000 nits. On top of that, it's IP68-rated for excellent water and dust resistance, and you can even swim with it. As we've noted in our Galaxy Watch 7 review, you also get a set of workout and health-related features. You get the whole shebang—advanced workout tracking, heart-rate measurements, sleep tracking and coaching, and many more. What about battery life? The larger 44mm model boasts a 425mAh battery, which should be able to last about a day between charges. While that's not a stellar result, it's still more than decent, given all of its impressive features. At the end of the day, with the Galaxy Watch 8 coming up soon, some users may not want to invest in the previous model. But if you're not all about the latest and greatest timepieces, know that this Galaxy Watch 7 is a pretty solid bargain right now. Get the 44mm Galaxy Watch 7 with Bluetooth at Amazon and get your 30% discount while it lasts. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Android Authority
2 days ago
- Android Authority
Galaxy Watch 4's dreaded red screen of death may be getting worse
TL;DR Samsung's aging Galaxy Watch 4 is vulnerable to a display failure where the screen turns solid red. The only solution for affected hardware seems to be a screen replacement. While failures have been happening for years, it's hard to ignore a recent surge in reports. It's sure looking like we could only be just a few more weeks away from getting our formal introduction to Samsung's next-gen smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 8 series. And while we're excited to check out the new design this year, we're also happy to see Samsung keeping up its support for its older wearables, preparing its One UI 8 Watch update for them now. Inevitably, though, the very oldest will one day be left behind, and it's looking like we're getting to that point for the Galaxy Watch 4. And maybe that's why the recent string of device failures we've been hearing about feels all the more frustrating. Electronics break, and with mobile devices especially, the threats can be nearly constant — it's a small miracle that we're not constantly smashing smartwatches on doorknobs. And when it comes to Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4, one failure mode we've known about seems to manifest as an orange/red screen that's otherwise non-responsive. Users have been running into this occasionally for years, as we see in this 2023 Reddit post from rrrocky777, or this 2024 post from SoaibMostafa on Samsung's own support forums. None of that's great, but sporadic failures are one thing. Now, this is hardly a proper statistical analysis of these incidents, but in our recent efforts looking through posts in Reddit's Galaxy Watch sub, we've noticed what feels like a pronounced uptick in reports of this specific failure mode. Just this past week alone, we see posts from users Current_Context_9513, Chckn_Nugget, and cokeplantcp all complaining about the same 'red screen of death.' With that latter report we get a little extra insight into how the failure may be manifesting on affected watches, initially appearing as an overwhelming red tint but still showing the watch face, before fading into nothingness over the course of about 20 minutes — you can see the pics they shared up top. At this point in 2025, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a Galaxy Watch 4 that's out of warranty, and if this happens to you, your only recourse may be paying Samsung for a screen replacement. That said, the Watch 4 has had a good run, and upsetting as it may be to see a beloved wearable give up the ghost, perhaps it's high time for an upgrade? Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
