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  • The Pixel Watch 3 Is $100 Off

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    Are you an Android user who is constantly looking at Apple Watch owners with envy? You’re in luck, as the Pixel Watch 3 is marked down to just $200 at Amazon in several colors. I spotted three discounted colors of the 45mm aluminum version in matte black, champagne gold, and polished silver.

    • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    While Apple users have always had the Apple Watch, it’s taken Google a little while to catch up with its first-party hardware offerings. They’ve come a long way in the last few years, enough that the previous generations of the Pixel Watch are capable enough to recommend, while still seeing significant discounts. This version benefits from a lot of the Wear OS updates of the last few years, while only missing out on a few features of the updated Pixel Watch 4.

    The health and fitness tracking on the Pixel Watch have received a number of improvements since Google purchased FitBit back in 2019. This model has improved heart rate tracking and sleep data, and can automatically detect what kind of workout you’re doing. Unfortunately, one of our writers didn’t have the best experience with the AI-powered running coach, but that’s more the fault of AI and less of accurate measurements.

    One advantage the Pixel Watch has over the Apple Watch is looks. Round watches tend to look more natural, and the rounded glass face has a unique and elegant look that stands out, although you’ll have to choose from straps made specifically for the Pixel Watch. We were impressed with the battery life on the larger version, which was able to run for around 24 hours on a single charge with one or two tracked activities per day. That should be enough to get you through the day and track your sleep as well, as long as you aren’t working out constantly.

    Ultimately, there’s a reason the Pixel Watch tends to stay on top of our list of favorite smartwatches for Android users. It’s uniquely elegant, and particularly good for Pixel smartphone owners, so a healthy discount just makes this an even more appealing choice.

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    Brad Bourque

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  • Hands On With Googles Gemini-Powered Smart Glasses, Android XR, and Project Moohan Headset – GadgetNutz

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    I’m wearing a pair of thick-rimmed glasses on my face. They don’t feel heavy, but they feel chunky. I walk over to a poster of a painting—Girl With a Pearl Earring—and ask out loud what was so special about it. A brief answer detailing its expert use of light and color by Johannes Vermeer floats into my ears, and when I ask a follow-up about when it was painted, I quickly hear the same voice say, “around 1665.” I’m not talking to myself, I swear. Nor am I hearing imaginary voices. No, I’m wearing a prototype of Google’s upcoming smart glasses, powered by its Gemini voice assistant. The company teased these smart glasses at its I/O developer conference earlier this year, showing a proof-of-concept video of AI-powered smart glasses using the name Project Astra. The pair I gazed through and chatted with uses that same Astra technology, but here it’s been built into a functioning product. Even though the glasses are still in their development phase, Google plans to release them sometime in 2025. These smart glasses are one part of Google’s big announcement today: Android XR. This “extended reality” platform marks the 10th year of Google’s mobile operating system expanding to new platforms beyond phones, joining the ranks of Wear OS, Google TV, and Android Auto. It sets the stage for a new wave of virtual and augmented reality headsets and glasses with a customized version of Android running on them.

    Glass, a Decade Later

    I remember watching the first-ever Google Glass demo in my college dorm room—truly an iconic moment at Google I/O 2012, where people skydived toward the Moscone Convention Center wearing cyborg smart glasses that were streaming video of their approach over a Hangouts call. These Android XR–powered smart glasses don’t command that much fanfare but, in my limited time with them, I can say this: Of all the smart glasses I’ve tried, they come the closest to realizing the original vision of Glass. But Google is also in a very different place as a company than it was in 2012. A judge recently ruled Google Search to be an illegal monopoly, calling for the company to sell off Google Chrome. Yet Google (with Samsung) now wants to be the platform for the next wave of spatial computing. VR also has had a rocky road due to wavering consumer interest, and given Google’s history of killing off projects, it’s difficult to glean whether a face computing platform that requires special (and expensive) hardware will meet the fate of so many apps and services that came before. Izadi says the platform approach helps in that regard: “I think once you’re established as an Android vertical, we’re not going away anytime soon, so that’s kind of a guarantee we can give.” The big bet seems to be around Gemini and AI. Oh, and the synergy between Google and Samsung. As Kihwan Kim, the executive vice president at Samsung spearheading Project Moohan, says, “This is not about just some teams or company making this—this is different. It’s completely starting from the ground up, how AI can impact VR and AR.” He went on to say the collaboration with Google felt like “one single spirit,” adding that it’s something he’s never experienced before in this line of work.

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    Kermit

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