Tag: iab-wearable technology

Apple Fast Facts | CNN

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Here’s a look at Apple, Inc, creator of the Mac computer and the iPhone.

The corporate headquarters are in Cupertino, California.

As of September 2023, the company reported that it employs approximately 161,000 people full-time.

April 1, 1976 – Apple Computers, Inc. is founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Their first product is the Apple I personal computer.

June 1977 – The Apple II is released.

December 1980 – Apple conducts an initial public offering of 4.6 million shares at $22 per share.

January 1983 – Apple introduces the Lisa, a new brand of personal computer.

January 22, 1984 – The Macintosh computer is introduced with a futuristic commercial that airs during the Super Bowl.

1985 – Apple discontinues the Lisa after a disappointing run, and Jobs leaves the company.

December 1996 – Apple buys Jobs’ company, NeXT Software.

1997 – In the wake of corporate shakeups and a sales slump, Apple welcomes Jobs back as interim CEO.

August 15, 1998 – The iMac, a streamlined personal computer, debuts.

January 2000 – Jobs becomes permanent CEO.

January 9, 2001 – iTunes is introduced.

October 23, 2001 – The iPod MP3 player makes its debut.

January 2003 – Apple releases the Safari web browser.

April 28, 2003 – Apple introduces the iTunes Music Store.

January 2006 – Apple rolls out its first Intel-based computers, the iMac and the MacBook Pro.

January 9, 2007 – The iPhone is unveiled.

March 2007 – Apple TV hits stores.

January 27, 2010 – The iPad is announced.

June 6, 2011 – Apple announces iCloud, an online media storage system.

August 24, 2011 – Jobs resigns as CEO. Tim Cook takes his place.

October 5, 2011 – Jobs dies after battling cancer.

February 6, 2013 – Apple announces that iTunes has reached a milestone of 25 billion songs sold.

May 28, 2014 – Apple announces deal to buy Beats for $3 billion.

June 9, 2014 – Apple conducts a stock split, bringing the price down from $647.50 to $92.44.

September 9, 2014 – Apple unveils the Apple Watch, a wearable device.

December 16, 2014 – Apple wins an antitrust lawsuit brought by eight million iPod owners who alleged that Apple abused its monopoly power in the music industry to force out competition.

June 8, 2015 – Apple unveils Apple Music, a streaming music service, live radio station and social network.

February 3, 2016 – A jury orders Apple to pay $626 million in damages after finding that iMessage, FaceTime and other Apple software infringed on another company’s patents. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2010 by the company VirnetX, accuses Apple of violating four patents, which mostly involve methods for real-time communications over the Internet.

February 16, 2016 – Apple refuses to comply with a California judge’s order to assist the FBI in hacking the iPhone of the San Bernardino gunman. A public letter signed by Cook states why the company is refusing to abide by the government’s demands.

March 28, 2016 – The Department of Justice says the FBI has “successfully retrieved the data stored on the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone,” and is dropping the case against Apple, since it no longer needs the company’s help.

August 30, 2016 – The European Union rules that Apple must pay Ireland $14.5 billion in back taxes. According to the EU, Ireland had been giving the tech company a break on taxes for more than two decades. Ireland’s finance minister issues a statement criticizing the EU’s ruling and declares that the country does not play favorites with a lower tax rate for certain companies. In a letter, Cook says he anticipates the EU’s tax ruling will be reversed on appeal.

September 12, 2017 – Apple unveils the iPhone X, alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus – all of which support wireless charging. The iPhone X will also feature facial detection technology, no home button, a 3D camera and an edge-to-edge screen.

December 21, 2017 – Apple issues a statement saying that it has used software updates to limit the performance of older iPhones that may have battery issues that would cause them to turn off suddenly.

December 28, 2017 – Apple apologizes to customers for how it rolled out an update that can slow down older iPhones. It is offering cheaper battery replacements to make up for it.

June 15, 2018 – Oprah Winfrey signs a multiyear deal with Apple to create new original programming.

August 2, 2018 – Apple becomes the first American public company to surpass $1 trillion in value.

October 10, 2019 – In a memo to employees, Cook defends Apple’s decision to pull a map app that Hong Kong protesters used to track police, saying that it had been used in ways that “endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong.”

November 1, 2019 – Apple TV+, a subscription streaming service containing original programming, launches.

November 4, 2019 – Apple announces a $2.5 billion financial package to help address the housing crisis in California, which has worsened in part because of the rapid growth of tech companies.

July 29, 2020 – Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, CEO of Google’s parent company Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg all testify before a House subcommittee on anti-trust to address concerns that their businesses may be harming competition.

August 20, 2020 – Apple reaches the $2 trillion market value mark.

November 18, 2020 – Apple agrees to pay $113 million to settle an investigation by states including California and Arizona over how Apple wasn’t transparent about its iPhone battery problems that led to unexpected device shutdowns.

December 14, 2020 – Launches Apple Fitness+, a service built around Apple Watch.

November 23, 2021 – Apple files a lawsuit against NSO Group and its parent company, accusing the Israeli firm of violating a federal anti-hacking law by selling potent software that clients have used to spy on Apple customers. The lawsuit alleges that NSO’s spyware, known as Pegasus, and other malware have caused Apple monetary and property damages, and violated the human rights of Apple users along the way.

January 3, 2022 – Apple becomes the world’s first company valued at $3 trillion.

May 10, 2022 – Apple announces that it is ceasing production of the iPod.

June 18, 2022 – Workers in Maryland vote to form the first-ever labor union at one of Apple’s US stores.

June 30, 2023 – Apple’s stock ends trading valued at $3 trillion, the only company ever to reach that milestone.

December 18, 2023 – Apple announces plans to stop selling its Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in US due to a patent dispute. In January 2024, a federal appeals court denies the company’s motion to temporarily pause the ban while it appealed the US International Trade Commission ruling.

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March 21, 2024
What to expect from Apple’s iPhone 15 reveal | CNN Business

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Apple is expected to debut its iPhone 15 lineup Tuesday at the company’s annual September keynote event, and it could introduce the biggest change to the phone’s design in 11 years.

The press event, which Apple teased with a “wonderlust” tagline, will take place at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, and will be livestreamed on its website, starting at 10 a.m. local time.

Although the annual iPhone event has become formulaic over the years, announcing incremental changes to battery life, camera system and displays, this year Apple is expected to introduce USB-C charging to its smartphones for the first time. The change could ultimately streamline the charging process across various devices and brands.

But the company will have to show off more than just a new charging system to get users to upgrade. Last month, Apple’s sales fell for the third consecutive quarter. iPhone revenue came in at $39.7 billion for the quarter, marking an approximately 2% year-over-year decline.

Here’s more of what to expect:

Apple has previously switched its iPads and MacBooks to USB-C charging, but now may be the time for the company to finally make the change on iPhones. The move would come less than a year after the European Union voted to approve legislation to require smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, portable speakers and other small devices to support USB-C charging by 2024. The first-of-its-kind law aims to pare down the number of chargers and cables consumers must contend with when they purchase a new device and to allow users to mix and match devices and chargers even if they were produced by different manufacturers.

“This is arguably the biggest disruption to iPhone design for several years, but in reality, it is hardly a dramatic move,” said Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight.

Last year, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, publicly stressed the value and ubiquity of the Lightning charger, which is designed for faster device charging, but noted “obviously we will have to comply” with the EU mandate. The Lightning charger was introduced in 2012.

The change to USB-C would also likely usher in a wave of charging accessories, potentially in various colors. It’s possible iPhone users will also pay up for a USB-C wall adapter because it will be a different size connector.

The entire iPhone 15 lineup is rumored to get the “Dynamic Island” feature — an interactive home for alerts, notifications and various controls — that replaces the notch on top of the screen. The tool launched on the higher-end iPhone 14 Pro models last year.

Although there are few other rumors circulating about its entry-level iPhone models, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models are expected to get a handful of new features, according to a Bloomberg report. This may include a rear-facing periscope lens, which allows for more optical zoom, and a titanium casing to make the device up to 15% lighter and thinner. The Pro models are also expected to get Apple’s latest A17 chip – the first with 3 nanometer technology, which could deliver faster processing and a longer-lasting battery.

The lineup is also expected to come in various new colors, as hinted at in the Apple logo featured in the event’s invitation, including navy and updated shades of gray, white and silver.

In June, Apple introduced the Vision Pro, a mixed reality headset that the company says will usher in a new era of “spatial computing.” Yoram Wurmser, an analyst at Insider Intelligence, believes the company will tease “some new features and deeper collaborations” to drum up excitement ahead of its 2024 launch. (It’s also possible Apple could announce a launch date). The headset blends both virtual reality and augmented reality, a technology that overlays virtual images on live video of the real world. The headset is Apple’s biggest, and riskiest, product launch in years.

New AirPods, Apple Watches and software release dates

The company typically unveils its latest Apple Watches alongside the iPhone each year, so it’s likely we’ll see the debut of the Apple Watch Series 9 and possibly its next-generation Ultra 2 smartwatch, its more rugged wearable for serious sports enthusiasts. According to Bloomberg, Apple is working on a full revamp of its smartwatch for next year’s Apple Watch Series 10, so this year’s updates will be relatively minor.

In addition, Apple is expected to show off its next-generation AirPods with a new charging case that will work with USB-C cables. It’s also likely to announce launch dates for its next-generation operating systems for the iPhone, iPads, Mac computers and Apple Watch.

In May, for example, Apple showed off a slew of new tools coming to iOS 17, such as a more accurate autocorrect, a new feature called Live Voicemail that will transcribe a caller’s message in real time, and a NameDrop tool that lets users share their contact information by holding two iPhones close together. The iPhone’s phone app will also reposition the hang up button to the bottom right of the screen, next to other functions.

With the new iPhone expected to take center stage, many analysts don’t anticipate Apple will release new iPads or Mac computers until October. And despite rivals Samsung and Google doubling down on foldable devices, Apple is still not expected to unveil a similar version this fall.

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August 2, 2023
6 takeaways from Apple’s iPhone 15 event | CNN Business

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CNN
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Apple unveiled its iPhone 15 lineup along with other major updates during its September keynote event on Tuesday.

The company announced it will switch to USB-C charging from its proprietary Lightning charging cable with the iPhone 15, marking a milestone for the company by adopting universal charging. The change aims to ultimately streamline the charging process across various devices — and brands.

The company also showed off its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches, with new colors and features including gesture control, and a new iteration of its AirPods Pro wireless earbuds, also with USB-C charging.

The iPhone charger update, along with changes to its design and camera system, comes as Apple looks to give consumers more reasons to upgrade their iPhones. Last month, Apple’s sales fell for the third consecutive quarter. iPhone revenue came in at $39.7 billion for the quarter, marking an approximately 2% year-over-year decline, as people update their devices less often.

Apple on Tuesday said it will not raise prices for the iPhone 15 lineup, which could further incentivize users to upgrade.

Here are the main takeaways from Apple’s Tuesday event:

The latest iPhones are packed with subtle but significant design changes. To start, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max now feature a titanium casing, allowing the design to be slimmer and thinner than before.

Other design changes on the premium models include a more-advanced 48 megapixel main camera with a larger sensor and a new telephoto lens for 5x optical zoom camera, exclusively on iPhone 15 Pro Max. The new Pro models’ design also features contoured edges and a customizable Action button, which gives the ring/silence button additional controls, from starting a voice memo to writing a note.

Meanwhile, the basic iPhone 15 phones now include updated image stabilization for taking photos and videos, 2x optimization and updated portraits with richer color and better low-light performance. They will also come with the “Dynamic Island” tool – home to alerts, notifications and other controls, in place of the notch – which were previously only available on the iPhone 14 Pro.

The iPhone 15 lineup also includes an Ultra-Wideband chip to power a handful of new features, including one that makes it easier to find friends who share their location in crowded areas.

The iPhone 15 comes in 5 colors (white, black, pink, green and yellow) and in two sizes: A 6.1-inch screen for the iPhone 15 and 6.7 inches for iPhone 15 Pro.

The iPhone 15 will start at $799, and iPhone 15 Pro will start at $999. The iPhone 15 models will be available for pre-order on Friday and for sale in stores on Friday, September 22.

Perhaps the biggest change coming to the iPhone 15 models is that they will now use a USB-C charging cord, ending an 11-year run with Apple’s proprietary Lightning charging cable.

Now Apple customers can use the same USB-C chargers to power their iPhones, iPads and Mac computers — no more scrambling to find the right charger for each device. Apple said a dedicated USB-C controller will allow for transfer speeds of up to 20 times faster than with USB-2 technology for the iPhone 15 Pro.

The switch would come less than a year after the European Union voted to approve legislation to require smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, portable speakers and other small devices to support USB-C charging by 2024. The first-of-its-kind law aims to pare down the number of chargers and cables consumers must contend with when they purchase a new device, and to allow users to mix and match devices and chargers even if they were produced by different manufacturers.

Apple will also sell a $29 USB-C Lightning adapter to let people connect their existing Lightning accessories to a USB-C-enabled iPhone or iPad to charge or share data.

The company told CNN that iPhone users can recycle their old Lightning chargers via its in-store recycling program.

Apple kicked off Tuesday’s event by announcing the new Apple Watch Series 9, which features Apple’s in-house silicon chip and ultrawideband connectivity. The updated Apple Watch will let users log health data with their voice, use “name drop” to share contact information by touching another Apple Watch and raise their wrist to automatically brighten the display. The Series 9 will come in colors such as pink, navy, red, gold, silver and graphite.

Apple also showed off the second iteration of its rugged Ultra smartwatch line, featuring the updated S9 custom chip and a new UWB chip. It also features more information on the display for more intensive tracking.

The Apple Watch Series 9 will start at $399 and the Ultra is priced at $799. Customers can place orders today and they will be available on September 22.

Apple is introducing an innovative and unique way to control its new lineup of smartwatches. The Watch Series 9 and high-end Ultra 2 watch will include a new gesture control called Double Tap, allowing allow users to tap their index finger and thumb together twice, to answer or end phone calls, play and pause music, or snooze alarms. The hand gesture can also scroll through widgets, much like turning the digital crown.

The company said Double Tap is enabled by an enhanced neural engine that processes data from sensors and machine learning, and by monitoring the change in blood flow when two fingers are tapped together. It is available starting next month.

A similar hand tap will be used to control the Vision Pro mixed reality headset when it launches next year.

Apple’s next-generation software for the iPhone will be available to download starting on Monday, September 18. In June, the company showed off a slew of new tools coming to iOS 17, such as a more accurate autocorrect, a new feature called Live Voicemail that will transcribe a caller’s message in real time, and a NameDrop tool that lets users share their contact information by holding two iPhones close together. The iPhone’s phone app will also reposition the hang up button to the bottom right of the screen, next to other functions.

The update will also bring adaptive audio to the AirPods Pro, which will adjust the noise cancellation and volume based on a user’s surroundings, and introduce conversation mode, which customizes the sound of what you’re listening to and softens when you start speaking to someone nearby.

Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of environment, policy and social initiatives, said that the company’s Watch Series 9 will be Apple’s “first-ever carbon-neutral product,” thanks to efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and to offset emissions with carbon buybacks. She said this has been certified by an independent third-party.

Doubling down on sustainability initiatives, Jackson also said the tech giant will no longer use leather in any new Apple product, including watch bands.

Instead of leather, Apple said it will begin using a new textile that it is calling “fine woven.”

Fine woven will be made of 68% post-consumer recycled content, giving it a significantly lower carbon footprint than leather, Apple said.

“Beyond expected improved performance and incremental innovation embedded into Apple’s new products, it is great to see Apple communicate on sustainability as a new competitive advantage — especially with Apple’s first carbon neutral products,” Forrester Principal Analyst Thomas Husson said in emailed commentary following the event.

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August 2, 2023
Apple Watch’s new gesture control feature will have everyone tapping the air | CNN Business

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CNN
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You’re about to see people in public tapping two fingers together in the air.

Over the past few days, I’ve been taking phone calls, playing music and scrolling through widgets on the new Apple Watch Series 9 without ever touching the device. I’ve used it to silence my watch’s alarm in the morning, stop timers and open a notification while carrying too many bags.

It may sound like a gimmick — and it most certainly feels strange to do it in public — but considering the small size of the Apple Watch screen, the tool offers an effective hands-free way to interact with the device.

Apple’s latest lineup of smartwatches, the Watch Series 9 and high-end Ultra 2, feature a new gesture tool called Double Tap, allowing users to tap their index finger and thumb together twice, to control the device. It can also scroll through widgets, much like turning the digital crown.

The feature isn’t entirely new; the previous generation of Apple Watch Ultra was capable of similar pinch-and-clench gestures via its Assistive Touch accessibility tool. But Apple’s decision to bring a feature like this to the forefront hints at an increasingly touch-free future. It also comes three months after the company unveiled the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which will launch next year, with a similar finger tap control.

Double Tap works in combination with the latest Apple Watch accelerometer, gyroscope and optical heart rate sensor, which looks for disruptions in the blood flow when the fingers are pressed together. That data is processed by a new machine learning algorithm and runs on a faster neural engine, specialized hardware that handles AI and machine learning tasks.

While the concept is similar, gesture controls are different on the Vision Pro, which will track users’ eyes and hand movements. Apple told CNN it added gesture control to the headset because it needed a different, seamless interface for users to interact with, whereas Double Tap is more about simplifying the Apple Watch experience.

When the Apple Watch’s display is turned on, the device automatically knows to respond when it senses the fingers are touched together. It essentially works as a “yes” or “accept” button; that means if a call comes through, you can Double Tap to accept it (covering the watch with your full hand, however, will silence it quickly). If a song is playing, you can pause it by double tapping, and then again to start it.

Although you can subtly flick on the display and do the gesture close to your body, trying to conceal the movement when around other people, I found it works much better when it’s raised a bit higher. This, however, makes the action more obvious — and it’s something that will take a little getting used to seeing in person.

“This is also about social acceptance. At the moment, I find the idea of people making this gesture more often than not in public a bit funny. But time will tell if users find it acceptable,” said Annette Zimmerman, an analyst at Gartner Research. “I think Apple is very use-case driven and focuses on user feedback on things they could improve.”

Similarly, it took a while for people to get used to the design of Apple’s AirPods when they were announced in 2016; many criticized how they looked dangling out of users’ ears. Now they’ve become part of modern culture.

Other learning curves exist with the Double Tap feature. Because I am right handed and wear an Apple Watch on my left hand, tapping my left fingers together to trigger the control takes an extra second or two of mental coordination.

The future of hands-free devices

Apple isn’t the only tech company developing gesture controls like this. Samsung TVs, some smartphones and Microsoft’s mixed reality headset all incorporate some hand gesture functionality. But this is Apple’s biggest push to date, and adding it to a flagship device like the Apple Watch will soon put all eyes on the concept of hand gestures.

“It’s a great move by Apple as it differentiates the company from other brands when it comes to innovation and ease of usability. It also shows Apple’s commitment in the fields of artificial intelligence,” said Sachin Mehta, senior analyst at tech intelligence firm ABI Research. “The new double tap gesture is not a surprise as Apple keeps on developing a unified and intuitive user experience across its product line up. It will cement the Apple Watch as the smartwatch to have.”

It works differently on the Vision Pro, which will track a user’s eyes and hand movements to make punching and swiping controls. The headset needed a different user interface for users to interact with it, and gestures give that control even when a face is covered by the hardware.

Further showing how Apple is thinking about gesture control long term, it recently filed for patents focused on gesture controls, including for the Apple TV. That said, Mehta believes there’s no question “we expect more gesture features in Apple’s product lineup in the future.”

In addition to Double Tap, the Apple Watch Series 9 features Apple’s powerful new in-house silicon chip and ultrawideband connectivity. It will let users log health data with their voice, use “name drop” to share contact information by touching another Apple Watch and raise their wrist to automatically brighten the display. The Series 9 will come in colors such as pink, navy, red, gold, silver and graphite.

Apple also showed off the second iteration of its rugged Ultra smartwatch line, featuring the updated S9 custom chip and a new ultrawideband chip which uses radio waves to communicate. It also features more information on the display for more intensive tracking.

The Apple Watch Series 9 will start at $399 and the Ultra is priced at $799. Although they start shipping on Friday, September 22, the Double Tap feature will launch via a software update next month.

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August 2, 2023
Google Glass is being discontinued, again | CNN Business

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Google will no longer sell the latest Enterprise Edition of Google Glass, the company announced this week, effectively killing off an innovative but failed wearable product line from another era that many consumers may have assumed was long gone.

First unveiled in 2013, Google Glass was initially marketed for a general audience, with the promise of giving people access to a computer on their face rather than having to pull out a phone. But the smartglasses were discontinued in 2015 after beta versions failed to gain traction due to its high price tag, clunky design and concerns about privacy.

Google then shifted the focus from consumers to enterprise. The first Enterprise edition of Glass, announced in 2017, was pushed for use in industries such as manufacturing and logistics. The Enterprise Edition 2, released in 2019, was Google’s last attempt at saving the Glass product. But the $999 product failed to catch on.

“Thank you for over a decade of innovation and partnership,” Google wrote on its FAQ page announcing the decision. The company will continue to support the phased out Enterprise Edition until September.

Google did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Google’s decision to discontinue the product comes amid cost cuts across the company. Like many of its peers, Google has recently announced plans to lay off thousands in response to recession fears and shifting pandemic demand for digital products.

Still, the dream of Google Glass lives on. Snapchat’s parent company sells Spectacles, another set of smartglasses that has struggled over the years to gain traction. Apple is reportedly working on augmented reality glasses. And even after the setback of Glass, Google said last year it was continuing to test other AR glasses.

“Augmented reality (AR) is opening up new ways to interact with the world around us,” the company said in a blog post last summer. “It can help us quickly and easily access the information we need — like understanding another language or knowing how best to get from point A to point B.”

A decade after Google launched Glass with a similarly ambitious objective, the future is still coming into focus.

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March 16, 2023
Forget smartwatches, consumers are snapping up these quirky alternatives | CNN Business

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In 2015, the same year Apple introduced its smartwatch, a Kickstarter campaign launched for a very different kind of wearable device: a wellness-tracking ring called the Oura.

Seven years later, the Apple Watch is the most popular wearable device while other similar products from Google and Samsung also dominate the wearables market. But something notable is underway: products like Oura, which look and sometimes function markedly different from more mainstream wearables, are gaining renewed traction.

The Oura ring ($399) experienced a spike in sales during the pandemic, and has seen continued momentum this holiday season, CEO Tom Hale told CNN Business. It provides sleep tracking data without needing to wear a smartwatch to bed and can detect subtle changes in body temperature. It also has no screen. Earlier this year, the company announced it had received a $2.55 billion valuation and has since rolled out partnerships with Gucci, Strava and other brands.

The ring is among a small but increasingly buzzy group of alternative wearable devices that people are gravitating toward right now, including a fitness band tracker with no screen and headphones that don’t need to be put in the ear. Some of the demand stems from shifts during the pandemic, as consumer interest in health monitoring surged. People turned to activity trackers, smartwatches and other devices to keep tabs on their steps, vital statistics and more. Many were also willing to experiment with different form factors, as long as they provided accurate data and were still comfortable – a trend that continues today.

“The funny thing is that most of these devices have been around for a while but have slowly built a name for themselves in recent quarters,” said Ramon Llamas, a research director at IDC Research. “But it takes time for word of mouth to spread.”

The devices may also tap into a desire to get the benefits of wearable trackers without necessarily having a screen or device on their body at all times.

Take the WHOOP band, a health tracker without a screen that first came out in 2015. It has a very specific focus on workout recovery, resting time, training and coaching. Founder and CEO Will Ahmed told CNN Business this year’s Cyber Monday was its largest sales day ever.

“It wasn’t that long ago that people only wore a health monitor if something was wrong. Now, we’re seeing people take a much more proactive approach to their health,” he said. “This trend has continued even as the pandemic subsides.”

Like Oura, the WHOOP is a subscription-based device and targeting a more niche audience. It’s pricy, too: $480, including a two-year subscription plan.

“The challenge is that most of these devices are vying for single-digit market share behind the market leaders, [such as Apple and Samsung],” Llamas said. “That’s why it is key to have a well-differentiated segment that you can serve almost exclusively. Companies like WHOOP have been successful because they focus on athlete rest and recovery so well, and those are key factors for many athletes today.”

Ahmed said the product is evolving to support this growing interest in health by adding new features related to pregnancy, stress and deeper biometric monitoring. In August, WHOOP announced it raised $200 million in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, giving the company a valuation of $3.6 billion.

Health tracking devices continue to take on new shapes and sizes, too, including some that don’t require being worn at all. In September, Amazon showed off a non-wearable sleep tracking monitor, Halo Rise, which sits on a nightstand and tracks breathing patterns while the user is asleep. Meanwhile, some companies like Withings let users slip sensors under the mattress to collect sleep data.

There’s also a shift in demand for what is arguably one of the original wearables: headphones.

Bone conduction headphones, which like the Oura have been around for years, are also “having a moment,” according to Steve Konig, head of the research department at the Consumer Electronics Association. Rather than sitting inside or on top of the ear canal, bone conduction headphones rest in front of the ear, leaving it uncovered. They transmit audio along the user’s bones and jaw to the ears instead of directly into the ear canal. The headphones also feature a soft band that runs behind the upper portion of the neck to secure it in place and minimize sound distortions.

At the same time, the exposed ear allows users to pick up on sounds and the environment around them, crucial for safety when doing activities such as riding a bike or jogging. Unlike earbuds, there’s also less concern about it popping out of your ears.

Shokz ($125) pioneered bone conduction headphones, but the market has since expanded with other brands offering similar designs. Open earbuds – such as ones designed by Sony and Bose – feature a similar design that leaves the ear canals completely open so that the user can hear the outer noise. But some audiophiles say the sound quality on bone conduction headphones and open earbuds is less than stellar.

“In the past 10 years, audio innovation in general has soared because of the introduction of new features, such as noise cancellation technology, built-in wireless capabilities and more,” Konig said. “Now, people own multiple pairs of personal listening products for different locations and use cases; some leave them at the office, others prefer bigger, beefier ones on airplanes. They also make a great holiday gift because, in the grand scheme of gift giving, they’re fairly reasonable to buy.”

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December 3, 2022
This could be Apple’s biggest product launch since the Apple Watch | CNN Business

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Apple may be just one day away from unveiling its most ambitious new hardware product in years.

At its Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off Monday at its Cupertino, California, campus, Apple

(AAPL) is widely expected to introduce a “mixed reality” headset that offers both virtual reality and augmented reality, a technology that overlays virtual images on live video of the real world.

The highly anticipated release of an AR/VR headset would be Apple’s biggest hardware product launch since the debut of the Apple Watch in 2015. It could signal a new era for the company and potentially revolutionize how millions interact with computers and the world around them.

But the headset is just one of many announcements expected at the developers event. Apple will also show off a long list of software updates that will shape how people use its most popular devices, including the iPhone and Apple Watch.

Apple may also tease how it plans to incorporate AI into more of its products and services, and keep pace with a renewed arms race over the technology in Silicon Valley.

The event will be livestreamed on Apple’s website and YouTube. It is set to start at 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET.

Here’s a closer look at what to expect:

For years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed interest in augmented reality. Now Apple finally appears ready to show off what it’s been working on.

According to Bloomberg, the new headset, which could be called Reality One or Reality Pro, will have an iOS-like interface, display immersive video and include cameras and sensors to allow users to control it via their hands, eye movements and with Siri. The device is also rumored to have an outward-facing display that will show eye movements and facial expressions, allowing onlookers to interact with the person wearing the headset without feeling as though they’re talking to a robot.

Apple’s new headset is expected to pack apps for gaming, fitness and meditation, and offer access to iOS apps such as Messages, FaceTime and Safari, according to Bloomberg. With the FaceTime option, for example, the headset will “render a user’s face and full body in virtual reality,” to create the feeling that both are “in the same room.”

The decision to unveil it at WWDC suggests Apple wants to encourage developers to build apps and experiences for the product in order to make it more compelling for customers and worth the hefty price tag.

The company is reportedly considering a $3,000 price tag for the device, far more than most of its products and testing potential buyers at a time of lingering uncertainty in the global economy. Other tech companies have struggled to find mainstream traction for headsets. And in the years that Apple has been rumored to be working on the product, the tech community has shifted its focus from VR to another buzzy technology: artificial intelligence.

But if any company can prove skeptics wrong, it’s Apple. The company’s entry into the market combined with its vast customer base has the potential to breathe new life into the world of headsets.

A mixed reality headset may not be the only piece of hardware to get stage time this year.

Apple is expected to launch a new 15-inch MacBook Air packing the company’s M2 processor. The current size of the MacBook Air is 13 inches.

Previously, users who wanted a larger-sized Apple laptop would need to buy a higher-end MacBook Pro.

Considering WWDC is traditionally a software event, Apple executives will likely spend much of the time highlighting the changes and upgrades coming to its next-generation mobile operating systems, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17.

While last year’s updates included a major design overhaul of the lock screen and iMessage, only minor changes are expected this year.

With iOS 17, Apple is expected to double down on its efforts around health tracking by adding the ability to monitor everything from a user’s mood to keeping tabs on how their vision may change over time. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple will also launch a journaling app not only as a way for users to log their thoughts but also activity levels, which can then be analyzed to reveal how much time someone spends at home or out of the house.

The new iOS 17 is also said to get a lock screen refresh: When positioned in horizontal mode, the display will highlight widgets tied to the calendar, weather and other apps, serving as a digital hub. (iPadOS 17 is also expected to get some of the same lock screen capabilities and health features.)

Other anticipated upgrades include an Apple Watch OS update that would focus on quick glances at widgets, and more details about its next-generation CarPlay platform, which it initially teased last year.

While much of the focus of the event may be on VR, Apple may also attempt to show how it’s keeping pace with Silicon Valley’s current obsession: artificial intelligence.

Apple reportedly plans to preview an AI-powered digital coaching service, which will encourage people to exercise and improve their sleeping and eating habits. It’s unclear how it could work, but the effort comes at a time when Big Tech companies are racing to introduce AI-powered technologies in the wake of ChatGPT’s viral success.

Apple may also demo and expand on some of its recently teased accessibility tools for the iPhone and iPad, including a feature that promises to replicate a user’s voice for phone calls after only 15 minutes of training.

Most of the other Big Tech companies have recently outlined their AI strategies. This event may be Apple’s chance to do the same.

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April 12, 2021