Lifestyle

Fitbit and Singapore are teaming up for a healthier nation

Could include more than a million subscribers

Published

August 22, 2019

Shivam Vahia

Governments everywhere are trying to leverage modern technology in their public healthcare programs, but the process has been slow. Adopting new technology is difficult because of the wide scale and costs. In a first, Fitbit and Singapore have teamed up to build a healthier country.

Singapore launched the Smart Nation initiative five years ago to modernize the city-state with state-of-the-art technology, as well as proactively improve citizens’ health. Fitbit has been signed onto Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) to undertake a project.

Starting next month, residents of Singapore can register for the Fitbit Inspire, which the company launched earlier this year specifically for employers and health plans. Citizens won’t pay anything for the device, but will commit to spending SG$ 10 a month for a year of premium service, which includes guidance and one-on-one coaching.

Fitbit Premium provides personalized coaching and nudges subscribers to drive behavior and lifestyle changes to live healthier. Apple, Fitbit’s arch-rival, had also competed for the Singapore contract, but Fitbit’s bid ultimately won out.

As part of the partnership, Fitbit’s digital health platform and wearable devices will integrate with Singapore’s public health program. It’ll be called Live Healthy SG and will be available to people of “all ages and levels of health.”

Singaporeans will be able to pre-register for Live Healthy SG around mid-September, Fitbit said, with the program set to launch sometime in October.

This project can be a inspiring stepping stone for other countries as well. Singapore is a very small country and hence ideal for a pilot run. The same setup can be replicated elsewhere and scaled.

Entertainment

Netflix: Kris Aquino makes on-screen comeback with fictional role

Long-time TV icon named “C.H.I.K.A.” of Netflix

Published

August 7, 2026

GadgetMatch

Long-time popular Philippine TV icon Kris Aquino has made her on-screen comeback as Netflix’s fictional C.H.I.K.A., or “Chief Head of Insights and Kontent Analysis.”

Netflix initially teased the campaign through a post mentioning that they were “hiring” for the said position.

The post also contained a bullet list of descriptions that served as clues. Not long after, the streaming giant bared the former presidential daughter and presidential sister has made her comeback.

A teaser has likewise been released. The fun skit features Aquino in this new fictional role, giving her signature witty commentary inside the Netflix editing room to ensure that the production of local entertainment content is of topnotch quality.

Two more episodes will be rolled out on August 14 and 20.

Entertainment

New Yorkers compete in Ted Lasso lookalike contest at Apple Fifth Avenue

Futbol is life!

Published

August 7, 2026

Chay Lazaro

Apple Fifth Avenue or Nelson Road? New Yorkers gathered at the iconic flagship store as it transformed into a slice of AFC Richmond for a Ted Lasso lookalike contest celebrating the return of the hit Apple TV+ series.

Dozens of fans arrived in Ted’s signature look, complete with mustaches, visors, blue sweaters, and khakis. Inside the store, the AFC Richmond takeover continued with themed photo opportunities and hidden Easter eggs for longtime fans to discover.

The celebration continued across Midtown and Central Park, where brand ambassadors spread kindness with “Believe” signs, complimentary coffee and tea, a tunnel of cheering Teds for runners, and the Goldfish Zone, where visitors symbolically let go of worries by dropping paper fish into a fishbowl.

Photo by Apple

The takeover marked the return of Ted Lasso, which premiered its fourth season on Apple TV+ on Aug. 5, which arrives more than three years after Season 3 concluded in 2023.

Jason Sudeikis returns as the relentlessly optimistic coach, this time leading AFC Richmond’s newly formed women’s team while reuniting with familiar faces.

Features

GadgetSnaps: Westminster Abbey

A thousand years of history, unfolded with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra

Published

August 4, 2026

MJ Jucutan

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Westminster Abbey isn’t just another stop on the London tourist trail.

It’s the stage for coronations, royal weddings, and burials that span nearly a thousand years, all still playing out under the same vaulted ceilings that have been standing since before most countries had names.

Once you get past the crowds and the audio guides, a quieter version of the abbey starts to show itself: worn stone steps, poets resting a few feet from kings, light that shifts across the nave like it’s in on the performance too.

While losing track of time in Poets’ Corner (yes, me, playing amateur historian for an afternoon), I unfolded the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and decided the abbey deserved more than a quick tourist snap.