News

Samsung announces Galaxy Ring, Watch7, Watch Ultra

Samsung’s latest AI-powered wearables

Published

July 10, 2024

Manila Connoisseur

Samsung has officially announced its latest batch of wearables, all powered by Galaxy AI to provide intelligent health experiences for all. They are the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch7, and Galaxy Watch Ultra.

The newest additions align with Samsung’s vision for Galaxy AI to enhance digital health. All devices boast of sensor innovations, enabling them to deliver personalized insights and tailored health experiences by obtaining more accurate, detailed, and advanced user information.

Particularly, both the Galaxy Watch7 and Watch Ultra feature a 3nm Exynos W1000 processor. This allows them to deliver faster performance on the Wear OS 5 platform.

All devices also introduce novel health monitoring capabilities and support for various workouts not seen in previous versions of Samsung’s Galaxy wearable lineups. For added convenience, both watches support advanced features like Gestures and wallet payments. The Ring can also take photos using a Samsung Galaxy smartphone via double pinching.

Price, availability, preorder offers

The Galaxy Ring is available in Titanium Black, Silver, and Gold. There are sizing kits to help interested customers find the right fit from nine sizes. It is priced starting at US$ 399.99.

The Galaxy Watch7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra come in the following sizes and colors:

Galaxy Watch7 44mm: Green and Silver
Galaxy Watch7 40mm: Green and Cream
Galaxy Watch Ultra 47mm: Titanium Silver, Gray, and White

The Galaxy Watch7 starts at US$ 299.99 while the Watch Ultra will retail for US$ 649.99.

All three new offerings will be available on Samsung.com, Samsung Experience Stores, and other major retailers. Preorders in the United States will be open by July 10, 2024, with general sales beginning on July 24.

Galaxy Ring

Samsung first teased about the Galaxy Ring six months ago, and then unveiled it at MWC Barcelona earlier in the year. It is designed for 24/7 health monitoring, coming in the lightweight form of a stylish accessory. The ring has 10ATM water resistance and a Titanium Grade 5 finish.

More than its appearance, the Samsung Galaxy Ring integrates data and insights into Samsung Health for seamless access. It offers users an advanced sleep AI algorithm to help them understand their sleeping patterns through advanced sleep metrics.

Furthermore, the Galaxy Ring can provide personalized recommendations based on four significant factors: Sleep, Activity, Sleeping Heart Rate, and Sleeping Heart Rate Variability.

For everyday wellness monitoring, the wearable supports Heart Rate Alert and Live Heart Rate Check. It also helps users maintain an active lifestyle with Auto Workout Detection and Inactive Alert.

Galaxy Watch7

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch7 is designed to give users a better understanding of themselves. It supports over 100 workouts, and lets users develop active habits with Workout Routine. Body Composition, on the other hand, gives them a comprehensive understanding of their physical bodies.

Likewise new to the Galaxy Watch7 is an advanced AI algorithm, and the De Novo FDA-authorized Sleep Apnea feature. This simple tool checks potential signs for moderate to severe sleep apnea.

Among the smartwatch’s advanced monitoring capabilities are Heart Rate, Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification (IHRN), and Electrocardiogram (ECG). The Watch7’s BioActive Sensor makes tracking these indicators in a more accurate manner possible. Moreover, the device can track advanced glycation end products (AGEs) right from a user’s wrist. AGEs reflect an indication of metabolic health.

The Watch 7 is equipped with a 3nm processor, delivering an even faster performance compared to its predecessor. It is also the first Galaxy product to feature dual-frequency GPS system.

Galaxy Watch Ultra

For a personal active performance companion, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is your best bet. Aside from having the Galaxy Watch7’s advanced health monitoring features and powerful hardware, the Watch Ultra variant also supports enhanced fitness experiences.

The watch is built for extreme durability with its 10ATM water resistance and Titanium Grade 4 frame. It can operate at up to 500 meters below sea level, or 9,000 meters above. It can also last up to 100 hours on Power Saving and 48 in Exercise Power Saving.

For high-level athletes, the Watch Ultra features a new Functional Threshold Power (FTP) for cycling power. This is an AI-powered metric that helps athletes unlock their full potential based on their own indicators. The device also has a Personalized HR Zone and Multi-sports tile for multi-course workouts.

Among its other features are Quick Button and Emergency Siren, which are both helpful during workouts.

News

Honor is reportedly working on a 14000mAh battery

How much is too much?

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Nothing goes together more than a Chinese smartphone brand and the relentless pursuit for a bigger battery. For years, Chinese brands have engaged in a war for this particular component. Now, the latest salvo has been fired. Honor is reportedly working on a phone with a gigantic 14000mAh battery.

Today, the biggest battery capacity you can find on an Honor phone is 11000mAh. The Honor X80 Pro Max already offers a battery that can last you more than a single day. At this point, it’s certainly more than enough for our daily needs.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a smartphone brand is currently working on a 14000mAh battery. Though the leak does not explicitly pinpoint Honor, the emoji used (a wolf) is historically used to imply the Chinese brand in Weibo parlance.

A 14000mAh is just absurdly huge. With a battery larger than some powerbanks, battery anxiety becomes moot. It’s bordering on “can we bring this on a plane” territory.

As with all rumored features, the next question is when this battery will arrive on a consumer-ready device. Given how serious the battery wars are for the Chinese market, it’s only a matter of time.

News

Nothing Phone (4b) shows up online, spoils some specs

It’s a step below the Phone (4a) series.

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Yesterday, Nothing officially teased the Phone (4b), an all-new line positioned below the Phone (4a) series. At the time, the teaser revealed nothing but the design of the upcoming phone. However, ahead of its July 7 launch, the Phone (4b) suddenly appeared on Geekbench, spoiling a few of its mysterious specs.

According to the listing, the Phone (4b) will run the SM6650, more popularly known as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. It’s a modestly powered processor built for the budget to midrange segments of the performance spectrum. Having this processor does confirm that the phone belongs to the step below the Phone (4a), bringing affordability to a name other than CMF.

Besides the processor, the new phone will come with an Adreno 810 GPU and 8GB of RAM. Inside, it will ship with Android 16 out of the box, but this will likely be upgradeable to Android 17 later this year.

It’s already confirmed that the Phone (4b) will be quite the looker. The phone will slightly depart from the design philosophy of the Phone (4a) series. Though it will still have a sizable rear island, the camera setup will just be a small vertical strip on the top-left corner. Additionally, the lighting element typical of all Nothing phones will be a small horizontal strip on the bottom-right corner.

Thankfully, the wait for more specs won’t be long. Nothing has confirmed that the phone’s launch is set for July 7.

News

Polaroid says, enjoy the beach before AI ruins it

“We know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it.”

Published

June 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Tongue-in-cheek marketing is a soothing balm for a world where false promises are more often advertised. But, what happens when those tongue-in-cheek jokes strike a nerve and make you think, “maybe this isn’t a joke anymore”? Polaroid, a huge proponent of analog technology, has put up such a billboard to enjoy the beach “before the data centers drink it all up.”

Right in front of Coney Island (and right in time for summer), Polaroid has a simple message: “Go jump in the water before the data centers drink it all up.”

Though funny by itself, the message plays on an ongoing fear that today’s data centers, built for AI, have such a high water requirement that each query takes up gallons every time. This is, of course, slightly hyperbolic, but data centers are indeed exerting a lot of pressure on their area’s resources. They take a lot of water for cooling and electricity to keep open.

In a statement, Polaroid says that they’re not anti-digital. Rather, “we know we have to live alongside it, but we’re deeply pro-human and know what humanity gives us. And we know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. That’s a fight worth fighting,” says Polaroid’s creative director Patricia Varella, via LBB.

Now, this isn’t a completely altruistic ad. It’s still advertising the new Go Generation 3. Still, if you’re looking for a product to go alongside today’s shifting sentiments against AI, a Polaroid might be it.