WOW ! Report: Xiaomi to respond to Apple Watch with a smartwatch of its own

 

WOW ! Report: Xiaomi to respond to Apple Watch with a smartwatch of its own  

Considering that Xiaomi is known as "China's Apple," perhaps it is no surprise to hear that the manufacturer will soon be releasing a smartwatch of its own. The eagerly awaited Apple Watch is launching on April 24th. Xiaomi would obviously love to take advantage of Apple's propensity to create a rising tide that lifts all boats with a new product or feature.

The Xiaomi Smart Watch is rumored to have a large dial and could offer pulse wave velocity identification. This would permit users to verify their identity using their own individual pulse waves. Adding this feature to a smartwatch would be extremely difficult considering the amount of energy required to power it.

The Xiaomi Smart Watch is expected to feature a brushed metal design, similar to what we've seen on the back of the HTC One M9. It should come with a round dial and a thin design. And of course, being a Xiaomi device, it will probably be more affordable.

Besides a watch, Xiaomi is also said to be working on a sequel to its Mi Band fitness tracker. First launched last summer, one million of the bands were shipped by Xiaomi in the first three months of its existence. We should see a new NFC sensor stuffed in the wearable. The original model offered Bluetooth connectivity and an accelerometer.

At this point, Xiaomi has not offered any information regarding pricing or a launch date for either device.

WOW ! Report: Xiaomi to respond to Apple Watch with a smartwatch of its own

source: 36Krypton (translated) via GizmoChina

Tesla App designers prefer Android Wear over Apple Watch

Apple may be trying to attack a niche portion of the wearable market by creating a more “premium” option, but premium hardware doesn’t always equate to blissful software. The developers of the Tesla app for the Apple Watch found that out in their latest project.

According to them, Google approached Tesla to create an app for Android Wear after seeing they’d done one for the Apple Watch. They accepted Google’s challenge, and more than just create a beautiful app for which to control your Tesla smart car, they laid out a wealth of impressions about the development experience and differences between the two platforms.

Here’s a spoiler for you: they like Android Wear. A lot. Their love for it comes from the fact that it’s a much more open platform to work with compared to Apple Watch. Where Apple limits developers on API access and low-level device integration, Tesla found it refreshing that Android Wear gave them nearly everything they needed.


Perhaps their most favorite thing was being able to experiment with unique user interface tricks — apparently things are quite restricted in that regard on iOS. They also wondered how the Apple Watch could only manage 18 hours of battery life on such a limited platform compared to 2 days on many of the smart watches that run Android Wear.

Things weren’t all peachy for the Tesla team on Android Wear. Here are a few complaints they had:

• Voice activation is too slow of a process. Their suggestion to Google is to allow developers control over the command after the initial “OK Google” to cut down on the 2-3 second pauses needed between each part of the command.
• While better than the Apple Watch, battery life could still be improved. They love Pebble in that regard.
• Thin documentation — not a knock on the platform itself, but certainly something that can mar the development experience.

But even with all that, they believe Google has done a fine job with Android Wear and can’t wait to see where it goes from here on out. Be sure to read their full thoughts on Android Wear development and what went into the new Tesla app over at Eleks Lab.

Tesla App designers prefer Android Wear over Apple Watch