Google’s LG-made Android Wear 2.0 watches revealed in (slightly blurry) pictures

We heard last week that LG was the manufacturer of choice to make the first Android Wear 2.0 watches. Now, we have pictures to show what they are expected to look like.

The LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style will allegedly launch on 9 February at a Google event that will also see the launch of Android Wear 2.0. The watches are then expected to go on sale in the US the very next day.

• Google’s two LG-made Android Wear 2.0 watches revealed, coming 9 Feb

The pictures, exclusively obtained by Techno Buffalo, show the LG Watch Sport will have three physical side-mounted buttons, while the Watch Style will have just the one. It’s thought the central button on the Watch Sport, and subsequently the single button on the Watch Style, will be the digital crown for controlling the watches. It’s not clear what the other two tactile buttons on the Watch Sport will be used for.

Earlier leaks suggest the Watch Sport will be the more rugged of the two models, especially given the name, and as such, will come with a rubberised strap and metallic body, said to be available in titanium and dark blue. The Style meanwhile will be more fashion-focussed with interchangeable, leather straps and various colour finishes, including titanium, silver and rose gold.

It’s also thought that because these will be the first Google Android Wear 2.0 watches, they will come with Google Assistant support built-in. 

• When is Android Wear 2.0 coming to my smartwatch?
• Android Wear 2.0: What’s new in the major software update for watches?

LG hasn’t commented on the pictures, but with just over two weeks until they’re expected to be revealed, we don’t have long to find out just what Google and LG have in store for Android Wear 2.0.

How to make Amazon Echo respond to the Star Trek wake word ‘Computer’

Star Trek fans, hold onto your hats, because the it has finally happened: the Amazon Echo will now let you use Star Trek’s wake word “Computer” rather than Alexa. 

Made famous by Picard and the crew in Star Trek The Next Generation, you can have your Amazon Echo now respond to the same command – there’s even a collection of Star Trek Easter Eggs, which is a lot of fun.

Here’s how to change your Amazon Echo wake word:

Open the Alexa app on your smartphone
Open the menu by tapping to icon in the top left-hand corner
Select settings, then select your Echo device
Scroll down to “Wake Word” and select
Use the drop-down menu to select Computer and hit save

This will then update your Echo so that it responds to the word computer, rather than the default Alexa command.

Once you’ve done that, make sure you play around with some of the Star Trek Easter Eggs that the Echo offers, hit the video below and you’ll get the idea.

• Amazon Echo: First 7 things you should do to get Alexa started

So much Star Trek fun going on with the Echo today pic.twitter.com/4BYxIIpJ9Y

— Chris Hall (@christhall) January 24, 2017

LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style: Release date, rumours and specs

LG was one of the first companies to supply an Android Wear watch, the LG G Watch, followed by one of the first round versions, the LG G Watch R.

What followed was the LG Watch Urbane in 2015 and the Watch Urbane 2 that was launched, withdrawn then reintroduced in early 2016 – and never made it to Europe.

Android Wear went through a very quiet time in 2016 as the Android Wear 2.0 update failed to materialise, but now there’s rumour of a pair of LG smartwatches to be launching in cahoots with Google. Here’s everything we know so far.

LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style: Design

• Two designs
• IP ratings for water protection
• Digital crown for navigation

As the names suggest, LG is preparing two watches, a sporty model and a stylish model. Originally appearing with the names Angelfish and Swordfish in July 2016, rumour has it that these LG watches have been built with Google, initially being referred to as Nexus watches, so these are likely the same as the early rumours.

Techno Buffalo

A low-quality image of the watch has been shared by Techno Buffalo that reveals more about the design that fits the basic outline of that initial 2016 leak, with the Watch Sport being a larger model with three buttons and a chunky design, the Watch Style offering a slimmer, smaller model with a single button.

The central button is said to be a digital crown, rather like the Apple Watch, but so far there’s no indication of how this might be used. 

However, Evan Blass writing on VentureBeat confirmed a thickness of 14.2mm for the Watch Sport, IP68 environmental protection and titanium and blue colours – although we’re not sure what the materials are. The display is 1.38-inches.

The LG Watch Style is said to be 10.8mm thick, but is smaller at 1.2-inches across the display, and offering an IP67 protection rating.

It appears that, befitting the positioning of these two watches, the Sport has a rubber strap and the Style has a leather strap.

LG Watch Sport and Watch Style: Hardware specs

• Sport: 1.38in, 480 x 480 pixel display, LTE, GPS, HRM
• Style: 1.2in, 360 x 360 pixel display

The LG Watch Sport is said to have a 1.38-inch display with a 480 x 480 pixel resolution, making it one of the highest resolution watches so far. 

The Watch Sport is said to have 768MB of RAM, 4GB of storage and a battery capacity of 430mAh. It also features a heart rate sensor, and offers LTE connectivity, NFC and GPS, for a completely independent experience, although we suspect there will be different versions of it, both cellular and Wi-Fi only, hinted at in an FCC filing.

The LG Watch Style is rumoured to have a 1.2-inch display with a 360 x 360 pixel resolution. There’s 512MB RAM and 4GB of storage, with a 240mAh battery. 

There’s no mention of the chipset running the watches, it could be Snapdragon Wear, but it hasn’t so far been specified. 

LG Watch Sport and Watch Style: Software

• Android Wear 2.0

The first time we heard the names Watch Sport and Watch Style it was paired up with the details that these would be launched in partnership with Google at the launch of the Android Wear 2.0. 

Android Wear 2.0 was shown off at Google I/O in May 2016, but then seemed to vanish. We were then told by Google that it was soon to launch, following the announcement of a couple of a new Casio Android Wear 2.0 device, the first to be confirmed with the new software.

• Android Wear 2.0: What’s new in the major software update for watches?

Customisation is fairly rare on Android Wear, basically extending to a watch face or two and not a lot more, but we can expect a full run of refreshes to come with Android Wear 2.0 come launch date.

Mark your calendar: Android Wear 2.0 launches on February 9th.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 17, 2017

LG Watch Sport and Watch Style: Release date and price

• 9 February announcement

The announcement of these two watches is thought to be 9 February, according to @evleaks, as they should appear alongside the wider availability of Android Wear 2.0. Rumour suggests they will go on sale on the Google Store the following day. 

We don’t know if they will be available internationally, nor do we have any indication of the price, although with the Watch Sport looking to carry premium specs and features, we’d expect it to be pretty expensive. The LG Watch Style might be the more affordable. 

We will keep you updated as we learn more.

The Morning After: Tuesday January 24, 2017

Prepare for a busy Tuesday, where we’re expecting an earnings report from Verizon, details on Blizzard’s new Overwatch expansion and oh yeah, our new show ‘The Future IRL’ debuts at 9AM ET. But first up are the things you may have missed, like a massive update for Google Voice, the name of the new Star Wars movie and why cassette sales are way, way up.

Fitbit’s recent acquisitions hint at a device we’d actually want to buy.
I’m excited for Fitbit’s mythical smartwatch

It hasn’t been a great year for wearables, with sluggish sales and underwhelming products dominating the space. Several smartwatches have disappeared over the last twelve months, and for Dan Cooper, devices from Apple, Samsung and Google that try to recreate the smartphone experience on the wrist just aren’t compelling. However, those companies are increasingly the only games in town after the demise of low-power wearable companies like Pebble, Vector and Basis. However, with Fitbit picking up multiple smartwatch minnows, perhaps it can swoop in and produce a smartwatch that people actually want to use.

Grand Central
Big Google Voice update brings a new look, MMS and group messaging

Google hasn’t tweaked Voice in what feels like forever, but with the latest update it’s added all the finest texting features 2005 had to offer. Group messaging and MMS are big additions, while a new look modernizes the app and website significantly. You may not see the updates just yet, but they’ll roll out to users over the next few weeks.

Missing the big show
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 won’t come to MWC

The investigation into the Galaxy Note 7 had one more side-effect: delaying development of the upcoming Galaxy S8. Samsung says its reveal could be pushed back to late April, but as usual, the new phone will appear eventually.

Smile for the camera
With “Seamless Traveler” your face is your passport

Australia has a plan to replace passport-scanning SmartGates with a suite of biometric scans, ready for facial, iris and fingerprint recognition. Sound a bit creepy? Perhaps, but it could mean travelers can enter the country without flipping open a passport or even speaking to an agent. A trial program will start in July, and it’s expected to roll out at all international airports by March 2019.

Be kind, rewind.
Cassette sales actually went up in 2016

US cassette tape sales actually grew in 2016, with 129,000 copies sold. That might not be as many as the number of vinyl albums sold in the same year (somehow, 13.1 million), but it’s an impressive 74-percent increase from the 74,000 sold in 2015.

Little genius
This 14-inch Einstein robot is designed to be your favorite teacher

In a world full of digital assistants, Hanson Robotics is building a personal genius for kids. When it’s online, natural language processing keeps the conversation going, and while offline, kids can connect via a Stein-o-Matic app and work through simple science concepts. The price for all those legendary smarts? $250, as a part of its just-launched Kickstarter.

But wait, there’s more…

• What’s on TV: Resident Evil 7, and Netflix’s cellphone superhero flick iBoy
• LG G6 photo shows off some rounded corners
• Corsair’s new K95 gaming keyboard is surprisingly classy
• Meet Funnie, the beer-and-pizza-fetching bot
• ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ is called ‘The Last Jedi’

Cisco’s web meeting plugin for Chrome has a whopping flaw

If you participate in corporate web meetings, there’s a good chance you have Cisco’s WebEx Chrome extension. If so, you’ll want to check that it’s patched to version 1.03, because it has a scary hole that leaves machines open to drive-by attacks. In other words, “any website could just install malware on your machine silently,” security expert Filippo Valsorda tweeted.

The problem was discovered by prolific Google researcher Tavis Ormandy, who said on Twitter that “there was a secret URL in WebEx that allowed any website to run arbitrary code.” WebEx uses a coded link (cwcsf-nativemsg-iframe-43c85c0d-d633-af5e-c056-32dc7efc570b.html) to remotely start meetings on connected machines with the Chrome extension installed.

There was a secret URL in WebEx that allowed any website to run arbitrary code. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ https://t.co/sAqZrDN4ad

— Tavis Ormandy (@taviso) January 23, 2017

If a malicious player figured that out, they could place the URL on a web page (hidden in an invisible iframe for instance), where it would trigger the WebEx extension when you visit. From there, the attacker can execute any code they want and take full control of your machine.

The problems is particularly severe because some 20 million people use WebEx, and many of them are at corporations. That could leave sensitive materials, including private customer or employee data, open to theft, ransomware and other types of criminal activity.

OMFG🔥 The WebEx Chrome extension has a trivial code execution vulnerability: any website could just install malware on your machine silently https://t.co/3hsvUaQRJU

— Filippo Valsorda (@FiloSottile) January 23, 2017

Cisco patched the bug just two days after Ormandy privately reported it — the patched version, as mentioned, is 1.03. I have the Chrome extension myself (to my surprise), but luckily, the updated version was already installed when I got up this morning.

However, Valsorda called the patch “weak,” as it just shows a popup that says “WebEx meeting client will be launched if you accept this request.” If you select “OK,” instead of “Cancel” when you visit a malicious site, malware can still be installed. For that reason, he recommends that you install a custom Chrome profile if you really need to run WebEx. His detailed instructions to do that are here.

Source: Tavis Ormandy (Google)

Record Chip Profits Boost Samsung’s Fourth Quarter Earnings

Samsung announced fourth quarter operating profits of $7.9 billion in its earnings call on Tuesday, 50 percent higher than the same period a year ago.

The number was in line with Samsung’s guidance earlier in the month and reflects record-high earnings from its memory chip division, glossing over the company’s fire-prone Note7 woes, which are said to have cost it at least $5 billion since the third quarter.

But the results also come on the back of strong sales of the company’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge phones, apparently confirming reports that suggested most consumers stayed loyal to the brand despite the absence of the Note7, which was considered to be the closest rival to Apple’s iPhone 7.

Samsung said its mobile division generated $2.1 billion in operating income over the last three months of 2016 – an increase of 12 percent over Q4 2015 – while its display business racked up $1.1 billion, thanks to rising demand for the company’s OLED mobile displays. (Samsung is also said be the sole supplier of the displays for the 2017 iPhone 8.)

During Samsung’s conference call, the company offered a preview of its mobile business plans for the year. As expected, Samsung said its next round of smartphones would include voice-activated artificial intelligence features – leaks suggest the Siri-like feature will be called “Bixby”. The South Korean firm also said it would be releasing a phone with a “differentiated design”, leading some to speculate that a rumored foldable handset is almost ready for market.

The results appeared unaffected by the scandal surrounding Samsung president Park Geun-hye, who is under investigation over alleged bribes paid to an associate to win support for a merger of affiliates in 2015.

Tag: Samsung
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Modular Band Links Could Expand Functionality of Future Apple Watches

Apple continues to explore how wristbands might augment the feature list of future smartwatch models, as shown in a new patent granted today.

First picked up by AppleInsider, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published details on Apple’s designs for “Modular functional band links for wearable devices”, which first surfaced last April.

The patent describes a band made of a series of modular links containing electronic components, which are attached to each other using a flexible conductive material.

A number of possible uses are mentioned for the linked design, including batteries, speakers, kinetic power generators, haptic feedback devices, and more. Biometric sensors are also covered, such as blood pressure monitors and sweat sensors.

The modular accessory links are arranged serially across a power circuit and communications bus, with module control achieved by way of a unique identifier assigned to each link. In one example, an audio signal is sent from the timepiece through the chain of linked modules and activates only those modules assigned with a particular identifier.

Other examples describe links being used as external ports for interfacing with off-device components such as expandable memory modules. In most of the embodiments, the modular links connect to a 6-pin diagnostic port on the watch.

As always, there’s no suggestion that the invention should be expected to appear in a finished product, but the patent does highlight Apple’s continuing search for ways to expand the capabilities of a future Apple Watch or other wearable beyond the chassis, which could ultimately extend the life cycle of the watch body and allow future updates to come in the form of new band accessories.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 3
Tag: patent
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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OnePlus 3T available for immediate delivery, no more delays

OnePlus has something of a chequered history when it comes to availability of devices. The original OnePlus hype was partly fuelled by low stock and high demand. As a self-imposed new year’s resolution, OnePlus wants to change that. 

Taking to the company forum, OnePlus has confirmed that it’s now aiming to have the OnePlus 3T available for “immediate delivery” in Europe and the North America. That means you should be able to head to the OnePlus Store and get your phone straight away, rather than needing to pre-order or join a waiting list. 

If you’ve been waiting to buy one of the best phones of the year, then the time is right: the 64GB OnePlus 3T is available for immediate delivery in both Gunmetal and Soft Gold right now, although the company’s commitment is to the Gunmetal finish – presumably because it sells a lot more of that model.

• OnePlus 3T review: The best mid-price phone, now with Nougat sweetness

This new proposition doesn’t apply to the 128GB model, which is coincidentally out of stock.

This move from OnePlus perhaps signals growing confidence as a smartphone company, reflecting the success that it has enjoyed. The combination of keen specs and great build quality at a price that undercuts most established rivals has brought OnePlus success that many manufacturers are struggling to realise – not to mention a community of fans that continues to grow. 

The OnePlus 3T is also available exclusively on contract through O2 in the UK.

Snapdragon 835 will debut on the Galaxy S8, LG G6 to use Snapdragon 821 instead

You’ll wait to wait a while longer to get your hands on a phone powered by the Snapdragon 835.

According to a report from Forbes, Samsung is getting the first batch of Qualcomm’s 10nm Snapdragon 835 chips for its Galaxy S8, which according to the publication will make its debut on April 14. Qualcomm partnered with Samsung’s foundry to build the 10nm chip, and while Samsung’s chip division and phone unit are separate entities, the South Korean manufacturer is getting “first dibs” on the Snapdragon 835.

As a result, other manufacturers will not be able to launch phones powered by the Snapdragon 835 until after April. What this means is that the LG G6 — which is set for an unveil on February 26 — will be powered by last year’s Snapdragon 821. It’s hard to estimate what sort of a performance differential there will be between the Snapdragon 835 and 821, but last year’s SoC misses out on a few features, including Bluetooth 5, Quick Charge 4.0, Gigabit LTE, and improved VR chops.

It looks like LG will instead focus on optimizing the software and providing value in other areas. The manufacturer has already teased water resistance, dual-camera setup, as well as a 5.7-inch QHD+ display, and a leak from earlier today shows off slim bezels at the front.

Also, the lack of availability of the Snapdragon 835 during the usual spring refresh cycle will likely lead to an influx of new devices launching debut in the summer.

Samsung Galaxy S8 rumoured to have ‘first dibs’ on new powerful Snapdragon 835 chip

All eyes are on the Samsung Galaxy S8. It’s due to be launched sometime in April and will be Samsung’s attempt to regain consumer trust following the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. Forbes has claimed that the new flagship will be the first phone to feature Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 835 chipset after agreeing exclusive rights. 

It’s said that no other device can use the Snapdragon 835 processor until the Galaxy S8 is released, including the LG G6, which will instead get the Snapdragon 821 chipset. The HTC U Ultra, also styled as a flagship device, has the 821 as well, providing some weight to this claim.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 edge: What’s the story so far?

Ben Sin of Forbes has said he has spoken to industry insiders in Asia and has been explicitly told “the Snapdragon 835 won’t be available in large quantities until after the Galaxy S8 launches”. Samsung has in fact helped Qualcomm build the chip in the first place, so again, there’s some plausible evidence to suggest the claim is true.

Sin has also allegedly been told by his sources, ones that he trusts, that the Galaxy S8 will launch on 14 April, however that’s an entirely new date to the four already rumoured, so we’ll take that with a pinch of salt for now

• Mobile World Congress 2016: Nokia, Sony, Huawei smartphones and more
• LG G6: What’s the story so far?

If the LG G6 does in fact come with the 821, it wouldn’t be the first time the company has used the slightly older chip, with the LG G4 and G5 also using older variants, so it may just be a pattern. LG’s reasoning for using the slightly older chip was that it would rather use a chipset that could be thoroughly tested to make sure it wouldn’t malfunction or overheat, and it can also be argued that the differences between chipsets nowadays are very minimal.