Fitbit now supports third-party apps on its smartwatch

Fitbit has updated the OS on its first smartwatch to support third-party apps from its App Gallery.

Following the company’s $23 million acquisition of smartwatch maker Pebble, all eyes were on Fitbit’s next move to counter the increasing threat from the Apple Watch and Android Wear-based devices.

What emerged from Fitbit was the Ionic smartwatch. Many critics say its design is uninspiring, but the most shocking revelation was the lack of support for third-party apps...

5 December 2017 | App Stores

Polar opens its API for developers to access health data

Polar has been steadily growing in the wearables space and is now taking the next step by opening up its API to third-party developers.

While larger competitors such as Fitbit have opened their API for some time, it’s made little sense for Polar until this point.

Polar has a wide range of health-related products on the market including smartwatches, fitness trackers, bike computers, and chest straps. In 1982, the company launched the world's first wireless, wearable...

31 October 2017 | API

Research: Consumers are most excited about these new technologies

The breakthrough technologies consumers are most excited about have been revealed in new research – providing an indication of what is set to be the next big thing.

Online smartphone retailer, Mobiles.co.uk, charted the sharp increase in demand for VR, AR, and AI. The firm also studied how the latest technological advancements are shaping the capabilities of tomorrow’s smartphones.

In the past 12 months, the company noted an increase from UK customers...

21 July 2017 | Android

Developers are more excited for Apple TV than WatchOS

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/mtreasure)

Wearables seem to be a more discussed trend in tech circles, but a new report indicates that developers are more interested to build apps for the Apple TV over the Apple Watch. 

The information comes from Realm, a company which hosts apps used by approximately 100,000 developers. Apple TV has gained significant interest from developers since the fourth-generation was released, in stark contrast to Apple Watch development...

31 May 2016 | iOS

Ten lucky developers will be invited to build apps for Magic Leaps AR technology

(Image Credit: Magic Leap)

Magic Leap is working on augmented reality technology, but we know little else other than from sporadic reports telling us it's pretty amazing. Ten lucky developers will be invited to get up close with Magic Leap's AR technology and become the first to build apps for it ahead of its full release. 

The announcement was made by Magic Leap's CEO, Rony Abovitz, during a Q&A session he attended via a telepresence robot (just to...

26 May 2016 | Platforms

What to expect from Google I/O 2016

Google's annual conference, I/O, will be held this Wednesday and is sure to make waves across both the developer and consumer worlds. This year we expect to see the event focus on how Google intends to respond to advancements in wearables, virtual reality, and the IoT. 

Android 

We expect Android will take a backseat as the company works on freeing the operating system from Java amid continued battles with Oracle and the EU....

16 May 2016 | Android

Research: Developers should focus on multi-platform VR headsets

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Halfpoint)

Global leader in games market intelligence, Newzoo, has released new research which looks at the VR purchase intention of consumers across 16 countries. The general appetite for VR amongst Western consumers remains low, with just 11 percent of the online population between 10 and 65 planning to purchase VR products in the next six months.  

29 April 2016 | Gaming

IBM integrates IoT platform with ARM to boost offering

(c)iStock.com/Graffizone

IBM has integrated its Internet of Things (IoT) platform, known as IBM IoT Foundation, with ARM to allow customers to benefit from collection, analysis and decision-making with regard to data from devices such as industrial appliances, weather sensors and wearable monitoring devices. Developed on the SoftLayer infrastructure, the platform supports a range of fully managed, cloud-hosted offerings.

The IBM IoT Foundation provides security systems that...

10 September 2015 | Development Tools

Interview: What does the industry think about Oculus / Xbox and the future of VR?

(Image Credit: Oculus)

Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, took attendees by surprise when he took to the stage during Oculus' pre-E3 live stream to announce a partnership between the two huge brands. There are plenty of opinion articles surrounding the announcements - but we thought we would get the thoughts from two people within the VR industry. 

For this interview we spoke to Dan Page, Organiser of the South West VR Conference, and Lukas Roper, Lead Developer...

12 June 2015 | Gaming

I/O 2015: Heres what to expect from Android M

Another year means another I/O, and eyes from around the world will be on Google's annual developer conference to see how the giant plans to lead the way forward in exciting new areas such as wearables and connected cars. 

Google will want to ensure its operating system is found wherever there is technology to power, but such a bold ambition can only be realised with some important changes. In this article we will rundown what to...

28 May 2015 | Android