On October 5, the Apple Watch Hermès, priced between $1,000 and $1,500, will go on sale in Apple and Hermès stores in 14 countries including the U.S., China, France and Switzerland. The new watch is Apple’s first partnership with a luxury brand, and also the first time that Apple has permitted another brand’s components — in this case, signature watchbands, clasps and fonts — on one of its products. The Apple Watch Hermès was the most expensive new item at Apple’s recent new product introduction. Continue reading Apple Partners with Luxury Brand Hermès on New Smartwatch

Greenlight VR, a San Francisco-based business intelligence startup specializing in the virtual reality industry, has created a business map of significant VR players. The rising prospects for virtual reality as a mainstream medium has seen new demand for ways of better grasping the scope and nuances of the industry’s emerging and rapidly evolving landscape. The database profiles hundreds of VR businesses from around the world — from fledgling startups to the established companies entering this space — organized by 22 categories across 11 sectors. Continue reading Greenlight VR Maps Today’s Virtual Reality Industry Ecosystem

Apple reported a 38 percent increase in profits — which equals $10.7 billion — from a year ago. Revenue rocketed 33 percent to $49.6 billion, and the iPhone, the company’s biggest source of revenue and profit, jumped up 35 percent to 47.5 million units. Still, on hearing the news, Apple’s stock plummeted. Why? Investors and Wall Street analysts expected Apple to wildly exceed its projections. Instead, when stratospheric sales of iPhones and Apple Watches didn’t materialize, Apple fans and shareholders were disappointed. Continue reading Apple Stock Declines on News of 38 Percent Growth in Profits

Hulu’s new app for the Apple Watch turns the wearable device into a remote control for users to play, pause and rewind TV shows by simply tapping on their wrists. The app connects to Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, the PS3 and PS4. Apple TV users will need to launch a Hulu stream on their iPhones, whereas users of other platforms can connect to any existing device already streaming Hulu. The launch is Hulu’s way of testing how a smartwatch app might become part of a consumer’s mobile experience. Continue reading Hulu Releases App That Makes Apple Watch a Remote Control

OrCam Technologies has created a wearable, digital personal assistant device, called Casie, which can be clipped onto a shirt or worn as a medallion on a necklace. The USB-sized device, which will soon go through testing, contains a 5-megapixel camera and microphone, which can record a user’s surroundings and connect with the Casie app on a user’s phone. The app can then pair its recordings with data from the Internet to help the user identify and analyze places and people, such as a LinkedIn connection. Continue reading Casie is a New Digital Personal Assistant That You Can Wear

Google Glass “Enterprise Edition,” expected to go into testing this fall, will feature several notable updates to its hardware, including a larger prism display, a better Intel Atom processor and longer battery life. The new version reportedly corrects the eyestrain problems of the previous Explorer Edition, improves upon screen quality, and exhibits better heat management. Users of Enterprise Edition will be able to look up comfortably, without feeling the need to look up and to the right, as was the case with the earlier version. Continue reading New Google Glass to Feature Larger Prism and Intel Atom CPU

Apple launched its new wearable last week, and a wide variety of related apps are currently available, but customers are still trying to figure out where to buy the smartwatch and companies are still trying to figure out how to use it. The Watch was not available in Apple Stores, but it was in stock at select fashion boutiques around the world. Companies like Yelp and WebMD, meanwhile, are still trying to figure out how Apple Watch users will use their Watch apps differently from their iPhone apps. Continue reading Apple Watch Launch: Limited Availability, but Wide App Variety

Google has updated the Android Wear operating system to include wrist controls, Wi-Fi connectivity, and other functionality features. For the first time, smartwatch users won’t have to be tethered to their smartphone because the Wi-Fi connection will allow them to receive text messages and check email on their watches without needing their smartphones nearby. The first Android Wear smartwatches with this technology built-in are expected to begin shipping next month. Continue reading Android Wear Watches Can Now Connect to Phones via Wi-Fi

Ticketing company Fandango plans to launch one of the Apple Watch’s first entertainment apps this Friday when the wearable starts its initial shipments. Similar to its mobile app, Fandango’s watch app will feature scannable movie tickets. The app also offers movie trivia and helpful screening information such as theater directions, seat details and a countdown clock to showtimes. Fandango, which developed an early iPhone app and was one of the first Passbook app partners, already has more than 36 million monthly online visitors. Continue reading Fandango to Feature Scannable Movie Tickets via Apple Watch

Apple Watch may have surpassed global pre-orders of 2.3 million units last week, according to unofficial figures from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The most popular model is the Apple Watch Sport says Kuo, who has an impressive record of predicting sales of Apple devices. If the figures are accurate, they almost double the 1.25-1.5 million in sales projected for the first weekend. Meanwhile, Apple is introducing workshops called ‘Apple Watch Basics’ at its Apple Store locations to show consumers how to use the new wearable. Continue reading Initial Projections Suggest Apple Watch is Beating Expectations

The highly anticipated Apple Watch will begin shipping April 24, and Apple is hoping for big returns, even if store visitors do not purchase the pricey new wearable. Analysts expect the Apple Watch to draw many curious customers who want to see exactly what a smartwatch entails and whether it is worth the investment. Developers are also anxious to explore the possibilities of a wearable, and Apple received more than 1,000 Apple Watch apps in just four days last week. Continue reading Apple Watch Expected to Increase Foot Traffic in Apple Stores

TAG Heuer announced at Baselworld in Switzerland that it is developing a smartwatch in collaboration with Intel and Google. The announcement was light on specifics regarding features or pricing, but explained that the watch is expected to ship later this year. The watch is also expected to be expensive, based on the companies involved and the language of the announcement. David Singleton, director of engineering for Android Wear, discussed “fusing beauty with technology” for a “unique blend of emotion and innovation.” Continue reading Luxury Smartwatch to Launch from TAG Heuer, Google and Intel

Apple has scheduled two upcoming events during which the company is expected to share more about the release of some of the year’s most anticipated products, including the relaunch of Beats Music, a new Apple TV set-top, and the Apple Watch. The company will introduce the remake of Beats Music, a streaming music service with curated playlists, at an event in June. Meanwhile, today’s “Spring Forward” event will likely feature the long awaited Apple Watch and its Watchkit applications. Continue reading Apple to Unveil New Watch, Beats Music Service and Apple TV

Samsung has ambitious plans for its Tizen operating system, which the South Korean manufacturer is promoting as an alternative to Google’s Android. After launching an affordable mobile phone powered by Tizen in India, Samsung’s next goal is to equip half of all its TV sets with the Tizen operating system this year. At CES this month, Samsung said it aims to sell 60 millions TVs in 2015, 30 million of which would be powered by Tizen. The company hopes that by 2017, all of its Internet-connected TVs will be Tizen-enabled sets. Continue reading Samsung Sets High Goals for Future of Tizen-Powered TVs

Paris-based myBrain Technologies introduced its first product at CES this week — the audio-based stress reducer Melomind. The electroencephalograph (EEG)-measuring headset connects to your phone and gives an indication of your “stress level” recorded in real time. The accompanying app then chooses a selection of music composed by the team’s sound designers to improve and control the user’s mental state. The 15-minute relaxation sessions help teach the users how to relax by employing their brain activity to modulate the music. Continue reading CES: Melomind Aids Relaxation with Mind-Controlled Audio