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Wearable

The Verge is covering the rapidly evolving world of wearables. We test everything from smartwatches like the Apple Watch, to smart glasses like the Meta Ray-Bans, to fitness trackers like the Oura Ring to find out which ones deliver on their promises. Follow along to find out whether covering our bodies in screens and sensors can actually make us smarter and healthier.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Google is making it easier to manually log workouts in its Health app.

The version 5.07 update will allow you to “add and adjust more metrics” to workouts you manually log, as well as view these changes more quickly in workout summaries. Google also says the Health app’s built-in map now has faster load times and smoother rendering.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
A fashionable facelift for Whoop’s fitness tracker.

The new $149 Meridian Band is a jewelry-inspired housing for the fifth-generation Whoop wearable that’s designed to make it look less like a boring gadget. The band is made from Milanese mesh and comes in a choice of black, silver, gold, and rose gold. You have to remove it to charge the device, however.

The Whoop Meridian band.
The Meridian Band is expensive for a health tracker strap, but Whoop’s subscription model isn’t exactly cheap anyway.
Image: Whoop
Sleep score court is in sessionSleep score court is in session
Allison Johnson
Your Oura Ring can’t measure what’s going on in your skull

A new lawsuit charges the company with duping customers. Who’s at fault?

Victoria Song
Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
Fitbit founders launch $250 wearable that looks like a pair of AAA batteries.

Available now for preorder and shipping in “early 2027,” Luffu Link is a screenless, LTE-connected health and safety band for families. Featuring built-in GPS, continuous biometric tracking, and AI-powered voice logging, it lets wearers send their location and emergency alerts to contacts without a phone, and lasts for up to five days before needing a charge.

Meant to be worn by families, with a design only a robot could love.
Meant to be worn by families, with a design only a robot could love.
Image: Luffu
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Meta may be working on a physical kill switch for smart glasses sensors.

As Patentlyze reports, the company filed a patent earlier this year for a “hardware privacy mute circuit” for “consumer devices, such as augmented reality devices,” like Meta’s smart glasses. The patent says the mute switch would “provide tamper-resistant privacy controls that cannot be compromised through software exploits.”

Meta glasses are a workplace menace

Public-facing workers are being filmed, harassed, and creeped out by AI-powered smart glasses.

Mia Sato
The wearable future is stuck in weird, experimental, existential limbo

I sat down with Google to discuss its vision for the next generation of wearables. It’s a work in progress.

Victoria Song
Google’s Pixel Watch 5 is promising — but it isn’t finished

8

Verge Score

Think of this as part one of the Pixel Watch 5 review as most of the new features aren’t out yet. That said, GPS rocks.

Victoria Song
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Meta’s smart glasses are now prohibited for ICE staffers.

The glasses “could unintentionally capture, record or transmit sensitive information, potentially compromising privacy and legal protections,” ICE acting director David Venturella said in a memo to staff, according to The New York Times. Staffers can’t wear the glasses in the “federal workspace.”

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Whoop drops the subscription requirement for its Advanced Labs blood testing.

The wearable company now says the Advanced Labs blood testing service that it launched last year is now available, with prices starting at about $150, even if you don’t have one of its wearable devices or the membership subscription tied to them. It’s also adding the “multi-cancer early detection test” Galleri to the package, which might help it stand out from the increasingly crowded wearable field and alleged lookalikes.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Google’s people-tracking app is now on Wear OS.

Find Hub on Google-powered smartwatches now includes a separate Find People app. As 9to5Google notes, it’s barebones: it shows a list of everyone you’re sharing location with, but to actually change any settings or see their location on a map, you have to open your phone. Perhaps there’s more to come.

Wearables are getting a taste of much-needed minimalism

Going screenless proves you can afford to be intentionally inefficient.

Victoria Song
Nathan Edwards
Nathan Edwards
The biggest moments from Google’s Pixel 11 event.

We live blogged almost 90 minutes of a show that was, honestly, better than expected. Our video team cut it down to eight.

Pixel 11 event live blog: Let’s watch Trevor Noah introduce Google’s new phones

We’re ready for some bad jokes during Google’s celebrity-packed live show.

Jay Peters, Victoria Song and 3 more
Nathan Edwards
Nathan Edwards
Don’t touch that dial!

The Made By Google keynote, hosted by Trevor Noah, kicks off at 6PM ET. Stay tuned to this website starting at 5:30PM for our live blog. Victoria Song will be there live, with Jay Peters, Jake Kastrenakes, and myself following remotely. Let’s see what happens.

Google’s Pixel Watch 5 dives deeper into AI and health

We’re talking offline Gemini, proactive AI suggestions, better GPS maps, insulin resistance trends, and a $50 price hike.

Victoria Song
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Samsung is bringing hearing aid capabilities to its Galaxy Buds.

The FDA-approved hearing aid feature will arrive on the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro in the US and select markets later this year. Samsung has also announced that users will be able to perform a hearing test with the buds, which will use the results to amplify the sounds they have trouble hearing the most.

Image: Samsung
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
UK courts are banning smart glasses too.

The Guardian reports that Meta glasses, and any others with cameras, will be confiscated on entering judicial buildings, and returned on departure. It follows New York’s similar ban last month. Taking photos or videos is already prohibited in UK courts, but smartphones are allowed in; smart glasses aren’t getting that benefit of the doubt.

What happens to Bose when headphones become AI?
⭐ Football Update: wearables - Jadwal Siaran Langsung

Snyder on the company’s move into luxury audio, licensing the Bose brand, and what happens to great sound in the AI era.

Nilay Patel
Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Apple is considering a screen-free wearable.

With the success of Whoop and other screen-free fitness bands like the Fitbit Air, Polar Loop, and Helio Strap, it’s not a surprise that the company is weighing its options. But nothing is set in stone yet. According to Mark Gurman:

The company is considering new devices with no displays, as well as different types of screens and various sizes. While unlikely to hit the market, round screens have even been considered. I’m told the work also includes potentially adding premium models beyond the Ultra and Hermès variants. On the lower end, Apple is considering more affordable concepts besides the current SE model.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Looks like the Pixel Watch 5 is getting a Steph Curry edition too.

Just like the orange and grey special edition of the Fitbit Air we got in May, a new leak shows the Pixel Watch 5 with a similar band, suggesting Steph Curry will be lending his name to more Google gear.

Image of Steph Curry special edition Google Pixel Watch 5
Image: MyMobiles
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Oh look, more Pixel Watch 5 leaks.

Several leaks have already given us a good idea of what Google’s upcoming smartwatch launch will probably look like, but now some new marketing images shared by Evan Blass also show what features we can expect. Check out Android Authority’s breakdown of the “Ask Gemini” integration and health features shown in the leaks.

<em>The new leaks suggest an “Ask Gemini” integration will be available.</em>
<em>Here’s a closer look at the control dial.</em>
<em>The Fitbit Personal Health Coach feature will probably be supported. No suprises there.</em>
1/3
The new leaks suggest an “Ask Gemini” integration will be available.
Image leaked by Evan Blass
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Peloton’s releasing new hardware next year, but it won’t be wearables.

In an earnings call on Thursday, CEO Peter Stern said in fall 2027, “we will introduce the first products in new categories.” Peloton also plans to integrate as many third-party wearables as possible into its AI platform with data flowing back and forth, instead of launching its own watch or ring.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Timex’s new Retroware watches update its iconic Ironman design.

There’s no smart functionality, but if you also grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s when Timex’s Ironman collection was popular amongst more than just triathletes, you might find these two new $149 Retroware Digital pieces hard to resist. They both feature oversized displays, monochromatic resin cases, and Timex’s Indiglo lighting.

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<em>Timex’s Retroware Digital watch is available with a blue case and matching strap, or a black version with an inverted display.</em>
1/2
Timex’s Retroware Digital watch is available with a blue case and matching strap, or a black version with an inverted display.
Image: Timex
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Peloton turns its first net profit even as it keeps losing subscribers.

CEO Peter Stern said in the company’s latest earnings report that “Peloton delivered its first full year of net profitability” in 2026, after launching a new hardware lineup that initially had “weaker-than-expected” sales. At the same time, Peloton lost 247,000 subscribers year-over-year.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Casio’s new ring watch adds vibrating alerts and heart rate tracking.

The company’s original smart ring is getting some big upgrades to compete with the Oura ring. The CRW-H001M-8 will launch in China first for around $295 with fitness tracking that includes a heart rate monitor and thermometer plus vibrating alerts for notifications from a connected phone. But you’ll need to charge the new model with a proprietary cable.

<em>Unlike the previous versions of Casio’s ring watch, the new smart model needs to be regularly charged using a proprietary cable.</em>
1/3Image: Casio
David Pierce
David Pierce
Today’s Vergecast: Rise of the Whoop dupes.

For the last few years, the trend in wearables has been all about screens. As many of them as possible. But now, companies like Whoop, Fitbit, and Garmin are creating new products that ditch the display entirely. The Verge’s Victoria Song explains why no-screen is the new screen, why even the most quantified athletes might not want a display on their wrist, and whether Whoop and the Whoop dupes are a sign of a broader trend.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Snap is hosting a Specs launch event in September.

The event, taking place on September 16th at 7PM ET, will be livestreamed.

Snap announced the design for the augmented reality glasses — and their eye-watering $2,195 price — in June, but it’s unclear if anyone can look cool wearing them. (They seem especially heavy on the ears.)

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Meta’s Ray-Ban Display glasses get an AI update.

The company launched its Meta Glasses with a “more helpful” assistant powered by its new Muse Spark models, but now the upgrade is coming to its Ray-Ban Display glasses as well.

Meta is adding support for Threads on its Ray-Ban Display glasses and will also allow wearers to use its neural handwriting feature to prompt Meta AI.