Victoria Song
The Verge
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Victoria:
Samsung might have a Galaxy Ring planned for 2024.
9to5 Google has spotted some code snippets in the Galaxy Wearable app referencing a Galaxy Ring and a potential release date in 2024. The smart ring is expected to be similar to the Oura Ring in that it’s primarily envisioned as a health tracker. We’ve heard rumors about this before when Samsung filed a patent for a smart ring last fall. But as I’ve written before, smart rings still have a long… → Read More
Google won’t repair cracked Pixel Watch screens
Google has confirmed to The Verge that there are no official repair options for the Pixel Watch. Its standard warranty doesn’t cover accidental damage, and there’s no option to add an extended warranty. → Read More
You don’t have to freak out about aspartame in your diet soda
A recent Reuters report says the IARC, an agency of the WHO, will declare aspartame is a possible carcinogen next month. However, the IARC is not a food safety agency, and context matters. → Read More
Playing Lanebreak on the Peloton Tread turned me into an immersive fitness believer
Peloton is rolling out Lanebreak, an in-app video game for its treadmills, today. Surprisingly, playing a level made a strong case for how immersive fitness might fit into the real world. → Read More
It’s a miracle, Google Assistant is finally coming to Fossil smartwatches.
Huzzah! Fossil says that its Wear OS 3 Gen 6 watches should get Google Assistant compatibility in an update later this month. The catch is that it’s for Android users in supported countries only, even though Fossil Gen 6 watches are among the few Wear OS 3 watches that also support iOS. Still! This is a sign that perhaps Google Assistant may soon arrive on other third party Wear OS 3 watches as… → Read More
My Garmin’s fatal flaw is it refuses to acknowledge my naps
Garmin’s smartwatches aren’t able to account for naps. It’s a confusing omission, as it can improve your sleep quality and your sleep quality factors into many of its training and recovery features. → Read More
Are you ready for a clear smartwatch?
It could be nothing, but Nothing may be working on a smartwatch. All we have to go on is a trademark and product certification listing, and since Nothing is known for its clear gadgets... you’d think a Nothing smartwatch would follow suit. But how exactly do you make a clear smartwatch look cool? You can’t see through an OLED display or the battery. What about light leakage from optical sensors?… → Read More
Leaked Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 photos herald return of the bezel
Samsung appears to be going back to its roots with the return of the Galaxy Watch Classic line. Leaked photos show a 47mm version of the watch complete with a physical rotating bezel. → Read More
Samsung’s irregular heart rhythm monitoring is coming to more countries.
Galaxy Watches were already capable of taking EKGs, but those are just spot checks. This feature is more passive, and works in the background to detect signs you may have atrial fibrillation. Samsung already got FDA clearance for this feature last month, but now it’s got Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to sign off too. Plus, it’ll be introduced to 11 more countries across South America,… → Read More
Google’s rolling out a confusing array of Pixel Watch and Fitbit updates
The Pixel Watch gets nighttime blood oxygen saturation, high and low heart rate alerts, auto-pause workouts, and a bunch of other features in a software update. → Read More
Strava’s heatmaps may not be as anonymous as you think.
Strava’s heatmaps can be handy if you’re scoping out new running, cycling, and hiking routes, as it helps visualize popular areas. However, researchers discovered they could reverse-engineer where a Strava user lives — even though heatmaps are created through anonymized, aggregated data. You can read through the findings (PDF), but essentially, the more active the user, the easier it was for… → Read More
The Dyson Zone said NYC’s air quality yesterday... was good?
Yesterday I took Dyson’s air-purifying headphones out for a stroll in the wildfire smoke apocalypse to see what they would tell me. You can see my initial reaction in the video below and... I certainly didn’t expect to see the live tracking tell me the air was fine! The Zone only live tracks nitrogen dioxide and wildfire air is made up of much more, but I’m writing up a post that goes into all… → Read More
Oura Ring users can now share sleep scores with friends
Oura is launching a new social feature called Circles for its smart ring users. It’s the company’s first social feature and will roll out alongside a new sleep staging algorithm. → Read More
Apple’s Journal app needs to read the room
Apple plans to launch a Journal app with iOS 17, complete with prompts pulled from your contacts, photos, music, and more. However, without greater user controls, using AI to repackage life as content is a little half-baked. → Read More
This wildfire did not care that I put on the mask.
Just did a short mini-testing session for the Dyson Zone now that New York City is an orange dystopian hellscape. I don’t recommend doing this, and I was only out there for about 10 minutes (with an N95 mask too). Ultimately, the air filtering feature worked, but the app consistently said the real-time air quality was good and battery drain was... not great Bob! Filmed some footage so keep an… → Read More
watchOS 10 is bringing back widgets in a big way
Apple announced watchOS 10 today at WWDC, which highlights widgets. The public beta is expected to arrive next month, with the final version arriving this fall. → Read More
Why don’t the iPhone Pro models come in fun colors?
While the iPhone Pro models are marketed to “professionals,” that doesn’t mean Apple has to stick to dark and muted color palettes for every single one — or limit bright, fun colors to cheaper phones. → Read More
Samsung gets FDA clearance for irregular heart rhythm notifications
Samsung announced today that it received FDA clearance for irregular heart rhythm notifications on its Galaxy Watch devices. The notifications will arrive later this year with the One UI 5 Watch. → Read More
Samsung teases better sleep, fitness, and safety features for its next Galaxy Watch
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 will launch with One UI 5 Watch, which adds better sleep tracking, heart rate zone training, and the ability to directly connect with emergency services. → Read More
Don’t be that person who forgets to send pics.
iOS 16 added the ability to create a Shared Photo Library via iCloud with up to five other people. Meaning, the next time you’re at a family reunion, you can automatically share any photos you take with Mom and Dad without having to do anything. Here’s how. → Read More