GoKawiil
Tech News
Amazon has cut the price of the Garmin Vivoactive 5 to $173, down from its $299.99 list price, marking the lowest price the smartwatch has ever hit. The device offers a 1.2-inch AMOLED display, built-in GPS, extensive health tracking features, onboard music storage, and up to 11 days of battery life.
The Pebble Time 2 requires initial setup time to pick a watch face from thousands available, drawing on Pebble's legacy library, but proves easy to use afterward thanks to its tall display suited for scrolling menus and reading text. It includes basic health tracking—steps, sleep, and heart rate via a PPG sensor—presented through simple graphs rather than computed scores. The device runs on PebbleOS, now fully open-source after Google released it and the Rebble community maintained it following Fitbit's earlier abandonment of the platform.
Apple, Samsung, and Google are ending update cycles for a number of their established smartwatch lines, meaning those devices will no longer receive the same software attention going forward. The move affects wearables many consumers still actively use, even if the hardware itself keeps functioning.
Retailers are discounting several Garmin smartwatch models early as part of pre-Labor Day promotions, according to a roundup from ZDNET. The deals target fitness-focused buyers, including those training for marathons, looking to save on GPS running watches before the official holiday sales period begins.
A ZDNET reviewer who has used Apple Watch since its debut in 2015 switched to the revived Pebble Time 2, a stripped-down smartwatch with a 1.5-inch color e-paper display, stainless steel casing, heart rate and sleep tracking, and long battery life. The device lacks advanced features like cellular calling or extra sensors, but the reviewer found its simplicity and lack of constant notifications appealing amid a desire to be less digitally connected.