This is no longer a case of trying to piece together Garmin’s next flagship from retailer listings. The information is coming directly from the company, and it gives us the clearest picture yet of how the Fenix 9 Pro improves on the Fenix 8 Pro.

The Taiwan page covers the 47 mm Fenix 9 Pro inReach, product number 010-04336-60. Garmin has since taken the page down, but it was indexed long enough to expose the product description, specifications and official images.

Fenix 9 Pro gets a full titanium case

The most obvious change is the construction. Garmin describes the Fenix 9 Pro as having a titanium case, moving away from the Fenix 8 Pro design that combines a titanium bezel and rear cover with a fibre-reinforced polymer middle section.

The official images make that change quite easy to spot from the side. More of the case and lug structure is metal, while the familiar five-button layout, sapphire lens, LED flashlight, speaker, microphone and 40 metre diving capability remain.

The rear image also removes any lingering doubt about the identity of the watch. FENIX 9 PRO and INREACH are clearly engraved around the caseback, alongside the titanium and sapphire markings.

The AMOLED display also gets an upgrade. Garmin’s Taiwan specifications put maximum brightness at up to 3,000 nits, while the leaked 47 mm model retains a 1.4-inch screen.

Things get more interesting with the 51 mm version. Garmin says in its unlisted video that the larger Fenix 9 Pro has its biggest-ever AMOLED display at 1.5 inches, compared with the 1.4-inch panel used on the 51 mm Fenix 8 Pro. Previous leaks also point to a resolution increase from 454 x 454 to 466 x 466 pixels.

Battery life is improving as well. Garmin’s Taiwan page rates the 47 mm Fenix 9 Pro inReach for up to 18 days in smartwatch mode, compared with 15 days for the equivalent 47 mm Fenix 8 Pro.

The improvement is notable because the watch still carries the extra LTE and satellite hardware required for inReach. Garmin appears to have found some of the battery efficiency that was lost when those communication features arrived with the Fenix 8 Pro.

Storage is another straightforward upgrade. The Fenix 9 Pro moves from 32 GB to 64 GB, giving it twice the internal capacity of the Fenix 8 Pro.

Garmin says the watch can hold around 7,000 songs, but the additional space should be more useful for mapping. The Taiwan material says users can store roughly twice as much Outdoor Maps+ content, which makes sense for a device built around offline navigation.

Garmin Epic joins new endurance features

The unlisted Fenix 9 Pro video reveals more about the software changes. Garmin specifically highlights enhanced stamina and endurance tracking.

Rucking and rowing are also getting more attention. Garmin says both can be tracked with greater accuracy on the Fenix 9 Pro, with new performance data available for each activity.

Garmin Epic is the more obviously new addition. It allows users to combine multiple activities and their associated metrics into a single record, effectively turning a multi-stage or multi-day adventure into one continuous story.

That could work well for something such as a week-long hiking trip where individual activities currently appear separately. Instead of looking through each recorded day on its own, Garmin Epic appears designed to bring the complete trip and its data together.

Mapping gets another overhaul

Garmin is also promising smoother and more intuitive routable maps. The navigation capabilities themselves are familiar, but the company appears to have worked on how quickly and easily users can interact with them.

That makes the jump to 64 GB more relevant. More storage combined with improved map performance could make the Fenix 9 Pro noticeably better for people who keep large regions available offline and use the watch heavily for navigation.

inReach connectivity remains central to the model shown on the Taiwan website. The Fenix 9 Pro inReach uses LTE-M and satellite connectivity for messaging, location sharing and interactive SOS, with Garmin Response available around the clock.

Those communication features are not new, as the Fenix 8 Pro already offers them. The interesting change this time appears to be Garmin separating the range into Fenix 9 Pro and Fenix 9 Pro inReach versions, rather than making inReach synonymous with the Pro name.

There is also nothing in Garmin’s leaked material so far that points to a new generation of health sensors. ECG, Pulse Ox, HRV, skin temperature and the existing depth sensor remain, suggesting Garmin has concentrated this update elsewhere.

The post Garmin accidentally reveals the Fenix 9 Pro and its biggest upgrades appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

The images appeared on GameraSnap and reportedly come from a collection of 35 files covering ten Fenix 9 variants. They include 43mm, 47mm and 51mm AMOLED models, along with 47mm and 51mm Pro Solar watches, plus several different finishes.

Why we think the images are genuine

GameraSnap is not a random leak site. It is run by China-based Garmin developer li2niu, who has been active on Garmin’s Connect IQ forums for years and has previously uncovered unreleased Garmin material through the company’s product infrastructure.

What’s more, these images is that they line up with a separate retailer leak. A Czech store yesterday listed Fenix 9 models in unusual combinations such as Autumn Orange/Spark, Gold/Cream and Pebble Gray/Silver Gray. Those exact configurations now appear in the renders.

The collection is also extensive, with 35 images covering multiple models. We also checked several renders with three AI-image detection tools, which returned an average confidence of between 94% and 100% that they were not AI-generated. That is not proof on its own, but it adds to the case.

Nothing here gives us absolute confirmation from Garmin, so we would still call these apparent official renders. But taken together, the evidence looks pretty convincing.

So what actually looks different from the Fenix 8?

The Fenix 9 looks very similar to the Fenix 8. With only a few slight differences.

Garmin introduced a metal sensor guard on the Fenix 8, and that same general idea remains here, but the leaked Fenix 9 version looks slimmer and more integrated into the case. The surrounding side profile also looks slightly cleaner and the button design appears to have change slightly. There are also small changes around the bezel and lugs and the solar has a branded sensor guard now.

What does not appear to have changed much is the overall formula. The five-button layout remains, the exposed screws are still there, and the case proportions look very familiar. There is also nothing in these renders that gives us solid evidence of a larger display or thinner screen borders.

New colours

The most eye-catching model is probably the 47mm Pro with the Autumn Orange/Spark strap. It combines a natural titanium-looking case with a bright orange band, and it looks considerably different from the usual black Fenix combination.

The 43mm Gold/Cream model goes in the opposite direction. It has a much softer look, pairing a warm metallic case with a pale strap. The retailer leak had already revealed those colour names, but the renders finally show what the combinations could look like in practice.

There is also a Pebble Gray/Silver Gray treatment for the Pro Solar models. It gives the MIP version a much lighter appearance than the usual black outdoor-watch aesthetic.

So while the physical redesign appears fairly restrained, Garmin seems to be putting more effort into separating the different versions visually.

The renders don’t reveal the important stuff inside

The images tell us nothing reliable about the processor, battery life, GNSS hardware, storage or the generation of the optical sensor. They also cannot confirm MicroLED, LTE, satellite communication or any of the other features linked with the Fenix 9 through previous leaks and regulatory filings.

Those clues are coming from elsewhere. Garmin regulatory filings have already revealed an unreleased wrist-worn device equipped with LTE-M and satellite communications, while the retailer leak contains numerous Fenix 9 Pro models carrying the inReach name. Taken together, that makes connectivity one of the more solid pieces of the Fenix 9 puzzle, but the new images add very little on that front.

What they do give us is something we did not have before: a believable look at the finished hardware.

And if these renders are genuine, anyone expecting Garmin to completely reinvent the Fenix with generation nine may be disappointed. This looks much more like Garmin refining the Fenix 8 formula.

We should not have to wait long to find out. Garmin has scheduled its “Play Harder” event for tomorrow, although the company has stopped short of saying which products it plans to unveil. With retailer listings and now a large batch of product renders appearing immediately beforehand, the timing is getting increasingly difficult to ignore.

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Kejelcha won the Media Maratón Ciudad de Buenos Aires on Sunday, August 23, taking 29 seconds off the 57:20 mark Jacob Kiplimo ran in Lisbon earlier this year. The new 56:51 record is still subject to the usual World Athletics ratification process, but it makes Kejelcha the first man to go below 57 minutes in record-eligible conditions.

It was not exactly a cautious race either. Kejelcha initially planned to run at around 2:45 per kilometre, but gradually picked things up before reaching 15km in about 40:41 and 20km in 54:04. World Athletics’ race report also specifically notes that Kejelcha was checking his watch regularly as he started increasing the pace.

Two devices, two different jobs

Footage from Buenos Aires show Kejelcha once again racing with two wearables. On his left wrist is what appears to be the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro, while his right wrist appears to carry a Whoop MG.

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That is a new combination for him. Kejelcha used the Whoop along with Coros Pace 3 at the London Marathon earlier this year.

At first glance, running a half marathon with a tracker on each wrist might seem unnecessary. In reality, the two devices potentially serve very different purposes.

A running watch such as the Amazfit can provide something Kejelcha clearly used during the race: information he can actually see. Pace, elapsed time, distance and lap data can all sit directly on the wrist, which becomes rather useful when you are trying to average roughly 2:41 per kilometre for an entire half marathon.

WHOOP takes almost the opposite approach. It has no display and is designed around continuous physiological tracking, strain, sleep and recovery rather than giving a runner a screen full of live race metrics.

That combination actually makes quite a lot of sense. One device can handle the immediate job of pacing and recording the run, while the other continues collecting the data that feeds into longer-term recovery and training analysis.

A pretty good advert for keeping things simple

A pretty good advert for specialised gear

There is another interesting part to all of this. Kejelcha was not racing with some enormous top-end adventure watch packed with every possible feature, but with a purpose-built running watch alongside a screenless tracker.

The Cheetah 2 Pro is very much aimed at runners, with dual-band GPS, offline maps and training metrics rather than the bulk and outdoor extras found on larger multisport watches. Pairing it with what appears to be a WHOOP also suggests Kejelcha prefers separate devices for separate jobs, one for live race information and another for continuous physiological tracking.

We saw much the same thing in our look at the watches used by the leading runners at the 2026 London Marathon. Several of the fastest athletes in the world were racing with relatively straightforward running watches rather than the biggest flagship models.

Whatever Kejelcha was getting from the two devices, the setup certainly did not get in his way. He averaged roughly 2:41 per kilometre across 21.1km and crossed the line in 56:51, becoming the first man to officially break 57 minutes and putting the half marathon world record back in his hands.

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The complaint was filed on August 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Richard Goetz. It targets Apple’s decision to end major watchOS updates for Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, Apple Watch SE 2 and the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra.

That is the same group of devices that caused quite a bit of frustration when Apple revealed its watchOS 27 compatibility list in June. We covered that reaction at the time, particularly because Series 8, SE 2 and the original Ultra hardly feel like ancient hardware. 

The lawsuit calls it software tethering

The wording used in the complaint is fairly strong. Goetz accuses Apple of what it describes as “software tethering”, arguing that Apple controls how long the watches continue receiving new software even though the underlying hardware may remain usable for considerably longer.

The plaintiff bought an original Apple Watch Ultra in December 2022 for around $799, according to the complaint. He argues that Apple did not disclose at the time how long the watch would receive major watchOS updates, and claims he would have paid less had he known that it would miss out on watchOS 27 less than four years later.

The proposed class covers California residents who bought any of the five affected models. The complaint seeks damages and other relief, but this is still at a very early stage. Apple has not yet filed a response to the allegations and no class has been certified by the court.

“Bricked” is probably stretching it

Some coverage of the case describes Apple as “bricking” these older watches, but that needs a fairly large asterisk. Apple is not remotely disabling the watches, and owners will not wake up to find their Series 8 or Ultra suddenly unusable.

They simply will not move beyond watchOS 26. Apple currently lists watchOS 27 as compatible with Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, Series 11, SE 3, Ultra 2 and Ultra 3. Series 6 through Series 8, SE 2 and Ultra 1 are absent from the list.

Those older watches can therefore continue doing what they do today. The longer-term problem is that apps, features and compatibility with future iPhones can gradually move on, leaving a perfectly functional piece of hardware increasingly isolated.

The SE 2 is the awkward one

The original Apple Watch Ultra will probably grab most of the attention because of its hefty price-tag. Still, Apple Watch SE 2 may present the more uncomfortable question for Apple.

Apple only replaced SE 2 with Apple Watch SE 3 in September 2025. That means a model that remained part of Apple’s current lineup until less than a year ago is already excluded from the next major version of watchOS.

A buyer can look up battery life, case materials, sensors and processor specifications before spending hundreds of dollars on a smartwatch. But one of the biggest factors affecting how long the product remains current – the software support – is much harder to quantify.

Whether Goetz can turn that argument into a successful class action is another question entirely. For Apple Watch owners, though, the case puts a spotlight on something that was already becoming increasingly difficult to ignore after the watchOS 27 announcement: software support needs to be part of the hardware value calculation.

The post Apple faces lawsuit over watchOS 27 compatibility cutoff appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

The challenge is Apple’s annual nod to national parks, and it is available to Apple Watch users around the world. You don’t actually need to visit a national park to earn it, so a walk around the neighbourhood will do just as well.

How to complete the 2026 National Parks challenge

The task is very similar to the past couple of years. Apple Watch owners need to record a walk, run, hike or wheelchair push lasting at least 20 minutes today.

There is no distance requirement. That is a change from some of the older National Parks challenges, when Apple required users to complete a workout of at least one mile, and in some years considerably more.

Apple describes the 2026 challenge as follows:

Earning this award is a walk in the park. Or a run. Or a hike. Or a wheelchair push. Just record one of these workouts for 20 minutes or more on August 23.

So there isn’t much complexity here. Start one of the eligible workouts on your Apple Watch, keep it running for at least 20 minutes and you should qualify for the award.

At a normal walking pace, 20 minutes works out at roughly a mile or a little more for many people. But distance isn’t what Apple is measuring for this challenge. Twenty minutes is the figure that counts.

A new badge and stickers

Those who complete today’s challenge will receive a limited-edition award in the Fitness app along with a new collection of animated stickers.

The 2026 sticker set is different from last year’s collection. Here it is below.

Apple has been running National Parks Activity Challenges for years, although the requirements have changed quite a bit along the way. The 2019 version, for example, required a three-mile workout, while the 2021 challenge asked for at least one mile. More recent editions have settled on the much simpler 20-minute target.

This year’s challenge also coincides with a wider National Parks push from Apple. From August 21 through August 28, Apple is donating $10 to the National Park Foundation for qualifying Apple Pay purchases made through Apple Stores, the Apple Store app and Apple’s US website. Apple is also featuring National Parks content across services including Maps, Podcasts, Fitness+ and the App Store.

Sources: Apple, MacRumors

The post Apple Watch users can earn a new National Parks badge today appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

A Garmin Fenix 9 retailer leak has revealed what appears to be an 18-model lineup spread across 43 mm, 47 mm and 51 mm sizes, with separate AMOLED and Solar versions plus extensive inReach connectivity. The prices also offer an early clue about Garmin’s strategy.

The leak was first spotted by Fitness Tracker Test, which found the watches listed by Czech Garmin retailer SkiAndBike. The timing is interesting, as Garmin has scheduled its “Play Harder” event for Tuesday, August 25.

There are no proper product descriptions or images yet, so plenty is still missing. But the retailer has published individual model names, Garmin-style product numbers, colour combinations and prices, making this look much more substantial than a generic Fenix 9 placeholder page.

Three sizes and two display routes

The leak points to the return of all three familiar Fenix case sizes. There are six listings at 43 mm, six at 47 mm and another six at 51 mm, giving us 18 configurations altogether.

AMOLED appears across all three sizes. The smaller 43 mm range includes regular AMOLED watches as well as several AMOLED inReach versions, while the 47 mm and 51 mm groups follow a similar pattern.

Solar watches are listed separately from the AMOLED models, so this does not appear to be Garmin adding solar charging to an AMOLED Fenix 9. Instead, the 47 mm and 51 mm ranges include separate “Pro Solar inReach” models. That strongly points to Garmin keeping the MIP-based Solar branch of the Fenix family alive alongside AMOLED.

There is no 43 mm Solar model among the current listings. For now, the smaller watch appears to be AMOLED-only, although it does get something arguably more interesting this time around.

There is also no MicroLED model among the 18 leaked configurations. Garmin introduced the display technology with the Fenix 8 Pro, but the current Fenix 9 retailer listings point only to AMOLED and separate MIP Solar models.

InReach is all over the Fenix 9 range

Garmin appears to be pushing inReach connectivity much harder with Fenix 9. Four of the six 43 mm watches are explicitly labelled AMOLED inReach, including Titanium Shell/Atmosphere, Titanium Gray/Dark Sandstone, Carbon Gray DLC Black/Pebble and Gold Cream/Fog Gray versions.

That makes the 43 mm model particularly interesting. Garmin’s connected Fenix 8 Pro range concentrated its satellite and LTE hardware in the larger watches, but these listings suggest Fenix 9 could bring inReach to the smallest case as well.

The same split continues at 47 mm and 51 mm. Regular AMOLED models sit alongside AMOLED inReach versions, while the Solar watches also carry inReach in their names.

In other words, Garmin may be turning connectivity into one of the main ways it separates Fenix 9 configurations. Instead of every Fenix getting satellite communication, buyers could have a choice between a more conventional AMOLED watch and a more expensive connected version.

The product numbers add some structure to the leak. The 43 mm inReach family uses 010-04335 numbers, the 47 mm versions use 010-04336 and the 51 mm versions use 010-04337. Solar then moves to 010-04338 for 47 mm and 010-04339 for 51 mm.

Pricing does not look wildly different

The retailer listings also give us an early indication of how Fenix 9 pricing could compare with the previous generation. Looking at the percentage differences against the same retailer’s original Fenix 8 pricing, there is no obvious sign of a major increase across the regular AMOLED range.

The clearest change appears with Solar. The leaked 47 mm Fenix 9 Pro Solar inReach is around 7.3% more expensive than the original Fenix 8 Solar, while the 51 mm version is up by roughly 6.7%.

That comparison is not completely like-for-like. Both new Solar models also include inReach connectivity, something the standard Fenix 8 Solar watches did not offer, so at least part of the increase appears to reflect the additional hardware and functionality.

The Fenix 9 picture is becoming much clearer

We have been seeing signs of Fenix 9 for a while, including possible new-device references in Garmin Connect and a growing trail of regulatory and patent clues. These retailer listings are much more concrete because they start to show how Garmin could actually arrange the watches on store shelves.

If the leak is accurate, Fenix 9 will arrive as another very broad Garmin family next Tuesday. There should be three case sizes, separate AMOLED and MIP Solar routes, regular and inReach-equipped configurations, and a wide selection of finishes from day one.

The post Garmin Fenix 9 retailer listing reveals three sizes and a big inReach push appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

The trouble started with supposedly stable software 22.43, whose short changelog only mentioned general security improvements. Soon afterwards, feedback on Garmin’s support forum suggested that the display controls were no longer behaving properly.

The display would not stay off

Owners found that enabling Battery Saver could actually switch on the always-on display. In some cases, it could not be switched off again even though AOD was disabled in the watch settings.

The problem also appeared during longer activities. Displays remained illuminated throughout workouts, while wrist gestures continued waking them despite the relevant settings being switched off.

That is pretty much the opposite of what Battery Saver is supposed to do. A screen that refuses to switch off also creates an obvious battery concern during long runs, hikes and other activities where charging is not an option.

The behaviour was not identical on every watch. While some displays remained permanently illuminated, other feedback suggested that the always-on display could switch itself off after only a few seconds.

The Display Off shortcut was also affected. Watches displayed a message confirming that the screen had been switched off, but it remained illuminated anyway.

Feedback covered the Fenix 8, Fenix 8 Pro and Tactix 8. That suggests this was a firmware problem affecting several closely related models rather than a faulty individual watch.

Version 22.44 is already rolling out

Garmin has now acknowledged the problem and confirmed that version 22.44 contains the fix. Its official rollout announcement says the update addresses unexpected display behaviour and inconsistent gesture response.

The update covers the Fenix 8 Pro and MicroLED models, standard Fenix 8, Fenix E, Enduro 3 and Tactix 8. Garmin said the staged rollout had reached 50% when it announced the release, although owners can check manually under Watch Settings, System, Software Update and Check for Updates.

There has also been feedback about sensor and touchscreen glitches following version 22.43. Garmin has not said that 22.44 fixes those problems, so the new release should not be treated as a general cure for every recent complaint.

This is another small corrective release for Garmin’s latest outdoor watches. The company previously used version 22.39 to tackle Fenix 8 Pro battery drain, while the latest releases can be followed through our firmware and software update tracker.

For anyone whose display refuses to switch off, version 22.44 is worth installing straight away. Everyone else can probably let the staged rollout reach their watch normally.

The post Garmin rushes out Fenix 8 fix after display complaints appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

A newly published US patent application from the company describes a smart ring built around that idea. It was filed in February 2025 and published on August 20, 2026 as US 2026/0246054 A1.

Anyone who has owned a smart ring for a few years will understand the problem. These devices are designed for continuous wear, but their batteries are usually permanently sealed inside. Once capacity drops significantly, replacing the battery is generally not practical and the entire ring can end up needing replacement.

Ultrahuman’s answer is to make the battery itself part of a removable section of the ring.

Swap the battery without stopping the ring

The drawings show a main ring body containing the sensors and electronics, with a curved battery section that attaches to it. Ultrahuman lists several possible ways of securing the two pieces, including magnets, a sliding lock and a snap-fit mechanism.

Electrical contacts automatically connect the battery module to the rest of the ring once it is attached. The patent mentions spring-loaded pins, pogo pins and magnetic contacts as possible approaches.

But the clever part is what happens when you take that battery out.

Ultrahuman proposes putting a smaller “residual battery” inside the main ring body. When the removable battery is detached, this smaller battery temporarily powers the sensors and electronics. Once a charged module is attached, a switching mechanism moves power back to the larger battery.

In theory, you could keep a second battery module charged and swap it in within seconds. The ring would continue recording while you do it, rather than spending an hour or two sitting on a charger. That is particularly interesting for sleep and recovery tracking, where missing chunks of data can affect the following day’s scores.

Oura has been thinking along similar lines

This isn’t the first removable smart ring battery design we’ve come across.

Earlier this year, we covered an Oura patent for a smart ring with a detachable battery section. Oura’s approach also separates the battery housing from the sensor-equipped portion of the ring, allowing the power module to be removed and replaced.

The two ideas attack much the same problem, although Ultrahuman’s residual battery makes its version particularly interesting. Instead of simply making the main battery replaceable, the filing is designed around keeping the ring operational during the swap.

That could also make charging work quite differently. Rather than charging the whole ring every few days, you could potentially charge individual battery modules separately and rotate them.

Battery ageing may be the bigger benefit

Convenience is only half the story. Replaceable batteries could substantially extend the useful life of smart rings.

I found battery performance pretty solid when I tested the Ultrahuman Ring Air, with the ring typically losing around 15 to 20% charge per day. But lithium batteries inevitably degrade with repeated charging cycles, regardless of how well they perform when new.

Ultrahuman explicitly talks about this in the filing. Instead of throwing away an otherwise functional ring when its battery deteriorates, the owner could simply replace the battery module. The company also suggests different battery capacities could eventually be offered, opening the possibility of choosing between a lighter module and one designed for longer runtime.

There is even an outer shell in some of the drawings that fits over the ring and removable battery section. This could be made from silicone, metal or a combination of materials, helping disguise the modular construction and making the finished device look more like a conventional ring.

None of this means Ultrahuman is about to launch such a product. Patent filings regularly cover ideas that never make it into commercial hardware, and making a removable section durable, waterproof and comfortable enough for continuous wear would bring its own engineering headaches.

But this is now at least the second major smart ring company we’ve seen exploring replaceable batteries. That makes the broader idea more interesting than any one patent.

The post Ultrahuman wants you to swap your smart ring battery in seconds appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

The Galaxy Aero first surfaced earlier this month, when SamMobile reported finding references to an unreleased Samsung wearable inside the Galaxy Wearable app. Two strings stood out: Galaxy Aero and galaxy_rtos_watch.

That second reference is the more interesting one. Samsung’s mainstream Galaxy Watches run Wear OS, while its simpler Galaxy Fit devices use a much lighter real-time operating system. Calling something galaxy_rtos_watch suggests Aero isn’t simply another fitness band with a new name.

SamMobile suggested the device could eventually sit somewhere between the upcoming Galaxy Fit 4 and the Galaxy Watch FE. Nothing about the final name, price, shape or launch date has been confirmed, so Aero could still change considerably before release.

But after digging through two of Samsung’s current wearable apps, the idea of an RTOS Galaxy watch doesn’t look particularly far-fetched.

Samsung Health is already built to handle RTOS wearables

We started with Samsung Health 7.00.6.004. There is no direct mention of Galaxy Aero in the APK, and there is no hidden galaxy_rtos_watch string either.

What Samsung Health does contain is existing infrastructure for RTOS devices.

One package referenced by the app is:

com.samsung.rtosfit.app.shealth.sport

Tracing that package through the code leads to Samsung’s older Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Fit e and Galaxy Fit2 devices. So this isn’t secret Aero support that Samsung accidentally left exposed. It is existing RTOS plumbing.

More interestingly, Samsung Health doesn’t need every wearable to be completely hardcoded. Its capability system reads information supplied by connected devices, including fields such as os, modelName, tracker_feature and sleep-related capabilities.

The operating-system handling specifically recognises rtos.

That could become important for Aero. Samsung Health already knows how to receive capability information from an RTOS wearable, meaning Samsung wouldn’t necessarily need a separate health platform just because the device doesn’t run Wear OS.

Galaxy Wearable reveals another piece of the puzzle

We also pulled apart Galaxy Wearable 2.2.70.26060861.

This particular version doesn’t contain either Galaxy Aero or galaxy_rtos_watch. That might sound like evidence against the original finding, but the APK itself provides a good reason why that conclusion would be premature.

Buried inside the app are references to:

galaxy_wearable_configuration.json

and:

device_lists

There are also code paths containing messages such as added new device from the server and will use data from the server.

In other words, the list of Samsung wearables doesn’t have to be frozen inside the APK that someone downloads from the Play Store or Galaxy Store. Samsung can supply newer device definitions through its servers.

So the absence of Aero from our APK isn’t especially surprising. The information SamMobile found appears to be newer than at least some of the product data contained in this public build, whether that came from a newer app version, Samsung’s server configuration or another part of the Galaxy Wearable codebase.

Aero could fill a gap Samsung hasn’t really tackled

The bigger question is why Samsung would make this device at all.

Aero could give Samsung something that Galaxy Watch has always struggled to deliver: smartwatch-style hardware with genuinely long battery life. Dropping Wear OS would reduce processor, memory and power requirements considerably, potentially allowing Samsung to target a week or more between charges rather than the much shorter endurance expected from a full Wear OS watch.

There would be compromises. An RTOS device wouldn’t necessarily offer the Play Store, the same third-party app support or all the software flexibility of the current Galaxy Watch9. Samsung would effectively be choosing battery life and simplicity over running a miniature Android computer on the wrist.

That trade-off isn’t necessarily a bad one.

There is plenty of space between a basic fitness band and a full smartwatch. Huawei, Amazfit and others have shown that watches can offer AMOLED displays, notifications, GPS, health tracking, calls and lengthy battery life without needing Wear OS. Aero could be Samsung’s attempt at the same formula.

APK teardown note

This article is based on an APK teardown. Code found inside an app can reveal features or devices that are under development, but there is no guarantee they will appear in a future public release.

The post Samsung’s apps show how Galaxy Aero could work without Wear OS appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

A post that appeared on Reddit on Friday shows what looks like a new Google fitness tracker. The poster claims the device is called Pixel Watch AURA, will last for 12 days between charges and is due to launch later this year. The Reddit post has already attracted plenty of attention.

There is a grain of truth behind all of this. Google really has shown an unidentified fitness tracker in its own advertising. But the new AURA image and the specifications attached to it are a different story.

Google’s mystery tracker is real

Earlier this month, an unusual wearable appeared in a couple of Google Pixel 11 ads. It has a small colour display and a shape that sits somewhere between a Fitbit Charge and Pixel Watch.

This wasn’t just one dodgy screenshot circulating on social media. A few users reported seeing the advertisement.

No-one has established what the device actually is. A Fitbit Charge 7 would be the obvious guess, particularly given the long gap since Charge 6. Google could also be planning a new product category alongside the recently launched screenless Fitbit Air.

Now we have this Reddit post which takes the mystery device considerably further. Suddenly there’s a name, Pixel Watch AURA, a claimed 12-day battery life and a launch window later this year. None of those details comes with a source.

And the accompanying image raises even more questions.

We ran the image through three separate AI-image detection tools. They returned probabilities between 97% and 99% that the image was AI generated.

AI detectors aren’t infallible, so that isn’t proof on its own. Compression, image editing and unusual product renders can fool them. But three very high scores become more interesting when the supposed leak has no identified source.

We looked for Pixel Watch AURA in Google’s apps

There is another way to test the claim.

We pulled apart the latest Google Pixel Watch app, version 5.0.0.958206140, looking for references to AURA and unknown wearable hardware. There is no indication of a device called Pixel Watch AURA.

We then checked the latest Google Health app, version 5.06.1, which is the successor to the Fitbit app. Again, no Pixel Watch AURA.

There is actually a standalone AURA entry buried in Google Health. Initially that looked more interesting. Following it through the app shows that it sits alongside symptoms including blurred vision, sensitivity to light, numbness and vertigo. In other words, it refers to migraine aura.

That doesn’t completely rule out the name. Google could keep an unreleased device out of public app builds, use a different internal codename or deliver some configuration from its servers. APK searches are much better at finding evidence than proving something doesn’t exist.

But there is currently nothing in either app backing up the Reddit claim.

The 12-day figure has a similar problem. No source has surfaced for that number either. For comparison, Google officially rates the screenless Fitbit Air for up to a week of battery life. Getting to 12 days from a tracker with an active display certainly isn’t impossible, but right now it is just another unsupported specification attached to the post.

Now make no mistake, Google’s mystery screen-equipped tracker remains genuinely interesting. And there is good reason to think Google has at least experimented with such a device.

Pixel Watch AURA is another matter. Until something more convincing appears, the name, 12-day battery claim and new image look much more like someone building a fictional product around a real Google mystery.

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