Apple isn’t telling tales when it comes to Apple Watch sales, but according to Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly, demand for the wearable is high both in stores and online. In fact, Best Buy plans to bring the watch to more of its stores ahead of the holiday season to encourage more purchases, reports Fortune.
“Demand for Apple Watch has been so strong in the stores and online,” Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly told Wall Street analysts on a conference call. By the end of September, Joly plans to have the Apple Watch on sale at all 1,050 of Best Buy’s stores. On August 7, when the retailer first started selling the watch, Best Buy was more conservative in its plans to carry the device in stores. The company originally intended to have the Apple Watch in stock at just 300 stores by the holiday season.
Surprisingly high demand for Apple’s first wearable prompted Best Buy to ramp up its efforts to get the device on store shelves. Although Joly didn’t offer up any sales figures for the Apple Watch, his statements seem to corroborate Apple’s earlier boasting about strong sales. Other analysts have taken a more negative view on Apple Watch sales. Some have even cut sales forecasts, and others say that demand has dropped and will continue to decline. Until Apple gives the official numbers, the Watch will remain an unknown entity.
Additionally, Joly said 740 Best Buy stores will soon feature improved Apple sections with better displays for new iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, and so on. Joly also hinted that the retailer could become an authorized service provider for Apple products. Testing will kick off in 50 stores and could expand if it becomes popular.
As previously rumored, Best Buy will offer AppleCare warranties to its customers this quarter. Although the exact date is unknown, it seems likely that Apple Care plans would arrive around the same time as the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, which are expected to arrive in September.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.