Apple’s long-awaited Apple Watch isn’t for sale just yet, but people are of course curious as to how this new product will function in real life, beyond the flashy Apple demo videos. Software developer ELEKS was equally curious, deciding to see how Tesla’s existing car app would run on the new wearable device.
Running on an emulator, the demonstration shows the different functions the app allows, like unlocking the car, turning the head lights on and off, and honking the horn remotely. There’s also a charging screen that shows details of the Tesla’s battery life, a location screen that lets users track down the vehicle, and a climate screen that controls the temperature settings remotely.
These aren’t unique functions to the Apple Watch. In fact, all these features are available on the current iPhone app, ELEKS simply developed (unofficially, without involvement from Tesla) a paired down version of the web app to run on the watch. Considering the forward-thinking nature of electric cars, having a quick and handy spot-check of the car’s status right on your wrist makes sense.
It’s a little anticlimactic to hear, though, that it’s just a port of the already existing app. Why not have functions specific to the watch? According to the developers, it’s largely due to Apple’s habit of playing its cards close to its chest. Watchkit, the software development kit for the device, doesn’t have all of the watch functions available yet. The version developers received is a beta form of the software, and there’s no way for them to currently write software for the accelerometer, gyroscope, TapTic tactile notifications, and partial touch screen functions. Essentially, all the stuff that makes the Apple Watch cool.
The watch also has to be in Bluetooth proximity to the phone, acting more of an extension of the phone app rather than a standalone program. These things are subject to change, however, as any software in beta tends to do. Heck, we’re talking about a product that nobody outside of a Cupertino clean room has even seen in real life. As the software improves, we’re sure to see some cool stuff follow. Maybe future versions of the app will have TapTic reminders if you leave the lights on, or use the motion sensors to start the car with a wave of the hand.
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.