Latest articles by Michael L Hicks
Samsung's lawsuit against Oura failed. What happens next could reshape the smart ring market
Samsung v. Oura A federal judge ruled that Samsung can't prove Oura will sue them, clearing the way for Oura to do just that (barring an appeal).
Forget the Fenix 8 — save hundreds on Garmin watches during Amazon's Big Spring Sale
Big Spring Deals From the Vivoactive 5 and Venu 3S for mainstream buyers to the Epix Pro and Fenix 7X Pro for power users, all of our favorite Garmin watches have good deals.
Garmin Connect Plus subscription adds Active Intelligence, new workouts and coaching
Another AI Garmin Connect Plus is a new subscription, adding AI insights and premium perks while keeping old features free. Will Garmin users pay for it?
Wear OS is still missing a major player, and now's the perfect time for a comeback
Wear OS Weekly It's high time Motorola rejoined the Wear OS fold and revived that classic Moto 360 look instead of sticking to cheap squircle Moto Watches.
Force Apple to make its Watch less exclusive, and the entire smartwatch industry changes
Sunday Runday As unlikely as it is for Apple to open up messaging to non-Apple Watches, it could reshape the entire wearable market, including Android watches.
Google ignored Android XR at GDC 2025, and indie VR devs are concerned
GDC 2025 Google was a huge presence at GDC, pushing Gemini for video games and new mobile gaming tech. The one blatant no-show? Any Android XR discussion.
Quest developers are joining forces to solve the 'VR visibility crisis'
GDC 2025 VR devs are seeing their games buried under Gorilla Tag clones. With Meta and Sony not helping, they're finding new ways to make VR profitable again.
Meta's head of Oculus Publishing debunked Quest Store 'theories' and hinted at their Quest 4 audience at GDC
GDC 2025 Chris Pruett went on stage at GDC 2025 to counter criticisms that Meta has abandoned devs to focus on Horizon and F2P games — and hint at a Quest 4 demographic.
Google's clinical sleep lead has cool ideas for the future of smartwatch sleep data
Wear OS Weekly Sleep tracking on smartwatches keeps getting more complicated, but Google's sleep lead has even more ambitious dreams of what comes next.
Google Pixel 9a vs. Pixel 8a: More than a facelift
Stepping it up The Google Pixel 9a will wow you with its larger, brighter display and excellent battery life, but 8a owners may not have enough reason to upgrade.
Here's why the Google Pixel 9a ditched the camera bar
A new 'personality' Google explained to us why it needed to remove the Pixel series' signature look; it may not be a reason you'd expect.
Google Pixel 9a hands-on: Extreme makeover, phone edition
Debate time I got up close to Google's new "personality" for the A-series, designed to set it apart from the flagships.
Oura Ring 5: Everything we want to see
Smarts & tricks Oura's Ring 4 was a traditional smart ring, but Oura's patents show some incredible ideas that could pay off in the Ring 5.
The Forerunner 975 and 275 will show how much gas Garmin has left in the tank
Sunday Runday Our two favorite running watches should get new models in the next couple of months, but how many new ideas does Garmin have left?
YouTube Premium: Everything you need to know
Watch it all YouTube Premium is essentially ad-free YouTube, right? Yes, but there are other benefits to using it.
Best VR headsets 2025
Extend your reality Whether you have a gaming PC, a PC, or nothing at all, we show you which headset is best, and what you should be putting your money towards for VR.
Wear OS 5.1 represents a new class of slow, substantial Pixel Watch updates
Wear OS Weekly Google used to release Pixel Watch updates without fail, but now it wants to slow the releases down. Here's why that could be a good thing.
Facer hired Fossil's old Wear OS exec, and it sounds like a perfect match
Unfinished business Former Fossil VP of Product Brook Eaton is joining Facer as CPO to 'expand OEM partnerships,' and I hope Google is the first.
I grilled Strava's execs about the app's future and how Athlete Intelligence will improve
Sunday Runday Athlete Intelligence just left its beta testing, but Strava's CTO and CPO told me that they're "not done" making it better.
Meta is letting its engineers brag openly about its AR glasses, and I love it
Refreshing transparency Meta's offices keep leaking about future projects; now it seems they're leaning into it and just telling us what they're working on.
Samsung could use Sony's 4K Micro-OLEDs in Moohan, surpassing Apple Vision Pro
Spoil your eyes Samsung has reportedly surpassed its rival's headset with better display resolution and color quality — which could make it quite expensive.
Here's how Google's medical team envisions the future of wearable health
Wear OS Weekly I interviewed Dr. Jacqueline Shreibati about her team's work on Loss of Pulse and the transition from 'wellness' guidance to machine-learning diagnoses.
OnePlus will deliver three years of Watch 3 updates, after all
Better value We were concerned when OnePlus told us that the Watch 3 would only get two years of support. Now it seems to have been a misunderstanding.
