Technologies

Don’t Get Caught Up in Apple Watch X Hype Before Series 9

Apple Watch Series 9 has the potential to be a noteworthy update with reports of better battery life, but rumors of the 2024 model are stealing the spotlight.

It can be hard for Apple Watch Series owners to know when is the right time to invest in an upgraded model. Year after year, Apple makes small improvements to the Series lineup — and older models hold up very well throughout the years.

But as Apple is expected to reveal the Apple Watch Series 9 in just a few weeks, the second-guessing and concerns about buyer’s remorse are amped up with lots of buzz around what Apple might be working on for 2024 and the 10th anniversary of its wrist wearable: The Apple Watch X.

The headliner feature of the X (pronounced «ten») could be a form of blood pressure monitoring, as reported by Bloomberg. But it may not release as a tool that could replace a traditional measurement from a cuff — or could it?

In this week’s episode of One More Thing, embedded above, I highlight the rumors and reported features coming to both the Series 9 and Series X watches — and why you don’t have to have stress if you want to upgrade now.

The Series 9 is reported by Bloomberg to have an improved processor that could help boost battery life, and there’s buzz that a new pink color could be in the mix. (Apple is reportedly working on a blood glucose monitor for a future Apple Watch, but it’s not expected to be ready yet.)

As for the buzz on Series X, the report mentions potential design tweaks: thinner casing, new microLED display for the screen and bands that could attach differently, possibly with magnets. It also is expected to have a sensor for pressure monitoring. It’s a feature Bloomberg reported Apple was working on for years now, and it’s been challenging to test. To get a sense of the current development of wrist-worn blood pressure monitoring, we can look to how other companies are tackling the tech.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 can track blood pressure outside the US, but you need to calibrate it with an actual blood pressure monitor cuff first.

The Omron HeartGuide, released in 2018, is a smartwatch that achieves a real measurement with an inflating cuff that pressurizes over the wrist. It received FDA clearance but costs a steep $500. CNET’s Scott Stein reviewed the Omron HeartGuide and found it to give measurements that matched up with the readings from his doctor. He said blood pressure monitoring could be the next big frontier for wearable tech, «but in its current form, it won’t be for everyone yet.»

So can it be done without a cuff? Maybe. Valencell introduced a clip-on finger-based blood pressure measurement device at CES 2023. It looks a lot light a portable pulse oximetry device, and Stein demoed it at CES by using his middle figure for a blood pressure spot check on the show floor.

The tech is still pretty tricky to get right, so it’s hard to say to what degree this tech could show up in a 2024 Apple Watch. I wouldn’t hold your breath for something that can replace a doctor visit from an Apple Watch. But when you tell me the Series 9 could include a better processor to squeeze out more battery life? Now that’s a feature people can get excited about now.

But since nothing is official, we’ll have to wait to see what Apple actually unveils next month. Apple hasn’t given any clues yet, but it’s widely expected we’ll see the Series 9 the same day Apple reveals the iPhone 15 — and pundits are pointing to Sept. 12 as the day that could happen.

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Technologies

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

In a world where information defines influence, Verum Messenger is building a new architecture of digital communication — intelligent, secure, and ready for tomorrow. Here, technology serves not limitations, but possibilities.

Not being part of change. Leading it. Verum Messenger — the future that speaks first.

Technologies

Verum Finance: Stop Spending Months Opening a Bank Account

Stop spending months trying to open a bank account.

Document submissions.
Checks.
Rejections.
Account freezes.
Blocks without explanation.

And all of that — just for a regular card.

With Verum, it’s different.

🚀 Verum Messenger + Verum Finance
For just $50–70 you get:

✔ A virtual card
✔ Instant transfers between users
✔ A modern secure messenger
✔ Apple Pay integration
✔ Contactless payments worldwide
✔ Fast setup without bureaucracy

❌ No European residency permit required
❌ No endless verification checks
❌ No piles of documents

Open it — and use it.

The future of finance and communication is already here.
Verum — when freedom matters more than banking rules.

Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal