Wearable | The Verge

Audemars Piguet and Swatch made a $400 ‘pop’ pocket watch

2026-05-13T11:35:17-04:00

The pink, yellow, and teal Otg Roz is one of the Royal Pop’s eight unique designs. | Image: Swatch

Following a series of cryptic newspaper ads and Instagram teasers that had watch fans speculating about its next collaboration, Swatch announced a new timepiece collection created with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet. Inspired by Swatch's iconic Pop watches from the '80s and Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak timepieces that first debuted in 1972, the new Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collection features eight pocket watches with colorful designs and octagonal-shaped cases.

Depending on the size, features, and finish, Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak watches can range in price from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Audem …

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What’s the role of a simple fitness band in the AI health era?

2026-05-08T09:12:38-04:00

Fitness bands can’t be as simple as they once were before the AI health boom. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.

A fitness band is for bettering yourself, but casually. It's lightweight, easy to wear, and not something you have to think too hard about. It's cheaper than a smartwatch. You get your steps, basic heart rate, and some sleep tracking. Maybe you can see the time, maybe you can't. But unlike many wearables today, a fitness tracker wasn't truly meant to be a companion for your phone and all the overwhelm that comes wit …

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Google’s taking a big swing at AI health with the Fitbit Air

2026-05-07T18:13:01-04:00

It's a Whoop dupe. That was my first thought when I saw the new $99 Google Fitbit Air. You can hardly blame me. The band is screenless with a metallic fabric clasp. My eyes flickered between the Fitbit Air and my wrist, where I'm wearing a Whoop MG. Was I not seeing double?

But as my press briefing went on, my opinion started changing. The Air is sort of like the OG Fitbits that Whoop then duped once Fitbit went all in on smartwatches. Think back to 2012, when the Fitbit One could clip to your pants, be turned into a pendant, or dangle from a keychain. That device was mostly a pedometer, whereas the Air is more of a modern, modular sensor t …

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Here are the fitness trackers I actually recommend

2026-05-06T11:52:25-04:00

Why do you want a fitness tracker? This is the first question I ask any time I’m asked to recommend a device.

The number-one rule of wearable tech is that it has to be something you actually want to wear. So instead of molding yourself to a device, it’s better to pick something that isn’t too hard to slot into the life you already lead. The tech specs will fall into place once you’re honest with yourself about who you are and where you’re currently at. You can always revisit your choice once you’ve leveled up, but buying for who you want to be someday isn’t helpful.

Are you a couch potato who wants to hit 10,000 steps a day? Are you a gym rat who prioritizes lifting heavy? Do you have absolutely no idea, but have a vague vision of six-pack abs and know you have an Android phone? There are a zillion permutations, but in my experience, people typically fall into a handful of categories.

Here’s what I recommend for each.

Casual wellness seekers

It’s nigh impossible to escape the barrage of health metrics and scores these days. But if it’s possible, you’d like to. All you really want is credit for the activity you do and some insight into how your sleep is, screw the bells and whistles. Also, you’d be caught dead wearing a hockey-sized puck on your arm. If that’s you, I’d recommend a Fitbit Charge 6 or an Oura Ring 4. Both work regardless of what phone you have and are good at getting you the basics with minimal overwhelm.

Oura Ring 4

Score: 9

Pros	Cons
More sizes Slimmer design Expanded auto workout detection Redesigned app Better battery life	Subscription required to get all features I still wish this had a charging case

Where to Buy:

The Oura Ring is the more stylish of the two. It’s the better option if you’d prefer to keep your wrist free or would rather notifications stay on your phone. I vouch for shelling out a smidge extra for the ceramic version. (In my years of testing, I find the metal finishes scratch easily. Whatever you do, skip rose gold. It doesn’t hold up well.) It’s a little more annoying to get, and I don’t advise skipping the sizing kit. Your fingers will swell and shrink depending on the weather, so you want to see how a ring size fits over 24 hours. I’d also keep this in mind if you plan on losing a significant amount of weight. I hate that it comes with a $6 monthly subscription, but it’s a good product, and as far as wearable subscriptions go, it’s among the most affordable.

Fitbit Charge 6

Score: 7

Pros	Cons
Solid fitness and health tracking feature set It’s $20 cheaper! Adds more apps Can broadcast HR to fitness equipment The haptic button is better than the groove	YouTube Music is the only option and that’s $11 monthly The Fitbit-Google transition is a lil bumpy It’s not a physical side button

Where to Buy:

Go for the Fitbit Charge 6 if you’d like to see the time or stats while exercising. This is also the pick if you want a few notifications or don’t want to rely on your phone quite as much. It’s much easier to leave your phone in a gym locker with a Charge 6 and lift weights — you don’t want to do that with a smart ring. Oura is the more premium feeling of the two, but there are plenty of ways to dress up a Charge 6 with third-party straps. None of the metrics are behind a paywall anymore, though if you want access to Google’s experimental AI coach, that’ll set you back $10 a month or $80 a year.

Honorable mentions: I dig Withings’ hybrid smartwatches, which are a great blend of simple tracking and style. The new Pebble watches also feel right for those yearning for 2015-era simplicity.

A one-stop smartwatch

This type of person needs a bit more functionality from their fitness tracker. It’s about feeling alright leaving your phone behind because cellular and emergency calling are options. When you’re not being active, it’d be nice to easily set timers, check a weather widget, unlock your laptop, or perhaps quickly view the feed from your doorbell camera. In that case, a smartwatch is the way to go.

This is when your phone matters. If you’ve got an iPhone, I’ll point you to the Apple Watch SE 3. Android users, may I interest you in a Google Pixel Watch 4?

Apple Watch SE 3

Score: 9

Pros	Cons
We finally get an always-on display We get double tap and wrist flick! So many more health features! 5G! Fast charging! More durable! On-device Siri! Upgraded processor You get a speaker too	Those bezels are still thicc Wish the battery life was a skosh better

Where to Buy:

I recommend the $249 SE 3 because it offers the best bang for your buck feature-wise of all the new Apple Watches. If you want the bigger screen and advanced health features like EKGs, look for a refurbished Series 10 in a nicer material. (The Series 11 is fiiiiine, but the difference from the Series 10 is negligible and you might as well save a lil extra.) However, I don’t recommend the Apple Watch Ultra 3 for most people unless that’s the look you’re going for, you work out a lot, and you want the biggest battery / screen possible.

Google Pixel Watch 4

Score: 8

Pros	Cons
All-around better battery and fast-charging Material 3 Expressive design refresh is smart Better auto activity tracking Raise-to-Talk is quite natural Domed display looks quite nice Repairability! Satellite SOS	Third proprietary charger in four years Gemini is still hit or miss GPS maps are better, but still a bit wonky

Where to Buy:

Now for Android. Arguably, if you have a Samsung phone, you could go for the Galaxy Watch 8. But I was more impressed by the Pixel Watch 4’s approach to repairability, feature updates, and AI implementation. As a caveat, I’m not a fan of AI fitness and health features, but of the ones I’ve tested so far, Google’s is among the best.

Honorable mentions: For Android users who want superior battery life, check out the OnePlus Watch 3.

Fitness fiends, you know who you are

Hi, friends. How’s your Whoop band or eight-year-old Garmin holding up? I’m guessing you already know what you want to buy and don’t really need me to list out the pros and cons of a Garmin, Coros, Polar, Whoop, or one of the Ultra smartwatches. Game recognizes game, and yeah, I agree, the price increase starting with the Garmin Fenix 8 is banana-balls bonkers.

You don’t really need my opinion here, especially since I suspect a good chunk of you keep DC Rainmaker bookmarked. (He’s great! I’m also a big fan.) Just in case, here are some of my thoughts on some of the products and brands in this space.

Garmin Forerunner 265S

Score: 9

Pros	Cons
More intuitive menu navigation Multiband GPS Long battery life — even with AOD enabled Adds helpful training features Oh, oh, it’s OLED, you know	It’s $100 more than the 255 OLED displays don’t cost $100

Where to Buy:

I’m a huge fan of the Garmin Forerunner 265, which is my platonic ideal for a running watch. I also enjoyed the Forerunner 970 if you want a bit extra, but as a petite-wristed person, I prefer the smaller Forerunners. I also think the Forerunner line is a much more budget-friendly alternative to the Fenix while also keeping much of the same features and functionality. That said, if you can splurge a bit, a newer Garmin with the flashlight is well worth it.
I’ve liked Coros watches on the whole. Battery life is incredible, but as my colleague Liz Lopatto noted in her Nomad review, the app isn’t as well equipped for adventurers as it is for runners.
The only people who should give a whoop about Whoop are athletes — I stand by that in my review of the latest device. That said, I’ve found its newer health features to be dubious. The Whoop age feature is my villain origin story, and its forays into wellness have left me a tad concerned.
The Apple Watch Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra are good devices, even if the latter is fugly on my lady wrist. The Ultra 3 is my current daily driver because my garbage eyes love a giant screen, the interoperability with my other gadgets is convenient, and the superior notifications are a godsend for my work life. To me, that’s worth the trade-off in battery life since I constantly switch between wearables anyway. But in another life, one where I don’t do this job and spend more time training, I think I’d be a Garmin Forerunner gal.
You don’t need an Oura Ring, but it is kinda helpful if you really want to prioritize recovery metrics and are committed to a Garmin, Coros, or some other smartwatch. (Garmin’s sleep tracking has never been my favorite, though it’s improved over the years.) I’ve run the numbers, and even with the subscription, I find dual-wielding an Oura and a smartwatch more cost-effective for my needs over a period of three to five years than a Whoop. And since I know you Garmin heads tend to keep your devices for an average of eight years, I think the math works out similarly.

Zombies, Run! is officially back from the dead

2026-05-04T17:50:06-04:00

Runner 5, we are so back. | Image: Naomi Alderman

Starting tomorrow, Zombies, Run! fans will be able to download a new eight-part story for the fitness app. That's nothing short of a miracle.

In 2012, Zombies, Run! was one of the first fitness apps to find a dedicated community. A big part of that success was that it combined a couch-to-5K plan with immersive audio storytelling set in a zombie apocalypse. Six to Start - the company behind the game - was eventually sold to OliveX, a dubious purveyor of crypto and NFT products. It then fell into the same trap that befalls many indie apps and games after acquisition. A little over a year ago, all but two Six to Start staffers had been laid of …

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My $5K smart bed needs to shut the hell up

2026-05-01T16:39:34-04:00

I take my beauty rest seriously. So seriously that, after months of testing, I bought my ludicrously expensive Eight Sleep Pod 4 Ultra review unit. It had a lot of things going for it. It kept my spouse's side of the bed cool and mine toasty. That, in turn, convinced my aloof cats to curl on my side at night. It improved my marriage by dramatically reducing my spouse's sonorous snoring. What more could I possibly wa …

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Oura adds birth control support to its period tracker

2026-05-01T06:24:52-04:00

Here’s an example of what the new Hormonal Birth Control support will look like when it rolls out on May 6th. | Image: Oura

Oura is launching a new reproductive health feature that takes hormonal contraception into consideration when tracking period cycles. The smart ring maker describes the Hormonal Birth Control update as a "first-of-its-kind experience" inside Oura's existing Cycle Insights feature, allowing users to see how over 20 combinations of hormonal birth control methods - including pills, patches, IUDs, and implants - can affect their overall biometric data.

The feature will begin rolling out globally on May 6th. It's designed to show the impact that hormonal contraception may have on temperature patterns, sleep, and recovery, and can help users to t …

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All these smart glasses and nothing to do

2026-05-01T15:01:50-04:00

Despite only having one face, I made testing work.

I'm currently wearing a pair of smart glasses called the Even Realities G2. Another two pairs, from Rokid, sit on my desk. A few feet away, I've got the Meta Ray-Ban Display charging alongside their Neural Wristband. In my closet are six pairs of $50 smart sunnies that an overzealous Walmart rep sent me. Those sit next to some Xreal, RayNeo, and Lucyd glasses, plus an old pair of Razer Anzu. Later, I'm calling my optician because I'm hoping to test a pair of the new Ray-Ban Meta Optics, which can supposedly handle my challenging prescription. I'm drowning in smart eyewear - and even more is on the horizon.

Right now, it's difficult to tell …

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Samsung’s first smart glasses have leaked

2026-04-27T12:25:51-04:00

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The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Glasses look nearly identical to Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses in leaked images from Android Headlines. The glasses, which could be announced at Google I/O next month, are code-named "Jinju" and will reportedly cost between $379 and $499, on par with the display-free Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2. They'll reportedly include a Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 processor, a 12-megapixel Sony IMX681 camera, a 155mAh battery, and bone conduction speakers; however, this pair won't have a built-in display.

Samsung is reportedly saving a micro-LED display for a more premium pair of glasses, code-named "Haean," which it plans to launch in 20 …

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Google’s handsome Pixel Watch 4 is on sale for $40 off in both size configurations

2026-04-24T13:29:18-04:00

Spring has sprung, as they say, and to mark the occasion, Google is running a spring-centric promo until Sunday, April 26th. The limited-time discounts apply to a number of Google’s first-party devices, from the Pixel 10 Pro to the Pixel Buds Pro 2, as well as the wearables like the Pixel Watch 4. In fact, Google’s latest watch is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store in its 41mm / Wi-Fi configuration starting at $309.99 ($40 off) — or in the 45mm config for $359.99 ($40 off) — which is one of the better prices we’ve seen in recent months.

Google Pixel Watch 4

Where to Buy:

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: the Pixel Watch 4 is the Android watch to beat. Google’s newest wearable still works best for Pixel phone owners, though its overall performance, attractive 3,000-nit domed display, and host of upgrades over the third-gen model make it a suitable option for pretty much everyone. You still get a wide range of health and fitness tools, allowing you to track everything from your blood oxygen levels to your heart rate, along with the ability to automatically record certain cardio activities for at least 15 minutes. It also features emergency satellite SOS (in the case of an emergency) and dual-frequency GPS, the latter of which provides improved navigation in challenging environments such as cities and dense forests.

Unsurprisingly, the Pixel Watch 4 integrates well with Google’s slate of services — Google Maps, Google Wallet, Google Assistant, etc., etc. — and works with Gemini, now quickly accessible from your wrist using a convenient raise-to-talk gesture. It also benefits from a new speaker, a bigger battery, and a power-efficient processor, which, in our initial testing, allowed us to eke out a commendable 45 hours of battery life with the 45mm model. Much of the watch is now repairable, too, so should you ever break the glass or damage the battery, you don’t need to shell out for an entirely new watch. That’s a welcome design change, one we wish more wearable manufacturers would adopt.

Read our full Pixel Watch 4 review.

More ways to save today

Verge readers can pick up the third-gen Theragun Mini at Wellbots for $159.99 ($60 off) with code VERGETHERA60, which drops it to its lowest price to date. As someone who routinely uses the three-speed massage gun to soothe minor aches and pains, I can tell you it delivers a surprising amount of pressure for its pint-sized stature. It also comes with a trio of attachments, including a thumb add-on that’s ideal for areas that require more precise pressure.
Now through May 21st, you can grab Dreo’s Tower Fan Nomad One on Amazon in either black or white for $59.88 (about $20 off), an all-time low. The four-speed, oscillating fan isn’t particularly fancy (sorry, no Matter support), but with summer right around the corner, the staff favorite is a practical pickup that can blow air up to 34 feet away. The bladeless fan has even found its way into our upcoming graduation gift guide, if you need more convincing.
It’s not a new deal, per se, but you can still grab AirPods 4 at Amazon and Walmart for $99 ($30 off), which is a great price for Apple’s entry-level earbuds. The standard model sounds just as good as the step-up version with active noise cancellation, and because they’re outfitted with Apple’s H2 chip, those with a Mac or iPhone can leverage all sorts of ecosystem tricks, from automatic device switching to hands-free Siri commands. Read our review.