Apple retains lead in record year for the smartwatch market

According to Counterpoint, Apple retained its lead in a record-setting year for the smartwatch market.

The research giant’s analysts noted how the smartwatch market barely grew in 2020 as COVID-19 still had the world firmly in its grip. However, in 2021, the market staged quite a comeback.

Counterpoint Research’s Global Smartwatch Model Tracker found the market recorded 24 percent YoY growth in 2021. Q4 was the most impressive with more than 40 million units shipped;...

Google looks set to finally debut its Apple Watch competitor in 2022

According to reports, the long-rumoured in-house smartwatch from Google will finally launch in 2022.

Insider reports that a smartwatch from Google codenamed Rohan will launch next year. When it hits the market, it will probably launch commercially as the Pixel Watch.

Rohan is said to have a round design without a physical bezel. Google employees have reportedly been allowed to use the prototype for feedback purposes but claim that it currently needs to be charged...

Samsung SmartThings adds support for the Matter protocol

Samsung’s smart home platform SmartThings has added support for the industry-changing Matter protocol.

Matter is a new IoT standard that’s backed by more than 180 companies (even Apple!) and is guided by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (formerly Zigbee Alliance) whose members span various industries.

Michelle Mindala-Freeman, Head of Marketing for the Connectivity Standards Alliance, said:

“We truly believe that Matter is the foundation and future of...

Samsung’s IoT platform SmartThings now supports edge computing

Samsung’s IoT platform SmartThings now supports edge computing to improve home automation.

Edge computing enables more core functionality to be processed locally. For the end-user, that means tasks are executed faster, more reliably, and with greater security.

In a blog post, the SmartThings team wrote:

“While users will not see a change within the SmartThings app, on the backend, SmartThings Edge is transforming connectivity and the experience in a...