DALLAS, Feb. 26, 2024 /CNW/ — Global technology company OnePlus launched its OnePlus Watch 2 during Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. The OnePlus Watch 2 is a stunning flagship smartwatch, and it utilizes the latest version of Wear OS by Google™ (Wear OS 4). The device features a unique Dual-Engine Architecture with two chipsets, Wear OS’s hybrid interface, market-leading battery life of up to 100 hours in full Smart Mode, and a premium build and design. The OnePlus Watch 2 represents a big step forward for the smartwatch market.
As “Your Partner in Time,” the OnePlus Watch 2 embraces OnePlus’ “Never Settle” mantra to bring together all-around top-tier hardware and software in a single device, meticulously designed to motivate and support users to achieve anything they set their minds to. “As a smartwatch that integrates market-leading battery life, premium design, latest Wear OS and innovative health features, the OnePlus Watch 2 definitely qualifies as a reliable companion for your daily life,” said Justin Liu, GM of the Wearable Business Unit at OnePlus.
Industry-leading Battery Life Backed by Dual-Engine Architecture
The OnePlus Watch 2 is packed with flagship features, including exceptional battery and charging performance for unrivaled reliability and longevity. It features OnePlus’s self-developed Dual-Engine Architecture powered by two different flagship chipsets — the Snapdragon W5 performance chipset and the BES 2700 MCU Efficiency chipset. The BES2700 Efficiency Chipset runs RTOS and handles background activity and simple tasks, while the Snapdragon W5 handles more demanding tasks, like running your favorite Google apps. This optimized approach, enabled by the Wear OS hybrid interface seamlessly managing the transition between chips, means users will experience a smartwatch that effortlessly does it all while extending the time between charges.
“We’ve made significant updates to Wear OS’ hybrid interface to support new capabilities that run on OnePlus’ innovative Dual-Engine Architecture,” said John Renaldi, Senior Director of Product and Design, Wear OS by Google. “Through this collaboration, the OnePlus Watch 2 transparently switches between the low power and high-performance engines to deliver a feature-rich, premium smartwatch experience with optimized battery life.”
With this unique Dual-Engine Architecture and a 500mAh battery, the OnePlus Watch 2 can offer up to 100 hours1 of regular use in Smart Mode, or up to 48 hours2with heavy use. With 7.5W VOOC Fast Charging, the 500mAh battery can be fully charged in 60 minutes. With its 2GB RAM and 32GB ROM configuration, the OnePlus Watch 2 also offers plenty of memory and storage to ensure the device always runs smoothly.
A Personal Fitness and Wellness Coach on Your Wrist
Drawing on its advanced combination of hardware and software, the OnePlus Watch 2 provides meaningful insights that drive positive change in health and fitness – thanks to its ability to collect and analyze comprehensive health data in the OHealth app.
The OnePlus Watch 2 and the OHealth app now support Health Connect by Android™, which offers a central hub in Android 14 for managing data permissions from multiple health and fitness apps and devices. With user permission, users can securely sync their health data collected via the watch or the OHealth app with Health Connect-compatible apps.
Fitness features available through the OHealth app include tracking modes for more than 100 sports such as badminton, running, tennis, skiing, and more. Specifically for badminton, the OHealth app can track data such as swing strength and speed. Using the running tracking mode, wearers can track data such as ground contact time, ground balance, and VO2 max. OnePlus and Wear OS teams worked closely to fine-tune these sensor capabilities.
Designed for enhanced accuracy in location tracking, the OnePlus Watch 2 features Dual Frequency GPS with the ability to receive L5 GPS signals in addition to the commonly used L1 signals. Using two separate antennas for each GPS signal further improves the precision and reliability of positioning for wearers.
Building on the OHealth app, the OnePlus Watch 2 also offers detailed sleep tracking analysis – including an all-day sleep record that tracks users’ deep sleep, light sleep, REM and awake times. The device also monitors sleep breathing rate and provides a sleep quality score, sleep snoring risk assessment, and more. It can also monitor stress levels by calculating heart rate variability (HRV).
The Best of Google apps with Wear OS 4
Powered with the latest version of Wear OS, the OnePlus Watch 2 comes with popular Google apps like Maps, Assistant, Wallet, Calendar, and more third-party apps. Experience enhanced convenience with new features coming to Google apps, like the launch of transit directions on Google Maps that help you navigate public transportation from your wrist. Plus, manage boarding passes, event tickets, and more, directly on your watch with Google Wallet. With Fast Pair, you can quickly connect and set up your OnePlus Watch 2 with your OnePlus phone, or other supported Android smartphone. This seamless pairing experience supports features like calling, messaging, media remote control, and others, directly from your wrist.
Premium Design with Remarkable Durability
The OnePlus Watch 2 shares the same design philosophy with the OnePlus 12 Series. Taking inspiration from the distinctive K-shape design of the OnePlus 12 series, the OnePlus Watch 2 features a round watch face that echoes the series’ camera deco, making it the perfect companion for the OnePlus 12 series devices.
The OnePlus Watch 2 features a 2.5D sapphire crystal cover, making it more scratch-resistant without compromising optical clarity. The watch chassis is made out of stainless steel for added rust and corrosion resistance. Certified to the latest MIL-STD-810H US military standard, the OnePlus Watch 2 can withstand tough conditions and environmental stresses, while its IP68 resistant rating and 5ATM water resistance rating ensure excellent performance even while swimming.
Price and Availability
The OnePlus Watch 2 will be available to purchase in the U.S. and Canada starting on March 4 at USD$299.99 / CAD$399.99. It will be available in Radiant Steel or Black Steel colorways. In addition, users can trade in ANY watch in ANY condition on OnePlus.com for an additional USD$50 / CAD$60 off. The OnePlus Watch 2 will be sold on both OnePlus.com and Amazon. Warranty plans and after-sales programs are subject to terms and conditions.
About OnePlus
OnePlus is a global mobile technology brand that challenges conventional concepts of technology. Founded on the “Never Settle” mantra, OnePlus creates exquisitely designed devices with premium build quality and high-performance hardware. OnePlus is a global mobile technology brand that challenges conventional concepts of technology. Founded on the “Never Settle” mantra, OnePlus creates exquisitely designed devices with premium build quality and high-performance hardware. OnePlus thrives on cultivating strong bonds and growing alongside its community of users and fans.
For more information, please visit OnePlus.com or follow us on:
100 hours of usage time in Smart Mode is based on tests performed by OnePlus in laboratory conditions. Test data is derived from simulations based on the following settings and usage scenarios, actual battery life may vary: Official watch face, AOD off, default health monitoring, 14.2 hours/day Bluetooth connection, 1 hour/day Wi-Fi connection standby, 6.5 hours/day sleep monitoring, 220 times/day raise-to-wake with screen illumination, 130 notifications/day, 20 minutes/day screen use (various applications), 6 times/day incoming call reminder (5s), 5 minutes/day Bluetooth call, 500s/day data sync between phone and watch, 15 minutes/day Bluetooth and headset connection for music (Spotify), 30 minutes/day outdoor running, and 3 times/day alarm.
48 hours of battery life with heavy use of OnePlus Watch 2 in Smart Mode is derived from simulations based on the following settings and usage scenarios, actual battery life may vary: third party watch face (with Dual-Engine Architecture turned off), AOD turned on, default health monitoring, 12.2 hours/day Bluetooth connection, 2 hours/day Wi-Fi connection, 6.5 hours/day sleep monitoring, 300 times/day raise-to-wake with screen illumination, receive 180 messages/day, 30 minutes/day screen operation (various applications), 6 times/day incoming call reminder (5s), 5 minutes/day Bluetooth call, 15 minutes/day Google Maps linked navigation, 500s/day data sync between phone and watch, 30 minutes/day Bluetooth headset connection for music (Spotify), 30 minutes/day outdoor running, and 3 times/day alarm.
Google, Wear OS by Google, Google Maps, Google Wallet and other marks are trademarks of Google LLC.
OnePlus Watch 2 only supports connecting with smartphones with Android 8.0 and above, which should also have a GMS version of 23.45.23 and above. iOS and Android (Go edition) devices are not supported.
SOURCE OnePlus
For further information: Spenser Blank, Head of PR & Communications, OnePlus North America, [email protected]
Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.
The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.
The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.
Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.
On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.
The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.
More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.
Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:
You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!
Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.
Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.
There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.
Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.
Successful people tend to be secretive.
Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.
Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.
Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.
TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.
Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.
The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.
The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.
The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.
Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.
“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.
The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.
“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”
The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.
However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.
That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.
“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.
“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”
The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.
About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.
“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.
Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.
As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.
In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.
The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”
“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.
“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”
Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.
Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.
In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.
The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.
Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.
“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.
“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.
Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.
Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.
“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.
“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”
Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.
As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.
But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.
Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.
The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.