Wearable

Months after reporting on men who approach women in public while wearing Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses or other similar devices, then post their covert recordings to get paid, the BBC has this update highlighted by Gizmodo. “Alice” was in a video viewed over 40,000 times on social media, and when she contacted the operator, they said they would remove it as a “paid service,” bringing back an old strategy with a new, and worse, wearable twist.

In its Q1 2026 investor letter, it advised analysts not to expect any contribution from Perplexity in its revenue guidance. The latter was supposed to have powered Snap’s AI search, but alas. The letter also hinted at more Specs news in June, because “intelligent eyewear” is still very much on the company’s agenda.

After launching its first smart ring two years ago, Samsung is developing a more comfortable Galaxy Ring 2 with battery life increased from seven to up to 10 days, according to a translated Etnews report spotted by 9to5Google. However, the new version isn’t expected to be announced until early next year.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Fitbit posted a few teaser photos on Tuesday with the caption “Buckle up. 5.7.26.” The images don’t give away much, but the zoomed-in shots of a fabric band and metal buckle match earlier glimpses of the rumored screen-free “Fitbit Air.”

Yesterday we got our first good look at the purported design of Samsung’s smart glasses, and today Samsung itself confirmed they’re on the way, though it probably didn’t mean to. SamMobile spotted a mention of support for “Glasses” in an update to Samsung’s Nearby Device Scanning app, mentioning quick pair support too.

Instead of taking the easy route with an emulator, Chris Hackmann, the modder behind the excellent Frog Boy Color, created a watch-sized Game Boy Color using the handheld’s original CPU. It also plays games through custom tiny cartridges and features a tiny D-pad on the side along with other button controls.

Unsurprising, given Oura’s discreet form-factor and its long-term relationships with several professional sports organizations. You likely won’t see it on the pitch during this year’s World Cup (FIFA is a no-go for wearables during play). That said, it is another example of how professional athletes are integrating wearables into their training.

According to journalist Ken Klippenstein, ICE may be working on developing smart glasses capable of facial and biometric recognition. Klippenstein claims the agency wouldn’t just be using this tech on illegal aliens, but all Americans, especially protesters. College students proved this tech is already doable, but thanks, I hate it.

The first hint was a sponsored Instagram post on March 31st. But Curry has been spotted wearing the mysterious device (possibly dubbed “Google Fitbit Air”) in a video from Sotheby’s, and it even made an appearance in a behind-the-scenes clip way back from All-Star weekend. We don’t know much, but it looks like Google is getting ready to take on Whoop.

In a podcast with David Senra, Spiegel says, “I think Meta needed to partner with [Essilor]Luxottica because the Meta brand, I think, is not something people want anywhere near their face.” He’s not wrong. I hear that all the time from y’all in my smart glasses coverage — and the facial recognition controversy hasn’t helped.

The civil rights organization and 75 other groups published an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to “immediately halt and publicly disavow” plans for a reported facial recognition feature on its Ray-Ban smart glasses. It’s unsurprising that privacy advocates are wary, especially since documents show Meta originally planned to launch the feature during public unrest.

I don’t make a habit of featuring Verge writers in the comment of the day, but since Nilay’s testosterone levels were the impetus for Victoria Song’s latest Optimizer column, on Whoop’s hunt for new health metrics, it only felt fair to air his response.

The next big product category Apple is supposedly tackling is display-free smart glasses to rival Meta’s. But the design has yet to be locked in, according to Cupertino whisperer Mark Gurman. The company might launch some or all four of the designs under consideration:

After scoring $575 million in funding earlier this week, Whoop is suing Bevel — a startup that has marketed itself as “Whoop, but for the Apple Watch.” The complaint centers on whether Bevel copied Whoop’s app, a claim the former denies. Can’t lie… I feel like I’ve seen 10,000 versions of this app design over the last decade.

The latest addition to My Play Watch’s collection of gaming wearables is a $79.99 Mega Man version, available for preorder soon, with themed watch faces, sounds, and matching straps. Instead of distracting you with notifications it includes a custom version of the NES’ Mega Man 2 playable on the watch’s small touchscreen.