Digital Trends Live: Amazon’s wearables, Facebook’s VR, McDonald’s Beyond Burger

By Todd Werkhoven Published April 25, 2023

On this episode of Digital Trends Live, hosts Greg Nibler and Ryan Waniata dig into the biggest trending stories in tech, including Amazon’s new wearables, Facebook’s Horizon VR, the new Beyond Burger at McDonald’s, Kevin Feige goes Star Wars, and more.

We’re then joined by Erin Keeney and Jess Surbaugh for their Reel News segment, where they discuss the top movies to see this weekend, including Judy, First Love, and Abominable.

Sarah Evans, owner of Sevans Strategy, then discusses how data democratization is changing the way startups get their funding.

Finally, we talk with Ryan Detert, chief executive officer of Influential, about social data analysis and the growth of influencer marketing.

Todd Werkhoven

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Todd Werkhoven's work can be read at numerous publications and he co-authored a personal finance book called "Zombie…

Topics

Phones

Google’s new Android XR tools let developers test apps without needing to buy expensive smart glasses

Google has also added new Android CLI tools to help AI coding agents test apps and catch performance issues.

Gentle Moster smart glasses powered by Android XR

At the 2026 Android Dev Summit, Google has announced some interesting features coming to both Android XR and Android CLI. Developers can now build and test apps for smart glasses without owning the hardware, while Android's command-line tools are getting upgrades that help AI coding agents test applications and identify performance problems. Both announcements could eventually mean better apps for both Android and extended reality hardware users.

Building Android XR apps without owning smart glasses

Wearables

Some Galaxy Watches may be too old for Samsung’s biggest sleep apnea upgrade

Samsung is adding three levels of breathing disturbance data, but the full feature won’t reach every watch that supports basic apnea detection

Samsung is making its Galaxy Watch sleep apnea tracking more useful than a simple warning. The upgraded system estimates how often breathing disturbances occur each hour, then sorts the result into three frequency levels.

There’s a catch for anyone holding onto an older model. Detailed results require Wear OS 7.0 or later, while watches stuck on older software will keep simpler alerts.

Wearables

A tiny smart patch could help you get your workout form right

The experimental wearable could help you understand your workout form without relying solely on a trainer's eye.

Actual image of wearable sensor patch along with its electronic module

Not everyone can afford to hire a personal trainer. And let’s be honest, learning exercises from YouTube or the gym regulars isn’t exactly foolproof. We need a solution that is both affordable and accurate.

A research group at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), led by Dr Biswajit Saha, has a solution. He created a bendy wearable sensor that works in the gym and for sports like tennis and swimming.