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New rumors say launch time is coming for HTC and Under Armour’s first smartwatch

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According to a report published by Bloomberg, which quotes an anonymous person “familiar with the matter,” HTC will launch its first smartwatch in March. The wearable device’s debut will probably come at the same event where we’re expecting to meet the One M9 smartphone. It’s scheduled for March 1 in Barcelona, the day before Mobile World Congress begins.

Bloomberg’s source says the smartwatch will be the work of both HTC and Under Armour, the sports and fitness brand. The pair announced a partnership at CES 2015, and talked about the collaboration resulting in “athletes everywhere taking their performance to the next level in a more connected and intuitive way than ever before.” A fitness wearable wasn’t confirmed, but certainly sounds likely.

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The report doesn’t offer any specifications or details on what form the wearable will take, outside of calling it a smartwatch. It’s not the first time we’ve heard about HTC’s intention to make a wearable device, but in mid-December last year, it was claimed the firm had something very different to a traditional smartwatch in the works, and that it was working with developers specializing in fitness to make it standout.

Should it release a smartwatch of some kind, HTC certainly won’t have the market all to itself. Samsung, LG, Motorola, Asus, and others all have smartwatches on sale already. If a March release date, speculated in previous reports, is accurate, HTC will probably have to compete with the Apple Watch for attention.

The Bloomberg piece also mentions the One M9, or whatever the 2015 flagship Android phone from HTC will be called. It says the phone will be similar in design to the One M8, have a Snapdragon 810 processor, Dolby 5.1 audio technology, the Sense 7 user interface, and come in either grey, silver or gold.

We’ll be at HTC’s launch event right before the start of MWC 2015, ready to bring you all the latest news.

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The combination of the Apple Watch Series 6 and WatchOS 8 software is powerful. The last generation Apple Watch comes with a variety of useful features that can help in your daily life -- if you know how to use them. We offer a list of our favorite tips and tricks for getting the most out of the Series 6 in conjunction with WatchOS 8.
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For the Series 6, Apple redesigned the way it measures certain health indicators and added the ability to measure your blood oxygen levels (or Sp02 data). You can find this option in the Health app under Respiratory information, or you can visit the dedicated Blood Oxygen app within the WatchOS. Your Watch also monitors background blood oxygen levels several times a day, which allows you to check how much oxygen your body is getting over time. While this shouldn’t be used to diagnose any specific condition, it can offer insight into overall respiratory health, which your doctor may be interested in checking, alongside other testing.
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