iDevice Glossary

Audio processing that reduces environmental noise. Apple currently offers ANC as the higher tier of the open-ear AirPods 4 line, and AirPods 5 is reported to keep a separate ANC model.

Google's branded domed AMOLED display, introduced on Pixel Watch 4. The dome curves the glass over the edges. Peaks at 3000 nits, offers 10% more screen area and 16% smaller bezels than Pixel Watch 3, and carried over to Pixel Watch 5 unchanged.

Apple’s listening mode that dynamically blends Transparency mode and Active Noise Cancellation based on the user’s surroundings.

AirPods Pro mode that passes through ambient sound while using computational audio to reduce harsh sudden noises like power tools or traffic. Unlike standard Transparency mode, Adaptive Transparency processes 48,000 audio adjustments per second via the H2 chip.

Atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that raises the risk of stroke. Many watches can flag possible AFib, but only a doctor can diagnose it.

A GPS mode that listens to every satellite network the watch supports at once, typically GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou and QZSS, instead of GPS alone. More satellites overhead means a faster fix and steadier tracking under tree cover or between tall buildings, and it costs battery life to keep listening to all of them. It sits one step below multi-band, which adds a second frequency rather than more satellites.

A screen mode that keeps the time and key information visible at low brightness while the device is idle, instead of turning the screen off.

An AI assistant designed to remain available throughout the day through devices a person wears rather than only when an app is opened. It can use context such as speech, location, camera input or sensor data to understand what is happening around the user.

A display where every pixel makes its own light, so a black pixel is switched off rather than lit from behind. That gives deep blacks, high contrast and colour that holds up outdoors. It also means power draw follows how much of the screen is bright, which is why a mostly dark watch face costs so little to leave on. The tradeoff against the transflective LCDs older running watches used is battery: an LCD gets brighter in sunlight for free, and an AMOLED has to spend power to match it.

Google's platform for extended reality running on Android. Samsung Galaxy Glasses run on Android XR, giving them native integration with Gemini, Google Maps, Google Translate, and the broader Android ecosystem.

Gen 3 sunglasses model design codename (leaked renders).

An Android app file. Reporters often dig through the code in new app versions to find features a company has not announced yet.

Apple's on-device AI framework. Runs locally for privacy, with encrypted cloud processing for complex tasks. On Apple Glasses, reporting says it is what handles visual queries, Siri responses and real-time translation.

Apple's internal codename for Touch ID integrated into the Apple Watch side button. References appeared in leaked 2026 firmware before public developer betas. MacRumors reported in May 2026 that Apple deprioritized it for Ultra 4, choosing to allocate that hardware budget to battery capacity and sensor improvements instead.

A water-resistance rating based on pressure. 1 ATM is the pressure of about 10 meters of water in a lab test, so 5 ATM is also written WR50 and 10 ATM is WR100. Roughly, 3 ATM handles rain and splashes, 5 ATM handles swimming at the surface, and 10 ATM handles most water sports. It is not a rating for deep diving, and moving water adds pressure.

Digital images placed on top of your view of the real world, through glasses or a phone camera. The real world stays in view.

Apple's internal hardware codename for AirPods Ultra, referenced in Bloomberg reporting. Bloomberg reports it is being developed alongside V73/V74 (20th anniversary iPhone) and the second-generation foldable iPhone as part of Apple's reported 2027 hardware wave, said to be tested on iOS 28 so far -- none of this is confirmed by Apple.

AirPods 5, likely ANC model

AirPods 5, likely standard/non-ANC model

Gen 3 optical/prescription model design codename (leaked renders).

A measurement made by sending a tiny, harmless electrical current through the body. Wearables use it to estimate body composition, like body fat.

A display design used in many video glasses. A small screen reflects off a curved mirror into your eye. The image is bright and sharp, but the lenses are thicker and darker than waveguides.

Bureau of Indian Standards, India's mandatory electronics certification. Device makers typically file two to four months before launch, which makes a filing one of the earliest independent signs a product is close. A filing for a Google wearable appeared in mid-2026, ahead of the Pixel Watch 5 announcement.

A Gen 2 prescription retail frame (rectangular, Standard/Large) at $499. Announced and open for preorder 31 March 2026; reached optical retail 14 April 2026. Spelled "Blayzer" by Meta, distinct from the FCC "Blazer" codename.

FCC filing codename (Mar 2026, regular and large sizes) that turned out to be the Gen 2 "Blayzer Optics" prescription frame, not a Gen 3 device. The large-size variant was the first in the Ray-Ban Meta lineup. Same Gen 2 internals as Scriber.

The share of your red blood cells carrying oxygen, shown as a percentage. Watches and rings estimate it with light sensors, often while you sleep. It is a wellness reading, not a diagnosis.

A low-power version of Bluetooth that lets wearables stay connected to a phone all day without draining the battery.

Co-founder and CEO of Nothing, the London technology company behind Headphone (1) Pro.

The Consumer Electronics Show, a huge tech trade show held every January in Las Vegas.

The method used to compress and send audio over Bluetooth. A better codec can sound better, but the phone and the earbuds must both support the same one.

A device designed to work alongside another computer rather than replace it. A companion wearable may handle cameras, microphones, sensors and controls locally while depending on a phone or another device for connectivity, processing or its main interface.

Moving demanding processing from a small wearable to a phone, puck or other nearby computer. Offloading can reduce heat, battery use and weight on the wearable, but makes it more dependent on the external device.

A wearable sensor that measures glucose levels throughout the day and sends readings to an app or compatible device. A watch or ring can integrate CGM data without containing a glucose sensor itself.

An AirPods feature that lowers media volume when the wearer starts speaking to someone nearby.

Central processing unit. The part of a chip that runs the operating system and apps.

A video signal standard. Display glasses use DisplayPort over USB-C to mirror a phone, laptop or game console screen.

Dynamic RAM, the kind of chip used for a device's working memory. LPDDR is the low-power version found in phones and wearables.

Short for electronic image stabilization. Software that smooths out camera shake from movement like running, riding or walking, so video looks steady instead of bouncy.

Lenses whose tint changes when an electrical voltage is applied. Unlike photochromic lenses, which react to light, electrochromic lenses can be controlled electronically.

Electromyography. Sensors read the tiny electrical signals your muscles make. Meta's Neural Band uses EMG at the wrist to turn finger movements into controls.

A European standard for diving equipment. A watch that meets it has been tested as a depth gauge for diving.

A real-time 3D representation of the surfaces and geometry around a device. Cameras and depth sensors can map walls, floors, furniture and other objects so augmented-reality software can understand where digital content belongs.

A digital SIM built into the device instead of a plastic card. You add a phone plan through software. Some phones are now eSIM-only, with no SIM tray.

The world's largest eyewear company, parent of Ray-Ban and Oakley. Manufactures all Meta smart glasses under the licensing arrangement with Meta, including the new own-brand lineup where only Meta's logo appears.

An umbrella term that covers augmented, mixed and virtual reality.

Federal Communications Commission certification required for all wireless devices sold in the US. Apple typically files FCC documentation 2-3 months before launch. AirPods Pro 3 filed FCC approval in July 2025 before its September 2025 launch.

The US Food and Drug Administration. It decides which health features can be sold as medical devices in the US.

Permission from the US Food and Drug Administration to sell a feature as a medical device, after the company shows it works. It is a higher bar than a wellness feature.

Over-the-counter medical device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration. Apple received FDA clearance on September 12, 2024 for AirPods Pro 2 as an OTC hearing aid for mild to moderate hearing loss, requiring no prescription -- the first consumer earbuds to receive this designation. AirPods Pro 3 inherited the feature at launch, carrying the same H2 chip the clearance covers. The feature runs a one-time hearing test and adjusts audio output to compensate for the user's specific hearing profile.

Apple submitted an advanced real-time blood pressure alert feature for FDA regulatory review. FDA approval is required before Apple can market it as a clinical alert capability. It did not ship on Ultra 4.

The amount of your vision covered by a display, measured in degrees. A wider field of view lets digital content occupy more of the world around you instead of appearing through a small window. FOV applies to glasses and headsets with displays, not camera-and-audio glasses with no visual display.

Flexible and Interoperable Data Transfer, the activity file format Garmin created and the rest of the industry adopted. One file carries a whole session: the GPS track, per-second sensor readings, laps, and the device settings in force at the time. Because nearly every training platform reads it, a watch that writes FIT can hand a run to Strava, TrainingPeaks or Runalyze with nothing converting in between.

Galaxy Watch 9 codename found in Wear OS software references alongside Wise 9 (Classic variant)

Samsung's launch event for new Galaxy phones, foldables, watches and earbuds.

Google's multimodal AI assistant, built directly into Galaxy Glasses via Android XR. Handles visual queries, real-time translation, search, and navigation. The Android counterpart to Meta AI and Apple Intelligence.

Global Navigation Satellite System, the umbrella name for GPS and the other satellite systems, like Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou. A device that uses more of them finds your location faster and more accurately.

Global Positioning System. Satellites let a device find its location for maps, workout tracking and finding a lost device.

Gen 2 with micro-LED display, expected 2027

Small vibrations and taps a device uses to get your attention or confirm an action, instead of a sound.

High dynamic range. Photos and video with brighter highlights, deeper shadows and more color than standard content.

A display that puts information in your line of sight, so you do not have to look down at a screen. In smart glasses it can show text, directions or notifications over the real world.

Apple's reported subscription health service, first reported by Gurman in March 2025, being developed alongside the reorganization of Apple's health teams under Eddy Cue. An Apple Ring would likely be designed to feed Health+ with passive biometric data.

A display backplane approach designed to improve transistor performance and power efficiency. In wearables, the main potential benefit is lower display power consumption rather than simply higher brightness.

The variation in time between each heartbeat. Higher HRV generally indicates better recovery and cardiovascular fitness. Oura Ring 5 and Galaxy Ring both track HRV overnight; it's the primary signal behind recovery scores.

The Ray-Ban Display, the separate variant with an in-lens heads-up display, available now at $799. Not part of the standard Gen 3 line.

Reported updated Ray-Ban Display, expected later in 2026. Part of the separate Display line, not the standard Gen 3.

High blood pressure. Some watches look for signs of it over time and send an alert. That is a prompt to see a doctor, not a diagnosis.

A large consumer tech trade show held every September in Berlin.

Light wavelengths invisible to the human eye. AirPods Ultra cameras use infrared — the same approach as Face ID — to sense the environment without capturing visible images. No photos, no stored footage. Environmental data is processed by the H3 chip, passed to Siri, then discarded.

Samsung's marketing category name for its smart glasses hardware, used at Samsung Unpacked events. Galaxy Glasses are the first product in the Intelligent Eyewear lineup.

The distance between the centers of your pupils. Headsets and display glasses need to match it for the image to look sharp and comfortable.

A standard code for dust and water resistance. The first digit is dust protection (up to 6) and the second is water protection (up to 8, or 9K for high-pressure jets). An X means that part was not tested. Tap a code like IP68 or IPX4 for what its two digits mean. Ratings come from fresh-water lab tests on a new device, and seals wear with age.

A dust and water rating. The 4 means it keeps out objects bigger than 1 millimeter, but not fine dust. The 8 means it can stay under water deeper than 1 meter, with the depth and time set by the maker. Ratings come from fresh-water lab tests on a new device, and seals wear with age.

A dust and water rating. The 5 means dust-protected: a little dust can get in, but not enough to harm it. The 2 means it handles dripping water when tilted up to 15 degrees, so a light drizzle at most, not steady rain.

A dust and water rating. The 5 means dust-protected: a little dust can get in, but not enough to harm it. The 4 means it handles water splashed from any direction, like rain or sweat, but not a dunk.

A dust and water rating. The 5 means dust-protected: a little dust can get in, but not enough to harm it. The other 5 means it handles a steady jet of water from any direction, but not a dunk.

A dust and water rating. The 5 means dust-protected: a little dust can get in, but not enough to harm it. The 6 means it handles powerful jets of water from any direction, but not a dunk.

A dust and water rating. The 5 means dust-protected: a little dust can get in, but not enough to harm it. The 7 means it survives being dunked in up to 1 meter (about 3 feet) of fresh water for 30 minutes. Ratings come from fresh-water lab tests on a new device, and seals wear with age.

A dust and water rating. The 6 means dust-tight: no dust gets in. The 5 means it handles a steady jet of water from any direction, but not a dunk.

A dust and water rating. The 6 means dust-tight: no dust gets in. The 7 means it survives being dunked in up to 1 meter (about 3 feet) of fresh water for 30 minutes. Ratings come from fresh-water lab tests on a new device, and seals wear with age.

A dust and water rating. The 6 means dust-tight: no dust gets in. The 8 means it can stay under water deeper than 1 meter. The maker sets the depth and the time, so check its spec for the numbers. Ratings come from fresh-water lab tests on a new device, and seals wear with age.

A dust and water rating. It means dust-tight and able to withstand high-pressure, hot water jets, a test built for pressure-washing vehicles and cleaning food plants. It tests jets, not dunking, so makers usually pair it with another rating such as IP68.

A dust rating only. The 6 means dust-tight: no dust gets in. The X means water was not rated, so it says nothing about rain or sweat. Look for a second rating or a stated water depth.

A water-resistance rating. The X means dust was not tested. The 4 means it handles water splashed from any direction, like rain or sweat, but not a jet of water or a dunk.

A water-resistance rating. The X means dust was not tested. The 5 means it handles a steady jet of water from any direction, like a hose spray, but not a dunk.

A water-resistance rating. The X means dust was not tested. The 7 means it survives being dunked in up to 1 meter (about 3 feet) of fresh water for 30 minutes. Ratings come from fresh-water lab tests on a new device, and seals wear with age.

A water-resistance rating. The X means dust was not tested. The 8 means it can stay under water deeper than 1 meter. The maker sets the depth and the time, so check its spec for the numbers. Ratings come from fresh-water lab tests on a new device, and seals wear with age.

The colloquial name used by leakers and press. Not an official Apple product name — Apple has never used the 'i' prefix for a new product category since the early iPhone era. The actual product name, if it ships, is unknown.

Image Signal Processor. The chip block that handles what the camera captures including noise reduction, color correction, and HDR. A better ISP means sharper photos and video in low light.

The US International Trade Commission. It rules on patent disputes and can block imports of products that infringe, as it did with Apple Watch blood oxygen.

An AI model trained on large amounts of language data to understand and generate text or conversation. In wearable products, an LLM often provides the conversational and reasoning layer while cameras, microphones and sensors provide additional context.

Liquid crystal display. It lights the pixels from behind with a backlight, so blacks are not as deep as on OLED. Still common in lower-cost devices.

Liquid Crystal on Silicon — the microdisplay technology inside Specs. Projects through a diffractive waveguide to place digital objects in your field of view. Used in Spectacles 5 and continued in consumer Specs.

A Sony-made Bluetooth audio codec that can carry higher-quality sound than standard Bluetooth. Many Android phones support it; iPhones do not.

Light-emitting diode. A small, efficient light source used for indicator lights and backlights, and, at tiny sizes, as the pixels of MicroLED displays.

Meta's real-time AI mode on smart glasses — keeps the assistant active and listening continuously rather than requiring a tap. Current Ray-Ban Meta supports approximately 30 minutes of Live AI. Meta Glasses run the same Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chip as Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2; Live AI battery duration has not been officially specified for either.

An Apple Intelligence-powered AirPods feature that translates supported in-person conversations when used with a compatible iPhone and supported AirPods.

Recording that automatically writes over the oldest footage once storage fills up, so it never has to be cleared by hand.

Audio that keeps every detail of the original recording, with nothing lost to compression. Most Bluetooth connections cannot carry true lossless audio.

A battery-conservation mode on Apple Watch Ultra that disables always-on display, heart rate monitoring, and background app refresh in exchange for extended runtime. Ultra 3 reaches 72 hours in Low Power Mode. Ultra 4 reaches 84 hours in Low Power Mode and 50 hours in normal use.

Low-power DDR memory, the RAM standard used in phones, tablets and wearables. A higher number, like LPDDR5X or LPDDR6, is a newer and faster generation.

4G cellular data. A watch with LTE can make calls and use data without your phone nearby.

Low Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide — the display technology enabling variable refresh rates on Apple Watch. The screen can drop to near-zero Hz when the wrist is down and jump to 60Hz when raised.

Milliamp hours, a unit that measures how much charge a battery holds. A higher number generally means more use between charges.

A wearable device Meta is reported to be looking to release in 2026. Nothing is known about what it is, including whether it is a headset at all.

A London recording studio. Nothing worked with its engineers to tune Headphone (1) Pro's Flat EQ switch and its "Studio B" spatial audio mode.

A display technology in which microscopic LEDs produce their own light. Micro-LED can provide high brightness and efficiency without a separate backlight, making it attractive for very small, transparent or wearable displays.

A very small, very dense OLED display built on a silicon chip. Headsets like Vision Pro and many display glasses use it, because the screens sit close to the eye.

US military durability standard covering extreme temperatures (-20°C to 55°C), salt fog, vibration, drops, and altitude. The current Galaxy Watch Ultra holds this certification.

A computing mode that combines a view of the physical world with digital objects that can remain positioned in and interact with that environment. It sits between fully immersive virtual reality and simple visual overlays.

A very fast kind of 5G that only works over short distances. It is mostly found on US phone models and in busy city areas.

2026 model codename, reported to arrive as early as June, ahead of Gen 3. Generation unconfirmed; reporting notes it is unclear why it is not called Gen 3, and it may be a new style or brand collaboration. No specs or images yet.

The chip that connects a device to cellular networks like LTE and 5G. Apple has started putting its own modems in some devices instead of Qualcomm's.

2026 model codename, reported for a December 2026 launch. Generation and form factor unconfirmed.

The delay between a user's movement and the display updating to reflect that movement. Lower motion-to-photon latency makes augmented and virtual reality feel more immediate and can reduce discomfort.

A GPS mode that receives two frequencies from each satellite, usually L1 and L5, rather than one. Comparing the two lets the watch spot signals that have bounced off a building or a canyon wall and discard them, which is the largest source of error in exactly the places tracking goes wrong. It is the most accurate mode most watches offer and the most expensive in battery. Also called dual-frequency.

AI that can work with more than one type of input, such as text, speech, images and video. In wearable devices, multimodal AI can combine what the wearer says with what cameras or sensors detect.

Meta's AI model from its Superintelligence Labs. Ships on all new Meta Glasses and rolled out via update to existing Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses starting May 2026.

Apple Watch Series 12 Wi-Fi model — internal hardware codename from iOS 26 beta code

Apple's internal hardware codenames for Apple Watch Series 12: N237 is the Wi-Fi model and N238 is the Cellular model. Both identifiers appeared in a leaked iOS 26 firmware build in December 2025, where they were listed under the Watch8 chip family with a new T8320 processor.

Apple Watch Series 12 Cellular model — paired with N237 in the same iOS 26 leak

Codename for the next, display-equipped Apple glasses that follow N50. One roundup also frames N401 as the name of the glasses' custom chip, so the mapping is not a clean one-to-one.

Apple's internal codename for the first Apple Glasses model. Reported to be display-free and camera-equipped, expected late 2027 -- not confirmed by Apple. Apple uses N-prefixed codenames for hardware projects during development.

The type of memory chip that stores your apps, photos and files. It keeps data when the power is off. The storage size on a phone, like 256GB or 1TB, is NAND.

Non-Terrestrial Network — a satellite connectivity standard built into Snapdragon Wear Elite. Allows the watch to send messages via satellite when cellular is unavailable. Whether Samsung enables this feature in software at Ultra 2 launch is unconfirmed.

Apple's name for the part of its chips built to run AI and machine learning tasks quickly while using little power.

Near-field communication. A short-range wireless link used for tap-to-pay, transit cards and pairing devices by touch.

A measure of screen brightness. A higher number means the screen is easier to read in bright sunlight.

Organic light-emitting diode. A display where every pixel makes its own light, so blacks are truly black and screens can be thin. Most phones and watches use OLED.

AI that runs on the device's own chip instead of a cloud server. It can work offline, respond faster and keep more data private, but it is limited by the chip's power and memory.

Samsung's watch OS layer running on Wear OS, expected at Ultra 2 launch. Powers Galaxy AI health features including the updated Samsung Health app with Energy Score, Vitals, Heart Health Score, and Daily Cardio Load.

Speakers that deliver sound without sealing the ear canal. Smart glasses and open-ear earbuds use this approach so the wearer can hear music, calls or assistant responses while remaining aware of surrounding sound.

A telephoto camera that bends light sideways inside the phone with a prism, so it can zoom far without a thick camera bump.

Apple’s spatial-audio experience with dynamic head tracking, designed to place sound around the listener.

Pre-launch codename for Meta VR Glasses, the tethered VR glasses Meta announced at Connect 2026

Lenses that automatically darken in sunlight and clear indoors by reacting to UV light. Samsung Galaxy Glasses offer photochromic lenses as an option, eliminating the need to swap frames between indoor and outdoor environments.

The cancelled high-end half of the same Quest 4 plan, intended as a successor to the Quest 3. Cancelled alongside Pismo Low.

A cancelled Quest 4 prototype, positioned similarly to the Quest 3S. Reported as part of a two-headset 2026 Quest 4 plan and cancelled before market.

Lenses with a filter that cuts glare, the harsh shine bouncing off water, roads and car hoods. Bright scenes get easier on the eyes. Some screens can look dim or blank through them. Polarization is separate from UV protection, so a lens can have one without the other.

Optical sensor technology used in AirPods Pro 3's in-ear heart rate monitoring. A small LED shines light into the ear canal and measures blood flow changes. Same principle as Apple Watch's heart rate sensor, applied to an in-ear form factor. Enables AirPods Pro 3 to track heart rate across 50 workout types without a paired Apple Watch.

The manufacturing generation used to make a chip, named in nanometers, like 3nm or 2nm. A smaller number usually means more transistors in the same space, for better speed and battery life. The name is a label, not a literal size.

Apple's internal codename for an LLM-powered health coaching concierge for the iPhone Health app. Gurman reported it targeting spring 2026 as an iOS 26.x feature; it was delayed. The feature runs on iPhone, not Apple Watch directly.

Apple's name for its adaptive refresh rate displays. They run at up to 120Hz for smooth motion and slow down when nothing is moving to save battery.

Earlier reported codename for the same ultralight headset with a tethered compute puck

The newest wireless charging standard. It adds magnets, like Apple's MagSafe, so the charger lines up on its own and can charge faster.

Reported fall-2026 codename. The name ("RBM2" = Ray-Ban Meta 2) almost certainly means a refresh of the Gen 2 line that launched at Connect 2025, not a new generation.

A daily estimate of how prepared the body is for physical or mental strain, usually based on signals such as heart-rate variability, resting heart rate, sleep and recent activity. Different companies calculate readiness differently, so scores from different platforms are not directly equivalent.

An outward-facing light that indicates when a wearable camera is recording. Some devices link the indicator directly to camera operation so recording cannot continue normally if the light is covered or disabled.

How many times per second a screen updates, measured in hertz (Hz). A higher rate, like 120Hz, makes scrolling look smoother but can use more battery.

The chip in Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4: a 64-bit dual-core processor, per Apple's spec pages. It replaces the S10 that Series 10, Series 11 and Ultra 3 shared. Reports before launch called it the S12.

A very hard, scratch-resistant clear material made from lab-grown sapphire. It covers the screens of premium watches and some camera lenses.

Emergency communication via satellite without cellular or Wi-Fi. Pixel Watch 4 LTE models were the first smartwatch to support satellite SOS standalone, without needing a paired phone nearby. Most Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch models require the paired iPhone or Galaxy phone to initiate satellite emergency calls; Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the exception, with its own satellite hardware that works without a nearby iPhone. Pixel Watch 4 works independently.

A health or activity wearable with no display, designed to collect data continuously while a phone app handles charts, coaching and interaction. Removing the screen can reduce distraction and power use but makes the companion app more important.

FCC filing codename (Mar 2026) that turned out to be the Gen 2 "Scriber Optics" prescription frame, not a Gen 3 device. Early outlets reported these as Gen 3 production units — the launch in April 2026 confirmed they are Gen 2 hardware with the same AR1 chip and 12MP camera.

A Gen 2 prescription retail frame (rounded) at $499. Announced and open for preorder 31 March 2026; reached optical retail 14 April 2026. Shares a name with the FCC Scriber codename; whether they are related is unconfirmed.

Software development kit. The tools a company gives developers so they can build apps for its device.

A newer lithium battery design that adds silicon to one side of the cell. It stores more energy in the same space, which lets thin phones fit bigger batteries.

The temperature on the surface of your skin, tracked by rings and watches, usually overnight. Changes from your normal can hint at illness, stress or cycle changes.

A condition where breathing stops and starts during sleep. Some watches and rings can flag signs of it, but a doctor has to diagnose it.

Wearable analysis that looks for patterns associated with breathing interruptions during sleep. Screening can identify a reason to seek medical evaluation but is not necessarily the same as diagnosing sleep apnea.

Galaxy Watch 9 model number — appeared in GSMA IMEI database February 2026 and Samsung Canada trade-in site May 2026

Snap's proprietary operating system for Specs. Released Sept 2025 with browser, gallery, Spotlight, and hand tracking. All 4 million developer Lenses run on it at launch.

Qualcomm's chip purpose-built for smart glasses. Handles AI inference, camera processing, and audio at low power. The same chip powers both the Meta Ray-Ban Gen 2 and Samsung Galaxy Glasses.

Qualcomm's 4nm Wear OS chip, first shipping in the Google Pixel Watch 4. Quad-core CPU plus a low-power Cortex-M55 coprocessor, adding satellite messaging support and roughly 20% better power efficiency over its predecessor.

Qualcomm's 3nm wearable chip. Reported as the first Snapdragon in a mainstream Samsung Galaxy Watch, but the Watch 9 chip is contested: SamMobile reports the Snapdragon Wear Elite goes to the Ultra 2 only, with the Watch 9 keeping the Exynos W1000. If the Watch 9 does adopt it, estimates put it near 50 hours on the 40mm, up from 40 hours.

Reported Galaxy Ring 2 power source — would enable a thinner profile and could push past the 9–10 day target currently cited by sourced reports (ETNews, May 2026). Solid-state cells avoid liquid electrolyte, allowing more compact designs. Multi-week battery life figures are unconfirmed and unsupported by current sourcing.

A reported 12MP sensor for Samsung's eyewear. Leaks disagree over whether the first model has one or two cameras; Samsung has confirmed only a built-in camera, not its sensor, resolution or count.

The process of attaching a digital object to a fixed position in the physical world. If a virtual screen is placed on a wall, spatial anchoring is what keeps it on that wall as the wearer moves.

Sound that seems to come from all around you, not just left and right. With head tracking, it stays in place as you turn your head.

The consumer AR glasses launching fall 2026 at $2,195. Official name replacing the Spectacles brand.

The independent subsidiary Snap spun out in January 2026 to run its AR glasses hardware as a standalone hardware business.

Snap's original brand for AR hardware. Retired at AWE 2025 when the consumer product was renamed Specs. Spectacles now refers only to developer kit devices.

The 2024 developer-only kit (226g, $99/mo lease, 45-min battery, 46° FOV). Not the consumer product — a separate device for developers to build Lenses.

A camera lens that brings distant subjects closer without losing detail, like 3x or 5x optical zoom.

A custom Google smartwatch chip reported by Android Authority in October 2024, described as 1x Cortex-A78 + 2x Cortex-A55 and optimized for wearable workloads. It did not ship in Pixel Watch 5, which uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated; a Google Play Console listing found in July 2026 pointed at Qualcomm and proved right.

Triple-level cell storage. Each memory cell holds three bits. It is the usual choice in phones because it balances cost, speed and how long the storage lasts.

An estimate of how much physiological stress recent exercise has placed on the body. It usually combines workout intensity and duration over time to show whether training is increasing, maintaining or exceeding a person's normal load.

A lens rating meaning it blocks ultraviolet light up to a wavelength of 380 nanometers. That covers UVB and most UVA. UV400 goes a little further and covers all of it.

A sunglass rating meaning the lenses block light up to a wavelength of 400 nanometers. That covers all UVA and UVB, the ultraviolet light that harms eyes and skin. It is the maker's claim about the lens coating. Lens color does not tell you: a dark lens with no UV protection can let UV through.

The two kinds of ultraviolet sunlight that reach the ground. UVA goes deeper into skin and ages it. UVB burns it. Both can harm eyes over time. When a maker says its lenses block 100% of UVA and UVB, that is a claim about the lens itself, not the tint.

A headset experience that replaces your view of the world with a fully digital one.

Apple's AI system that uses camera input to identify real-world objects and answer contextual questions. On iPhone it works via the Camera app. On AirPods Ultra, infrared sensors in the stems feed Siri real-time environmental data — recipe suggestions, walking directions, object identification — without capturing or storing images.

Samsung's health feature confirmed June 4, 2026. Analyzes five overnight bio-signals — heart rate, HRV, respiratory rate, skin temperature, blood oxygen — against your personal baseline, alerting when deviation suggests illness or recovery needs.

Apple's watch software, released September 14, 2026, the week Series 12 ships. Brings Siri AI to Apple Watch for the first time as a standalone app — no iPhone required for conversational AI. Also adds standalone Workout Buddy (previously required iPhone 15 Pro or newer), perimenopause and menopause Cycle Tracking support, and a dynamic app grid.

The transparent optical element in Specs that guides light from the LCoS display into the wearer's eyes. Uses billions of nanoscale diffraction gratings. Enables see-through AR without a mirror or prism.

Google's smartwatch operating system, at version 6 on Pixel Watch 4. Built on Android, developed with Samsung who contributed UI layer for Galaxy Watch. Pixel Watch runs stock Wear OS without Samsung's overlay. The Android version it needs rises with each generation: Pixel Watch 4 needs Android 11 or later, Pixel Watch 5 needs Android 12 or later. Pixel Watch is Android-exclusive with no iPhone support.