Gear News of the Week: Veo 3 Comes to Google Photos, and Garmin Adds Satellite Comms to a Watch

A fewer months ago, Google debuted a characteristic successful Google Photos that lets you convert your existing photos into short videos utilizing generative AI. These videos present flimsy synthetic movements to your stills, truthful a personification whitethorn look to somewhat displacement astir successful nan frame, aliases a image of your sleeping pup could summation a limb twitch. This week, nan institution upgraded this characteristic pinch its Veo 3 video procreation model, which boosts nan value of nan results.

To play astir pinch it, caput to immoderate photograph successful Google Photos, pat nan three-dot fastener astatine nan apical right, and pat Create. Choose nan Photo to Video option, and past prime betwixt Subtle Movement aliases I'm Feeling Lucky, which will beryllium a small much creative. I tried it connected a photograph of my woman and it had her raise her arms to make a bosom sign. (The fingers looked amazingly realistic, though my woman exclaimed that her hands looked massive.) Google says you tin moreover harvester its Photo to Video instrumentality pinch different Create tools, for illustration Remix, which tin alteration nan style of nan photograph to a sketch aliases 3D animation.

The Veo 3-powered type of nan characteristic is now disposable successful nan US.

Garmin Finally Launches Watches With Satellite Communication

As Taylor Swift and Tom Jones person some observed, “It’s been a agelong clip coming.” Garmin, shaper of our favourite outdoor fittingness trackers and hands down nan champion satellite messenger, yet added outer and cellular connection to a smartwatch. The caller Fenix 8 Pro has Garmin’s inReach exertion inside, which intends you tin nonstop messages complete outer aliases cellular networks to Garmin’s Response team. Not only tin you trigger emergency alerts, but you tin besides nonstop texts, make calls, and cheque nan upwind forecasts. It besides has a MicroLED surface that tin present up to 5,000 nits of brightness, making it not only visible successful your shelter astatine nighttime but everyone else’s. (That’s a joke.)

There are 2 versions of nan watch. The AMOLED surface comes successful 47- and 51-mm sizes and gets up to 27 days of artillery life per charge, while nan MicroLED type comes only successful a 51-mm size and gets up to 10 days of artillery life successful smartwatch mode. The Fenix 8 is already our favorite outdoor sports watch, and nan expertise to easy usage satellite communication erstwhile you request it only makes it moreover much useful. It almost makes you place nan sting of its tremendous price—the MicroLED type goes for a cool $2,000, which seems little costly erstwhile you see that you antecedently whitethorn person had respective devices to screen your bases earlier (a smartwatch for work, a fittingness locator for moving out, and a outer communicator for off-grid shenanigans). The AMOLED type is only $1,100. Both models will beryllium available for purchase connected September 8. —Adrienne So

Polar Made a Whoop Band

Fitness locator institution Polar announced nan Polar Loop this week, its first screenless locator that, good … there’s nary measurement to get astir it: The Polar Loop looks remarkably akin to nan Whoop band, a black, bracelet-style screenless tracker. However, dissimilar Whoop (which requires a $199 yearly subscription to use), each characteristic is disposable connected nan Polar Loop from time one, pinch nary added fees. Polar's bracelet is designed for 24/7 wear. Its suite of fittingness metrics is much limited—it doesn't way humor unit and can't observe Afib—but it does person auto-activity tracking, slumber tracking, and a fewer training tools, for illustration Training Load and Fitness Test. Everything is accessible done nan Polar Flow app.

I’ve tested galore Polar fittingness trackers, and Polar’s heart complaint monitor is our apical pick. While I admit nan accuracy and beauty of nan hardware, I’ve recovered its app and metrics very difficult to usage and parse. As nan fame of nan Whoop set and nan full smart ringing merchandise category has shown, location is simply a existent hunger for what Polar CEO Sander Werring calls “discreet, screenless experiences.” You tin ever layer a watch successful beforehand of it! —Adrienne So

JBL Is Down to Party

JBL debuted a trio of caller Bluetooth speakers, including 2 ample boombox-style statement speakers and a cool portable go-anywhere model. The caller Boombox 4 and PartyBox 700 whitethorn person hilariously on-the-nose names, but they will besides connection due amounts of power. The erstwhile kicks retired 210 watts of powerfulness and 2 further woofers for much bass than nan erstwhile model, pinch up to 30 hours of play clip and a life-proof IP68 rating. The PartyBox 700 is nan largest JBL statement speaker that runs connected battery, pinch a hilariously large 800 watts of powerfulness and 15 hours of playback; this point is meant to switch a PA astatine your adjacent artifact party. At $550 and $1,099, respectively, these are meant for folks who request earnestly large models.

The astir breathtaking speaker for astir group will beryllium nan caller JBL Grip, a $100 speaker that has a cool integrated statement hook and a nightlight for in-tent (or under-blanket) reading. Its artillery tin supply up to 14 hours of playback, and nan speaker features JBL’s now-standard Auracast—also disposable connected nan supra speakers—to let you to brace aggregate speakers together. —Parker Hall

ExpressVPN Mixes Things Up

ExpressVPN is overhauling its subsription offerings and phasing retired nan single, streamlined scheme nan institution has offered for 16 years. In its spot are 3 caller plans priced astatine different tiers, each pinch different features. It's a clear hit backmost astatine rivals for illustration Surfshark, Nord, and Proton, each of which has built retired robust information suites that spell acold beyond a VPN.

Even pinch nan caller options, ExpressVPN's halfway work remains intact. The caller Basic tier ($13 per month) replaces nan subscription ExpressVPN antecedently offered, pinch nan only quality being a bump from 8 simultaneous connections to 10. The adjacent tier is Advanced astatine $14 per month, and supra that is Pro astatine $20 per month. You tin people a discount connected immoderate scheme by buying an full twelvemonth astatine once.

The caller Advanced and Pro tiers see a batch of extras, truthful it's worthy looking complete nan list published by ExpressVPN. Some highlights see Keys, ExpressVPN's password manager, personality theft monitoring connected nan Advanced plan, and a dedicated IP and information removal services connected nan Pro plan.