Google teased its Daydream VR plans earlier this year during its I/O conference, but now we finally have a good look at its virtual reality hardware and software.

The search giant announced its Daydream View headset at a press conference in San Francisco today. Daydream View relies on your phone to power the VR experience, so any phone that can run Google's Daydream app will be able to use the headset. Of course, the just-announced Pixel and Pixel XL phones work perfectly with Daydream View.

Daydream View release date and price

Google Daydream View will be available in November for $79 in the US. That puts it at $20 less than the Samsung Gear VR. UK and AU pricing have not been announced yet.

Google is also running a promotion for those who purchase a Pixel phone. When you buy a Pixel via the Google Play store, you'll receive a code good for one free Daydream View headset. The offer is only good while supplies last, and the code will expire after December 31.

Special features

What makes Daydream View unique is that it comes with a remote control that cleverly tucks into the headset when you're not using it. The remote allows you to control your phone wirelessly and precisely for navigating menus, playing games and even walking around virtually in Google Street View.

Google says it made Daydream View out of cloth because that's the type of material people actually wear on their bodies. Instead of hard plastic like competitors, Daydream View is covered in cloth and will be available in three colors: Snow, Slate and Crimson, though the latter two options won't be available at launch.

Gaming and video are where Daydream View really come into play. The headset will allow users to access the entire YouTube catalog in VR. While non-VR videos will play "on a cinema-sized screen," it's 360-video that makes Daydream View compelling. For example, Google showed off a video of what it's like to watch dinosaurs come to life inside a museum wearing the headset.

While a not a premium viewer like Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, Daydream View could carve out a solid following in the mobile VR space, especially since its price is so affordable.

• Read next: The best VR headsets of 2016

Update: Google has alerted us that its product forum post incorrectly listed affected watches and has since been updated.

Devices that are currently experiencing pairing issues are the Asus ZenWatch 2, Moto 360 2nd Gen, Moto 360 Sport, TAG Heuer Connected and Fossil Q Founder. Michael Kors watches are not on this list, Google says, and the Fossil Q Founder is the only watch from the brand affected. What's more, only the ZenWatch 2 is listed, not all Asus watches.

This post has been updated accordingly.

Original article below...

Despite running a Google operating system, many Android Wear watches can link up with iOS devices, offering limited functionality. Or, at least, they could, but owners of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are reportedly unable to get their Android Wear watches connected to the new phone.

Google has acknowledged the problem on its product forums, stating that it's a "serious pairing issue", affecting the Asus ZenWatch 2, Moto 360 (2015), Moto 360 Sport, Tag Heuer Connected, and Fossil Q Founder.

Though the product forum initially called out Michael Kors watches as experiencing issues, Google has since alerted us that those watches were incorrectly listed. Additionally, only the ZenWatch 2 and Fossil Q Founder are experiencing issues in the Asus and Fossil lines.

Google hasn't stated what the exact problem is, but claims to be working to fix it as soon as possible, as well as having reported it to Apple.

Not built for Wear

It's likely a hardware problem, given that users with other phones don't seem to be experiencing the issue, even after updating to iOS 10.

But some claim that after trying to pair their smartwatch to an iPhone 7 they're now unable to pair it with any iOS device, even ones running older versions of the software. So until there's a solution or more information you might want to hold off on linking your Android Wear watch up to your iPhone 7 if you have an alternate phone you can use it with.

• The Apple Watch 2 has no problems with iOS, but doesn't work with Android

Samsung launched the brand new Galaxy Note 7 at a trio of events in New York, London and Rio – but it wasn't just the phablet taking center stage. It was joined by an upgraded Gear VR headset too, and we've been hands on to find out what's changed.

The big difference is the larger lenses, giving you a wider field of view for a more immersive VR experience. The controls on the right of the headset have also been given a tweak, and a home button has been added for easier navigation.

Finally, instead of a microUSB connection the new Gear VR has a USB-C pin, allowing it to plug in nicely to the Galaxy Note 7. An adapter is included in the box so you can use your older Samsung flagships though.

Check out all the new features in our new Samsung Gear VR hands on video below.

• Hands on: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
• Updated: Samsung Gear VR review

It's been over half a year since the Pebble Time Round launched, and more than a year since the Pebble Time first broke cover, so it could well be time (see what we did there?) for a fresh new smartwatch to grace our wrists.

Pebble sent an email to customers yesterday with the teasing subject line "Are you ready for tomorrow?" while the message itself read "we have something up our sleeve!"

Heading over to pebble.com you're greeted with a large countdown timer, ticking its way down to 10am EDT (7am PDT, 3pm BST) and the slogan "Wait for it…"

Mysterious watch?

There's no confirmation as to what the announcement will be, with the site claiming "you'll be in for a treat", while a cryptic tweet from the company says "everything's better with friends."

We're hoping to see a new version of the Pebble Time, seeing as its predecessor is now over 12 months old, but there's a chance it could be a sale promotion or a range of new accessories - or a new social platform that'll beseech your buddies to get involved with Pebble so you can all have a right royal laugh using your integrated watches.

What do you think Pebble has in the works? A new smartwatch? A new operating system? Something completely different? Let us know in the comments below!

• Read our reviews: Pebble Time Round | Pebble Time

Wearables are becoming more and more viable in the technology world, but they're still limited - especially when you compare them to the powerhouses they rely on in our pockets. And that's not right, according to Qualcomm.

It's about time wearables reduced their reliance on our smartphones. We've already seen a few attempts including the cumbersome Samsung Gear S and cancelled LG Watch Urbane LTE, but we're still waiting on smartwatches (and other wearables) to realise their true potential.

Techradar was present at an exclusive briefing where Qualcomm's Director of Business Development Ben Timmons said that it was time to free the smartwatch.

"A tethered device doesn't really deliver on the promise of what customers want from a wearable," he said.

"If you're making a tethered [wearable] device, you're making a compromise." He may have a point, but that doesn't mean tethering is a bad thing.

In fact the majority of Android Wear smartwatches currently on the market house Qualcomm chips and while they're reliant on a smartphone, they're not totally useless.

It's not over yet

Many of us are rarely without our smartphones these days, so having a wearable which relies on one isn't really a problem. It means the wearable is cheaper, lasts longer and doesn't require another SIM-plan or contract bump.

There's space then, for smartwatches and smartphones to co-exist without being completely independent of each other, although as the wearables category expands the option to have non-reliant devices will be highly beneficial.

It will be interesting to see how these fully connected wearables perform in the real world, and we do fear for battery life considering the current crop struggle to see out two days on a single charge with comparably limited functionality.

Will they replace our smartphones? Certainly not in short term, but times are changing.

• Read our Android Wear review

We all dream of the day when we don't worry about our smartphone running out of battery – and that day could be soon as a gentle stroll round the park may be the answer.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison created the technology – which is now ready for the commercial market under the title InStep NanoPower – that uses the kinect energy of you walking to generate electricity.

The technology can create up to 10 watts of power per a square meter walked, and the inventor believes it one day could hit 10kW.

Running out

The shoes harness "bubbler" technology, and we'll let the University explain exactly what that is.

"The researchers' bubbler device — which contains no moving mechanical parts — consists of two flat plates separated by a small gap filled with a conductive liquid. The bottom plate is covered with tiny holes through which pressurized gas forms bubbles. The bubbles grow until they're large enough to touch the top plate, which causes the bubble to collapse.

"The speedy, repetitive growth and collapse of bubbles pushes the conductive fluid back and forth, generating electrical charge."

With the technology already able to generate 10 watts of power, it can easily charge a smartphone which requires around 2 watts - although there's currently no connection to link up your handset to the shoes.

InStep NanoPower is going to need to commercialise the technology before we're able to see it installed into our very own shoes and ready to connect up to your phone. The company is looking to put the technology out now, so hopefully there will be some interest.

At the moment the technology can charge up a flashlight and power it at walking pace, and you can see the video just below.

You can now pre-order the new Moto 360 directly from the Motorola website as well as making it your own with the customisation of the Moto Maker.

Customisation of the bezels, colours, materials used and what band you'd like are now available as well as options for either men or women.

It won't come cheap though – the base model will set you back £229.00 and that's not counting the extra design elements that can end up costing you quite a bit. But it is now compatible with your iPhone 5 and above, even though it's an Android Wear device.

Custom style

The Moto 360 Sport and Moto 360 with metal bands are set to be ready for pre-order soon but Motorola hasn't given us a specific date yet.

At the same time, Motorola has put the Moto X Style up for pre-order as well with pricing starting at £399.00 for a custom 32GB version. There's no word on when you'll actually get one of these in your palm either though.

It features a 21MP camera, 5.7-inch 2K display and a fast charge battery that can get you over the half way mark in just 15 minutes.

• Read our Moto 360 second gen review

Apple Watch hasn't been out a month and it's already receiving its first firmware update with a few minor features and, more significantly, fixes to existing problems.

The official release notes indicate that Siri's performance has improved, which means Apple's virtual assistant may answer your questions correctly the first time around.

The smartwatch software also tweaks the way it measures activity for standing, indoor cycling and rowing, and outdoor distance and pace during walk and run workouts.

Support for accessibility and third-party apps has been enhanced too, and new languages like Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and Turkish have received additional support.

• How to make Apple Watch's small icons bigger

What's still to come

Faster third-party apps are important because, outside of the 20 built-in apps from Apple, the smartwatch ecosystem hasn't been as friendly for sluggish developer-made apps.

Sadly, rumored features like Find My Watch and Apple TV controls via the "iWatch" aren't a part of this update. Instead, they may launch at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference.

June 8's WWDC 2015 keynote may also give us insight into how to create custom watch faces from scratch, making this gadget a truly personal experience beyond the default 10 faces.

• Here are Apple Watch faces, ranked worst to best

How to update your Apple Watch

Updating Apple Watch requires you to dive into the iPhone app and complete a few more simple steps, according to Apple's directions.

Within the General settings menu is a "Software Update" submenu, which may or may not ask for your Apple Watch passcode, depending on how you set it up.

The download requires 51.6MB of free space on your phone and, don't be alarmed, the Apple Watch restarts after the firmware patch has been installed. It's just a bit slow to reboot.

• If you know all about the Apple Watch and its price, head over to our final review

Apple Watch shipments arrive tomorrow to customers who pre-ordered the smartwatch two weeks ago and are likely camping out in front of their doorstep right now.

But some of the best Apple Watch apps are already available to download today, albeit in a hidden menu that's only available on the iPhone so far.

Twitter, Instagram, Yelp, Uber and The New York Times are among the first apps that can be downloaded to the phone and, for now, seen in screenshot form.

While most Apple Watch apps are free, a few like Flight Track and Green Kitchen cost money. But you won't have to repay for these apps apps if you have already downloaded them on your iPhone.

How to access the secret Apple Watch app menu

How do you see and download these Apple Watch apps right now? It turns out, the menu is hiding in plain sight on your iPhone, whether or not you have a Apple Watch.

Watch app, you reveal can the secret list of apps by tapping the "App Store" tab in the bottom right corner seven times, , discovered The Verge.

There, the Apple Watch App Store has a homepage and a category list that breaks the apps up into the usual segments of Business, Games, Health and Fitness, News and so forth.

• New Apple Watch video tours show more of what you can do

The Apple Watch app list is likely to grow tremendously when the company flips the switch in time for the official release date. In fact, there have been over 1,000 of these apps submitted, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

• More to explore: Apple Watch price and Apple Watch bands

Rumors about iOS and Android Wear compatibility aren't uncommon, but a new report says the day might come soon when anyone can receive iPhone notifications on their Google-run smartwatches.

In fact, Google is "close to finishing the final technical details" needed to bridge the gap between iOS and Android Wear, reports The Verge.

The site spoke with "a source close to the development team" who revealed tons of details about the pairing.

Apparently the currently in-development version of Android Wear works with a companion app on iPhone to receive notifications from FaceTime, messages, calls and more.

It can also display info from Google Now cards, just like on Android, and may include more advanced functions for Google-made iOS apps like Gmail.

The obvious hurdle is whether Apple would let Google launch this companion app on iOS, given the imminence of the Apple Watch. But neither Google nor Apple seems to want to talk about the possibility of Android Wear and iOS playing nice together just yet, so for now all we can do is speculate.

• Samsung's Gear S is a standalone smartwatch

Running without a finish

There's something about running that creates a duality in most people, from the new runner to the most seasoned trotter.

On the one hand the feeling of oxygen in the lungs, the notion that you're actually doing something rather than festering on the sofa is brilliant and intoxicating.

But on the other, there's the fact running can actually suck. I've lost count of the times where I've had not had the foggiest idea what I'm doing slogging through muddy fields when I could be on the sofa eating a Twix.

So Adidas' 10K Energy Takeover run through London on a brisk Wednesday night left me conflicted: after a full day of trying to work out how good the latest Samsung phone is could I really be bothered to bash around the streets before getting the last train home from… wait, where was the finish?

The premise Adidas dangled enticed me as a technology fan: a run through London, but with no idea where we were going – the only way to work it out was through a compass that would spring to life on my smartphone when the clock struck eight o'clock.

That was the reason I was huddled with a couple of hundred other people in an rejigged carwash, watching a countdown flicker on a shutter until the moment it opened and we could stamp off into the night.

There was a twist on top of the unknown route too: divided into coloured groups, each runner was sent on one of three slightly different courses.

I'd arrived tooled up with a Sony Smartwatch 3 to let me use Google Maps, (along with the trusty Garmin 920XT) thinking that we'd be given a series of checkpoints I could key in and I could smugly watch as the competition carried a smartphone while I could just glance down at my wrist on occasion.

However, as it transpired I didn't need to worry. The link on my phone turned into a compass, and I duly began to follow it en route to 'Boost Location 1'.

Except… well… it didn't move. I waited a bit longer, glancing down at the Garmin to confirm it was still dutifully tracking location, that I was definitely running and not trapped in a static nightmare.

But nothing happened. I was going straight ahead with no idea when to turn.

Somehow the people ahead of me knew the route, so I cursed my phone for failing. I don't know if you've ever tried to reset a phone while running at 80% effort, but it's not easy. The worry I was going to smash this new handset added to a heart rate that was already peaking alarmingly.

Even with the restart, the compass steadfastly refused to change. After the herd ahead of me changed direction, I decided to just follow along… which is when I realised that we were just following coloured signs attached to lampposts as all the compasses had failed. Not the most high-tech, but at this point I was glad of any direction.

I tried to keep Google Maps open to gain a semblance of location, but it proved stupid as there was no pattern to follow.

I was really hoping I was going to get a chance to take some decent photos on this run, especially with the Samsung Galaxy S6 in my pouch. The impressive image stabilisation promised iPhone-esque levels of clarity for snaps when running, and when we entered the Kennington Oval cricket ground, it seemed like the perfect time.

Except as I was panicking about getting lost, I had to keep pace with the increasingly swift group in front of me, so the moment was gone.

And that's how the pattern played out for the next five miles: keep running, hope to see a sign, bemoan the phone for not making the compass work, hit a checkpoint. It was pretty cool legging it through London's backstreet at full pelt but frustrating when we missed a couple of signs.

It was really frustrating that the tech didn't work, as it was kind of the point of the whole run. I'd really been looking forward to my smartphone giving me another way to experience the city on foot.

But this run did give me a hint of what life for runners will become in the not-too-distant future. Having just tried Sony's SmartEyeglass technology, which brings augmented reality into your vision while exercising, it seems like a very small step to make these kinds of races into the darkness, with no knowledge of the route, a reality and without the backing of a large sports brand needed.

Imagine being able to just join a group on Facebook, meet at a given point, have an app decide on a finish line and auto-populate a route through a major city. GPS tracking could create real time leaderboards, giving full motivation and only your own will to push on, while smart eyewear shows you the turnings to take.

We don't need to technology to run. But man, it could make it awesome.

Is Apple actually getting it right?

Something caught my eye this week: it seems Apple might be offering up a better running watch than I previously thought. I've waxed lyrical already about the disappointing lack of GPS built in, that you need to connect the phone to use it properly on the go, but perhaps the Cupertino brand has done something smart to partly offset that.

According to Christy Turlington-Burns' diary of training for a marathon with the Watch, it can apparently read your stride pattern when out and about and connected to a phone, and match that with GPS to learn your speed and cadence.

Presumably this is accurate info, as while it's a journal of her running exploits it's hard to see Apple not fact checking what's written given it's publishing it on its own website.

That ability makes it much more accurate when running indoors or on the roads without the phone attached – while it's a long way from perfect, it's an interesting trick that I've not seen shouted about by other manufacturers.

Feel free to tell me how wrong I am about that in the comments below or on Twitter – and if anyone else competed in the same Energy Takeover race, I'd love to hear your experiences too.

Chinese firm Huawei arrived at MWC 2015 without a flagship product, but it's still got some interesting devices to shout about.

First up is the successor to the questionable Talkband B1 - the Huawei Talkband B2 - and it not only looks better, it's got more functionality too.

The device has been smartened up with a dust and water resistant metal body and 0.73-inch PMOLED touchscreen display.

It's more accurate thanks to a gyro and accelerometer packed inside and as well as counting your steps it'll also track your sleep and inform you of calories burned.

The B2's party trick however is the ability to pop it out of its strap and stick it in your ear as a Bluetooth headset.

Huawei tells us it expects the Talkband B2 to arrive at sub £200 (under $300, AU$400) around September, with the silver and black versions sporting rubber straps and the fancier gold version a leather option.

Not done yet

The flagship Huawei Ascend P8 will launch this April, but for those on a tighter budget you may be tempted by the Y635 and Y360.

Huawei has ditched the "Ascend" brand name for its new entry level mobiles, with the Y360 the baby with a 4 -inch display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, 2000mAh battery, 5MP and 2MP cameras, Android KitKat plus a microSD slot.

The Huawei Y635 offers up a more substance, including a 5-inch (still not HD) display, 1.2GHz quad-core chip, 1GB of RAM and the same storage, cameras, microSD slot and battery specs as the Y360.

It also has 4G connectivity, NFC and Android 5.0 Lollipop to its name meaning it's certainly not a lost cause.

Both handsets are expected to hit around Q3 of 2015, with the Y635 coming in around £100 (about $150, AU$200) and the Y360 likely to cost less than £100 (sub $150, AU$200).

And if that wasn't enough there's also the Huawei Talkband N1 - a set of Bluetooth ear buds which not only act as a standalone music player with 4GB of storage, but also includes a fitness tracker and the ability to answer calls.

Compatible with both iOS and Android and costing less than £200 (under $300, AU$400), keep an eye out for them in Q3.