Samsung just won't quit when it comes to out-there wearable tech concepts. First we had the experimental rink controllers for Gear VR, Welt the health tracking belt and Tip Talk, for discreet smartwatch calls at CES 2016. Now its C-Lab projects are joined by fresh smart clothing from its Samsung C&T brand The HumanFit, which is already selling tech infused fashion in Korea.
Samsung was showing off a bunch of smart clothing at CES, some of it new and some of it existing tech that debuted alongside the new platform in September.
We've seen the NFC Smart Suit, in collaboration with Rogatis, before - it's actually already on sale in Korea for around $500 and lets the wearer unlock their phone, swap business cards digitally and set gadgets to office and drive modes, like some kind of next gen Patrick Bateman.
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So what's new? First up is Sol Bag, a clutch bag which charges via solar power, a follow on from the wireless charging On Bag it launched at IFA in September. So far, so misguided fashion tech collaboration. It doesn't hold any charge so will only rejuice when you're in direct light but is due to go on sale in 2016.
In fitness and sport, Samsung showed off a new version of its Body Compass workout suit which tracks heart rate, respiration and body fast levels using six sensors around the garment. Then there's the golf shirt, a collaboration with Bean Pole Golf, has NFC features similar to the Smart Suit but adds weather and UV rating monitoring.
The HumanFit spin off was created to "add technology to style" and there's a clear difference between what this brand is doing with smart clothing and accessories and the safer (in tech terms) smartwatches we've seen from Samsung itself. What matters now is if any of these devices and pieces make it out of Korea and get the real Samsung push that the fitness smart clothing, in particular, really deserves.
As the New Year begins, tech fans are gearing up for the next round of major smartphone releases, beginning with the launch of the highly-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S7.
The Galaxy S6 was warmly received after its release in April 2015, for its top-of-the-range performance and impressive camera, with the Edge model getting a lot of attention for its innovative curved screen.
So it's no wonder that Samsung fanboys have been eagerly waiting for the new Galaxy since the S6's launch.
As always, there's a number of rumours swirling about the new phone, many of which have surfaced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Here's what we know (or think we know) so far.
It's probably coming out in early March
Release date rumours are always flying in the tech world, and the various guesses out there can sometimes be wildly different.
However, everyone seems to agree that the S7 will come out in late February or early March - slightly earlier than the usual release date of new flagship Samsung phones.
Samsung tends to announce their phones close to the Mobile World Congress (MWC), a major mobile device trade show. Last year it took place in early March, but this year's is slightly earlier, running from 22-25 February.
Samsung's announcement press conference usually occurs on the Sunday prior to the event (21 February this year), so we can guess that preorders should open around that time, with the phone actually arriving in consumers' hands in early March.
It's going to be waterproof and dustproof
No, this isn't another hoax - signs suggest that the Galaxy S7 could be waterproof and dustproof, making it much more resilient that its predecessors.
According to Evan Blass, journalist and tech industry insider, the S7 will be built according to the IP67 standard - an industry ranking system for the 'ingress protection' levels of electronic equipment.
the IP67 rating would mean the phone will be 'totally protected against dust' and 'protected against the effect of immersion between 15cm and 1m' - meaning there won't be any need to go reaching for the bag of rice if you accidentally drop your S7 into water.
The S7 will have a MicroSD slot
Good news for those who like to fill their phones to the brim - the S7 will have expandable storage via a MicroSD card slot, a feature sadly missing from the S6 and many other smartphones.
MicroSD cards going up to 64GB can be bought fairly cheaply, and there's even 200GB cards available if you feel like spending more. However, storage sizes will increase dramatically over the phone's lifetime, so the MicroSD slot should ensure that you never run out of space.
Both models will have bigger batteries
As phone tech has progressed, poor battery life is a constant pain for users.
Fortunately, according to Blass, the S7 and S7 Edge will boast 3,000mAh and 3,600mAh batteries respectively - that's a big increase on the 2,550mAh and 2,600mAh batteries on the S6 and S6 Edge respectively.
The camera won't have as many megapixels as before, but it should still be better
According to leaked images of the phone's specs, the S7's main camera apparently has a 12.2MP sensor, much lower than the 16MP camera on the Galaxy S6.
This would be worrying for Samsung fans, were it not for the knowledge of Samsung's Britecell technology, which cuts down on resolution but makes the sensor bigger, apparently resulting in much better low-light shooting.
The end result of this major redesign will only be seen when the phone is released.
It probably won't look too different
Samsung majorly altered the design of their phones for the S6 and S6 Edge, turning the device from a slightly cheap-feeling plastic phone into a much higher-end metal and glass device.
The design of the phone was highly praised at the time of release, and the rumours are pointing to a regular and Edge verison of the S7 - so don't expect a major departure from the S6 design in the new model.
Samsung has launched Android 6.0 Marshmallow beta to its devices, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, giving a clear hint that the firmware OTA (over-the-air) update could be pushed out to the devices any time now.
The South Korean technology giant is expected to release Android 6.0 Marshmallow to Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge devices around the world after testing the beta version of the firmware for a while. So, it won't come as a surprise if the devices get the firmware update in the next few days.
It may be mentioned here that several reports had claimed Samsung devices like the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 4 Duos, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Duos, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S5 Neo, and Galaxy S5 LTE-A, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Tab A, Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, and Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 would get the software update.
There were also reports that devices like the Galaxy Tab S2 9.7, Galaxy Tab S2 8, Galaxy Tab S 8.4, Galaxy Tab A 9.7, Galaxy Tab A 8, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy A5, Galaxy A3, Galaxy A8, Galaxy A7, Galaxy E7, Galaxy E5, Galaxy J7, Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J2 would receive the new firmware.
LG is also expected to roll out the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update to Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T variants of the V10 soon, as the unlocked models of the device have already received it. LG's flagship devices like the G3, G4 and G Stylo have also got the new firmware.