Today’s Internet of Things (IoT) roundup features the projected growth of the smartwatch market, a watch that let’s you see your day at a glance, and noteworthy upgrades to a popular smartwatch provider.

Smartwatch market to grow 12 percent by 2020

Research and Market released a new report that predicts the growth of the smartwatch market in the next four years.

According to the report the global smartwatch market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 12 percent by 2020. The report also mentions that smartwatches’ advanced functionalities and features may influence consumers to purchase this type of device over fitness bands.

However, the strongest influence in consumer adoption is said to be the smartwatches’ high compatibility with other connected devices. Aside from smartphones and tablets, smartwatches can now communicate with TVs, media players, headsets, laptops, point-of-sale devices, and others with Bluetooth and Near Field Communication capabilities.

Read more about the report here.

The Calendar Watch

What? Watch Company aims to deliver a smartwatch that tells a user’s schedule at a glance. Called the Calendar Watch, it is the fusion of an analog watch and a digital watch as it features the traditional hour, minute and second hands, but also has an e-paper screen.

Using a mobile app, the Calendar Watch syncs with a user’s digital calendar to reflect the day’s schedule for the upcoming 12 hours. Segments that are darker signify a set meeting or appointment, while the light segments mean free time.

The Calendar Watch has two modes, Fixed and Flexible, that users can switch between using the mobile app. The Fixed mode displays the schedule for the next 12 hours and gets completely updated at the end of the period. The user sets when the 12-hour period starts. As for the Flexible mode, the display will update segment by segment every 15 minutes allowing the user to see the schedule for the next 12 hours always. Tapping the screen twice will show the schedule for the upcoming next 12 hours no matter what mode the watch is in.

Its battery lasts up to three weeks on a single charge, and alerts users of a low battery. The Calendar Watch has a standby mode that’s activated when it does not detect any movement for 15 minutes. On standby mode, the second hand stops and the hour and minute hands are fixed in place. When movement is detected, the watch automatically displays the correct time. The auto time syncing feature also works when a person travels to a different time zone. The best part about the device is that even when the synced smartphone dies, the watch is still able to keep the person’s schedule.

The Calendar Watch has exceeded its €95,000 (~$104,000) Kickstarter goal with 16 days to spare.

Pebble releases v3.10 update

Pebble released the Pebble Firmware v3.10 update, which delivers iOS and Android app improvements, as well as improvements to the device itself.

In general, the update delivers Jumboji (giant emojis) when you receive a single one, redefined Pebble Health activity notifications, support for iOS notification filtering, support for more languages and 耶! Chinese characters, bug fixes and improved performance.

For iOS, the update delivers a new look and feel for Manage Watchfaces, and Apps and Notifications from the button tabs. New notification filtering allows users to control which apps are allowed to send notifications, and improved reliability of Text Replies.

For Android, the update also brings an improved Send Text app.

To update to the latest firmware, select Menu » Support » Update Your Pebble from the Pebble Time smartphone app.

Photo by Viernest