The top tech to get you through Christmas, from Samsung to Technogym

Find the latest tech gadgets to prevent you slipping into a Scrooge-like state and make the silly season less stressful.

Ecovacs’s WINBOT W2 PRO OMNI window cleaning robot in action.

Christmas can be a stressful time of the year. The catch-ups and demands which mount as you’re sprinting towards the end of the year can feel like armageddon is approaching rather than a celebration.

It would be easy to see ‘bah humbug’ to it all. But, there are a few new tech gadgets which can help prevent you slipping into a Scrooge-like state and smooth your brow, making the silly season, well, less silly.

Samsung Galaxy Ring

On top of the list is Samsung’s latest wearable. I finally slipped it on my finger a few weeks ago before I visited extended family.

The Samsung Health app can suggest activities to reduce stress.

It seemed like a lovely catch-up, but looking at my health report on my phone later that evening revealed otherwise.

In the few hours I caught up with family, my stress levels rocketed, according to the readings from the $699 Galaxy Ring.

Now, some would say they don’t need a device to tell them they’re stressed. Indeed, sometimes when people are stressed, it’s easy to tell. Other times, though, people might act normal, not recognising the signs until they become more acutely ill.

This is where Galaxy Ring, which is crafted from titanium, is designed to help. It measures certain biomarkers, including heart rate and heart rate variability to determine stress. This data is fed into the Samsung Health app, which analyses stress level and can inform people of potential triggers. The app can suggest changes and activities, such as breathing exercises, to make a user feel more relaxed.

But, it’s not only stress. The ring is also designed to help users better understand their sleep patterns, which can be linked to a broad range of health disorders, by monitoring sleep quality, analysing snoring, and measuring heart and respiratory rates.

And it’s almost invisible tech — a little bit thicker than my wedding band but lighter, weighing 2.3 to 3 grams.

It’s a different option for people who don’t want to monitor a screen all day, and has longer battery life than a smartwatch, lasting up to seven days.

The only problem is it sometimes works so well, fading into the background, it can run flat without you noticing. Samsung also recommends you don’t wear it during weight workouts, given it can damage the ring.

Samsung Galaxy Ring can track stress levels.

Ecovacs Winbot W2 Pro Omni

At another family get together, I mentioned I was testing Ecovacs’ $999 robotic window cleaner, and I was surprised at the attention it created.

It seems most people hate cleaning their windows, particularly outside on upper levels where climbing a ladder can be vertigo inducing, particularly when juggling a Windex bottle, cloth and squeegee. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

But Ecovacs, a Chinese company specialising in robotics, is aiming to make this process easier and safer. The Winbot W2 Pro Omi has a portable station you can carry around the house like an Esky. The actual robot attaches to window, with a oyster-like seal, and its sensors guide it across the glass. Cleaning fluid is sprayed out from an internal reservoir, ensuring a streak-free finish.

Best of all, you don’t even need to climb on a ladder to clean upper windows. I opened my windows and reached outside to attach the robot, detaching it again when cleaning was done.

If you’re hosting visitors this Christmas, it’s an efficient way to ensure your windows are sparkling.

The only problem is the removable microfibre cloth needs changing regularly — which the machine reminds you to do — otherwise, it simply spreads a mess.

Technogym

Keeping in shape over Christmas is hard. Too much food, drink and running from one place to another. But, Technogym aims to help limit your waistline spreading too much.

The Italian gym equipment manufacturer has developed an artificial intelligence-powered fitness coach which can synch with your phone and smartwatch, following you wherever you go.

About 70 per cent of Technogym’s business is in fitness clubs, with another 10 per cent in hotels, it’s easy to find a location with their equipment installed. I was in Silicon Valley recently, and the hotel had a Technogym set up, allowing me — if I wished — to track my progress across the app.

A Technogym installation at the athletes’ village in Paris during the Olympics.

The AI coach is not just a gimmick (Technogym was a sponsor at the Paris Olympics, making its equipment available to almost 15,000 athletes across 29 training centres). The AI is designed to solve a common problem people face with fitness programs — getting bored.

Technogym's AI fitness coach can be accessed via an app.

Technogym says its AI uses complex algorithms to uncover patterns in data. “That allows fitness apps and equipment to provide the kind of personalised training suggestions that used to be reserved for the most elite athletes to the average gym-goer. AI can help people train smarter, not harder — not just by tracking your fitness progress over time, but by providing a fully tailored program that’s customised to your current fitness level and goals.”

Technogym community manager Rhys James told me the average workout on a treadmill using a quickstart function was about eight minutes, but this number doubled if a workout was structured to make people more engaged.

“Now we’ve redesigned the platform. I’ve actually seen more people interact with the routines or the sessions — which are structured workouts, essentially either with a trainer or a routine like a video, guided and structured workout — and what we’ve seen is that the average workout time has … gone up to 15 minutes, so doubled.

“If you engage with a session, it’s gone up to 18 minutes.”

Technogym’s home setups can cost about $50,000 for multiple pieces, but can be freely accessed at major hotel chains, including Marriott if you’re a guest.

Ring video doorbell

Christmas time is not just a time for giving, but also stealing. Home insurers warned last year of a so-called “holiday heist”, fuelling a 21 per cent spike in home thefts during the festive period.

Ring's video doorbell can been installed in 'five minutes or less'.

This has prompted people to take matters into their own hands to protect their belongings. And Amazon-owned Ring has released its second generation video doorbell, priced from $149, in time for the festive period.

Ring says it can be installed in five minutes or less, while a Ring Protect Subscription can create “smart alerts” which inform users if there’s a person or a package at their door.

Users can also receive ‘rich notifications’ to see exactly what triggered an alert with a photo preview in pop-up notifications on their phone. Captured footage lasts in the cloud for up to 180 days — a handy feature for police if you’re unlucky enough to have a break-in. The sight of such security can also act as a deterrent.

The new generation doorbell includes HD video and a 150-degree by 150-degree field of view, giving customers a head-to-toe vision of all their visitors.

Ring says the new camera represents a field of view 66 per cent taller compared to the previous generation.

The only thing to consider is Wi-Fi strength. If you’re like me and your front door is fair way from your router, it can struggle, making a booster a must.