A traditional watch face is the logical homescreen for any smartwatch. After all, we’ve worn watches specifically to glance at the time for over a hundred years. But thus far, Apple and Google have mostly leveraged the smartwatch face as a means of self-expression to add stylistic variety rather than extra functionality—all the while hiding more functional features deeper in the OS.

Google was set to launch a new product that added context to one of its most successful apps, Google Maps. But earlier this year, it was shut down by Alphabet CEO Larry Page, according to people familiar with the project.

Fresh off the announcement of their truly ridiculous $1,200 LG Urbane Luxe smartwatch, LG is announcing something much more useful. At IFA 2015, LG has taken the lid off their new sensors that aim to bring your dumb appliances (devices without a wifi connection) into the future and connect them to the internet of things.

The Microsoft Retail Experience Center lies within the company's sprawling Redmond, Wash., headquarters. A portion of the warehouse-sized building is devoted to demonstrating how merchants can increase consumer engagement—and ultimately sales—by employing cloud services and converting the iPhone and other smartphones from devices that merchants fear into virtual sales staff.

Apple could be working on its own augmented-reality technology, which would be a first for the company, according to Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster. Apple usually focuses on mainstream consumer products such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops