Three new tablets, two new OSes, and a “smart cuff”

Google’s Nexus is “at sixes and nines.”

Google quietly announced two major new hardware iterations for its longstanding Nexus lineup, the Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet. Replacing the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets from earlier years, the 9 boasts powerful processing power and an audio multimedia experience to beat. The display on the Nexus 6 is the real story—a massive 5.92-inch front panel boasts quad-HD resolution and major screen real estate, following the popular “phablet” trend among Android OEMs. The hardware will ship later this month, and completes a Nexus lineup that represents the best that “vanilla Android” has to offer.

The iPad Air sheds some millimeters.

On the heels of tablet announcements from their Mountain View rival, Apple held a media event at their Cupertino headquarters this week to unveil the iPad Air 2, a thinner, lighter, and faster version of their flagship iOS tablet. The iPad boasts an improved 8-megapixel rear camera and Touch ID for use with Apple Pay, a mobile NFC payments platform that is slated to launch on Monday. The iPad mini, meanwhile, received only modest updates: the third-generation 7-inch tablet comes with a new Touch ID sensor and a gold finish option, but sports last year’s A7 processor rather than the iPad Air 2’s new A8X.

Android gets sweeter with 5.0 Lollipop.

The long-awaited follow-up to last year’s 4.4 KitKat, Android version 5 was formally announced this week in tandem with new hardware to support it. The operating system received a visual refresh courtesy of Google’s Material Design initiatives, and includes a curious new application replacing the stock SMS app called “Messenger.” (This is surprising given that the Nexus 5 with KitKat came with Google Hangouts in place of an SMS messenger out of the box.) The software SDK is available for download on select devices today, and Android users will be able to upgrade over the air as the update rolls out to manufacturers and carriers in coming months.

Macs get flatter and more translucent.

Alongside gorgeous new iMacs with Retina display and updated Mac minis, Apple launched OS X 10.10 Yosemite to Mac users via the Mac App Store on Thursday. With a ground-up redesign to mirror iOS devices, Yosemite is intended to bring Apple’s product families closer together through features like Continuity and Handoff to bridge iOS and OS X workflows. Mac sales are far from stagnant, outpacing many competitors in the desktop and laptop markets, but the operating system’s obvious inspirations betray Apple’s increasing focus on its mobile platform. Yosemite is available for free download to Mac users as we speak.

Will.i.am owns an electronics company, and they made a wrist wearable that’s definitely not a watch.

Seriously, don’t call it a smart watch. Will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame owns a consumer electronics company called i.am+, producer of an ill-fated iPhone keyboard case called the foto.sosho a few months ago. The musician is back with a connected wearable product that plays music, tracks fitness metrics, and even tells time straight from the wrist—but it’s billed as a “smart cuff,” not a watch. The product, called Puls, has been two-and-a-half years in the making, and Will.i.am promised it would go on sale through AT&T later this year. It could be said the Apple Watch has some competition, but—to reiterate—it’s really not a watch.