Wear OS

The smartwatch market in 2019 is mainly the Apple Watch, with everyone else competing for scraps. While Apple’s popular wearable grew in market share year-over-year, the biggest player in Wear OS saw a loss. According to a new report, Fossil Group’s smartwatch efforts saw them lose share in the market.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Just yesterday, Google announced its latest Wear OS feature in Tiles, and it’s already starting to roll out to some users on various watch models. Here’s what you need to know.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Ahead of I/O 2019 next week, Google is announcing new features that likely won’t be getting any stage time during the main keynote. As we noted last month in an APK Insight, Wear OS is adding bite-sized pieces of information called Tiles.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Wear OS apps are pretty rough for the most part. Personally, I rarely use any of them at all. In recent weeks, though, the Google Maps app for Wear OS has been broken for many users, and that’s understandably frustrating.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The last major system-level update to Wear OS introduced Android 9 Pie, with more watches seeing the update since the start of 2019. Brands are still releasing devices, but the Snapdragon Wear 3100 has yet to see wide adoption. An update to the Wear OS companion today reveals that future devices might feature eSIM.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The one strength Google’s Wear OS has over its competition is choice. You can find just about any hardware you want from the Wear OS ecosystem, and the Diesel On Full Guard 2.5 is a great example of that. Here’s why.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Not too long ago we took a look at a similar high-end Wear OS option in the form of the Armani Exchange Connected. But for anyone not wanting a massive watch face, the Emporio Armani Connected might be a much more palatable option.
Expand
Expanding
Close

One of the biggest complaints of most smartwatches today is battery life. Almost any proper smartwatch lasts only a day or two before needing a charge. This is especially true on Wear OS, but Google is apparently trying to combat it. With the latest Google Fit update, some Wear OS watches will be able to use a battery saving low power GPS mode, and it launches on the Ticwatch Pro.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Whether you are interested in watches or not, it’s hard to argue that Italian brand Emporio Armani makes some of the most stylish options for those with a middling to high-end budget.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Smartwatches aren’t the rarity they once were. Odds are, you’ll see some sort of smartwatch or fitness tracker on someone’s wrist if you go out sometime today. However, Wear OS has been continually struggling, and reading between the lines of a new report, it’s clear that Google’s platform simply isn’t finding any share in the smartwatch market.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Back in 2014, Google gave us so much excitement and hope with the debut of Android Wear and futuristic looking watches like the Moto 360. A few years later, the platform has gotten a new name in Wear OS, but it’s also a mess. Now, it seems Google is preparing to take wearables seriously, so what do we actually want from a Pixel Watch? Here’s my wishlist.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Wear OS watches are all pretty much the same under the hood, but prices vary wildly. Where most options cost well over $200, Mobvoi has been working to provide affordable options that work just as good, if not better than most. Lately, the Ticwatch S2 has been on my wrist. Here’s what you need to know.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The Ticwatch E2 is the sequel to one of my favorite (and first proper) Wear OS watches — the Ticwatch E. Unlike its predecessor though, the Ticwatch E2 improves upon a vast swathe of issues that plagued the original to make it a great purchase for anyone wanting a cheap, yet decent quality Wear OS option.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Wear OS may not be the dominant smartwatch platform today, but it’s on more hardware than any other. With 2018 behind us, the Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon, powered by Google’s Wear OS, is getting refreshed for the new year with updated specs, a new variant, and more.

Expand
Expanding
Close

While originally rumored for the 10/9 Made by Google event, the Pixel Watch obviously did not launch last year. This morning, two codenames for what are possibly Google devices emerged in AOSP with evidence suggesting that they are smartwatches.

Expand
Expanding
Close

At CES 2019 earlier this month we got our first look at the Mobvoi Ticwatch E2 and Ticwatch S2. Now, pricing and availability details for the Ticwatch E2 and S2 are finally here.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Wear OS is a platform that’s gone from a pioneer in the industry to a stagnant, boring offering. Now, it’s finally back on the uptick with a fresh new design and a brand new chipset. The Fossil Sport is one of the first new watches with the Snapdragon Wear 3100 under the hood and it’s also the best Wear OS smartwatch for most people.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The Fossil Group is currently the primary manufacturer of Wear OS devices with 14 different fashion brands leveraging the same underlying technology. Google today announced that it was acquiring a portion of Fossil’s R&D team and intellectual property related to smartwatches.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google’s Wear OS has a big feature update on its way, but Update H has only arrived on a few models so far. Now, Wear OS 2.3 is rolling out to select smartwatches, but it seems the update doesn’t add much.

Expand
Expanding
Close