Wear OS

The Misfit Vapor is a smartwatch with an interesting background. It was first announced at CES with its own proprietary OS, but the company later decided to delay it and swap that out for Android Wear. Now, after months of missed goals and dozens of “vaporware” jokes, the company seems to finally be putting the watch on sale, and Amazon may have jumped the gun a little bit.

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Today’s Google event focused on phones, speakers, and AI over all else. What’s interesting is that the company not even one time mentioned Android Wear. Well, that story gets a bit more interesting when you look closer at the Google Store. After today’s new releases went up for pre-order, the store got a fresh coat of paint, and Android Wear disappeared from it completely without anyone noticing…

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At I/O 2017 and during a Reddit AMA with the Android Engineering team in July, Google mentioned that Oreo is mostly a “technical update” for Android Wear. Today, Google announced an Android Wear beta for the LG Watch Sport.

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Verizon just launched its LTE-enabled Wear24 smartwatch earlier this year — in May, to be exact. Now, just about 4 months after its launch, the Android Wear-powered offering has been discontinued.

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If you’re in the market for a new Android Wear smartwatch, the majority of options available to you come from fashion brands rather than tech-centric OEMs. Companies like Louis Vuitton and Fossil have already released Android Wear watches so far this year, and today, you can now order Micahel Kors’ two latest options — the Access Sofie and Access Grayson.

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Android Wear 2.0’s marquee features are the on-device Play Store and standalone applications that work independently of a smartphone and therefore function on iOS. Google is now bringing standalone apps to Android Wear 1.0 and announcing Play Store policy changes that will encourage developers to focus on these new types of apps.

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Over the past few days, we’ve seen announcements for new smartwatches from Fitbit and Samsung. These latest wearables are shaping up to be some of the best options yet from each company, and in that same breath, possibly two of the best smartwatches for all of 2017. Neither the Fitbit Ionic or Samsung Gear Sport are powered by Android Wear, but in all honesty, that might be a good thing.

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2017 has not been kind to Android Wear, and that’s thanks in big part to the disappointing release of Android Wear 2.0. What originally gave a lot of promise for the future of the platform turned out to be a flop, but it did stir up the hardware market. Since the update’s release, we’ve seen lots of new Android Wear partners. Today, we’re getting word on when two upcoming watches will be hitting the market.

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After Fitbit purchased Pebble last year, many anxious fans awaited the company’s next fitness-focused device that would ideally incorporate the features loved by the Pebble community. That day has come as Fitbit this morning unveiled the Ionic. While it may not be a Pebble replacement, it is the company’s first real smartwatch.

If you were to buy a smartwatch right now, would you purchase a Fitbit Ionic over an Android Wear device?

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Following the big 2.0 update that was released at the beginning of the year, Android Wear has been in something of a slump. A lack of truly compelling hardware is keeping new buyers at bay, and upcoming competition from Samsung and Fitbit is giving the platform a run for its money. However, for those of you that still rely on Google’s wearable OS, a new update that’s coming with 8.0 Oreo will help to keep you on top of all incoming notifications — even when your battery’s low.
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Considering how much of an odd place Android Wear is in at the moment, there’s a fair chance you don’t use Google’s wearable OS any longer. And, if you do, it’s even less likely that your watch of choice is the flop that was the Moto 360 Sport. However, if you are still holding out with Motorola’s failed attempt at a fitness-centric wearable, you’ll be pleased to know that the watch will soon be receiving an update to Android Wear 2.0…

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Android Wear has been a rollercoaster of emotions for Google fans. The initial teasers showing the Moto 360’s beautiful circular display pretty much gave butterflies to green robot fans everywhere, but since, the platform, and smartwatches in general, have struggled to live up to their promise. Even with awesome new hardware, lots of people just don’t wear their Wear anymore. But what about Googlers?

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Pickings for quality Android Wear watches are few and far between these days, and this is especially true if you want something with a relatively small/slim body. The Misfit Vapor is an upcoming Android Wear smartwatch that was first shown off at CES this January, but it looks like one of its hallmark features is now being axed..

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Android Wear 2.0 brought a lot of big changes to Google’s wearable version of the Android OS — one of those highlights being Google Assistant. Unfortunately, a lot of Android Wear users are now reporting a bug that essentially renders the Google Assistant useless…

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Announced at the annual Baselworld watch show in March, Fossil’s third-generation Android Wear devices are now available for pre-order. Notably dropping the flat-tire display, the Q Venture and Q Explorist come in a variety of styles and are slimmer than their predecessor.

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Well that was a fun little mystery while it lasted. AP‘s Artem noticed a brief mention of a device codenamed ‘dorado’ in AOSP last night, which spurred us to do a little bit — actually, more like an obsessive amount — of digging to figure out what exactly this device is…

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Android Wear 2.0 brought with it a major redesign that made watches running Google’s OS more independent. This change brought with it the ability to respond to texts and other types of messages via a virtual keyboard instead of just by voice. Unfortunately, for those who use the Russian and Hungarian keyboard, some characters have been missing…

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