Wear OS

Announced at I/O with a focus on messaging, customization and fitness, Android Wear 2.0 has been delayed from this fall to early 2017. Google is using the time to improve the operating system and will release several more developer previews. Today’s release features a Play Store accessible directly from the watch and many other features.

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Android Wear is a fantastic platform, but one of its best aspects is that it works not just on Android, but also on iOS. While Android Wear’s functionality is more limited when used with iOS devices, it’s still great to have the option. That said, something odd is seemingly going on with a handful of Android Wear smartwatches and the recently-announced iPhone 7.

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Earlier this month a report from CNET revealed that some Android Wear OEMs, including Huawei, were planning to take a break this year and wouldn’t be releasing any new wearables. Now a report out of Korea has revealed that Huawei may be switching its wearable OS entirely, ditching Google’s Android Wear for Samsung’s Tizen….

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Android Wear is over two years old at this point, but the platform has yet to resonate significantly with consumers. And what’s next for it does not seem to be particularly enticing either, at least judging from the reactions of major OEMs like LG, Motorola and Huawei…

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One Android Wear smartwatch we’ve been eagerly looking forward to since early this year is the Nixon Mission. This sports-oriented smartwatch is built to withstand just about anything you throw at it, whether that’s swimming, surfing, or even snowboarding. Until today we haven’t known much about when the Mission would release, or what it would cost.

Now, the Nixon Mission is available for pre-order starting at $400…

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When thinking of Google, there are essentially two versions of the company that come to mind for most. Some immediately — and solely — link it to its iconic search box put front and center on google.com, while others who are more aware know about the ocean of products and services the Mountain View firm is deeply involved in. One thing that doesn’t often come to the average person’s mind, though, is hardware. Come the next few months, however, that may all but change…

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Earlier this year Michael Kors revealed a new selection of Android Wear smartwatches in two styles. The “Dylan,” a watch for men, features a sporty look, with the all-metal “Bradshaw” being aimed at women. Now, they are finally available, both starting at $350 only in retail stores. They are available in 18 countries including the US and UK…

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The Fossil Q Marshall and Q Wander were announced back in March with relatively few specs and did not go on sale until last month. Now, Qualcomm has confirmed that both devices are the first to use the new Snapdragon 2100 processor that has a number of features optimized for wearables.

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ASUS has today announced the ZenWatch 3 at IFA in Berlin, Germany, the latest entry in its family of Android Wear smartwatches. The company most well-known in the Android Wear space as being the budget smartwatch maker has continued that trend with the ZenWatch 3, but this time bringing a much more stylish watch with a circular display and three side buttons…

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The first pictures of the circular tri-button ZenWatch 3 leaked last week, but now another image that was found deep within a beta version of the official ZenWatch Manager app for Android has surfaced to give us yet another look. This time, instead of regulatory photos spotted at China’s NCC, we have an official render (seen above) that’s probably nearly identical to some of the artwork we’re going to see at ASUS’ IFA event later this month…

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We’ve been hearing whispers of Samsung’s plans to introduce the Gear S3 and Lenovo has somewhat teased a new Moto 360, but the word on the street is that ASUS is also planning a smartwatch announcement for IFA 2016. Now, a set of images (via ePrice) from China’s National Communications Commission (essentially the country’s version of the FCC) have revealed what appears to be the new ZenWatch 3 in the flesh…

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With last year’s ASUS ZenWatch 2 proving to be a popular low-cost option, we’re excited to see what the company has in store for the ZenWatch 3. While not many details have leaked yet, a recent listing at the FCC has given us our first look at what to expect.

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After releasing major updates to its apps on both Android and iOS back in May, eBay has just updated its apps yet again to introduce even more useful features. For Android users, this latest update brings along support for eBay’s new “One-Time Password” login method and also a full Android Wear application…

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About a year ago Google introduced a new feature to Android Wear in “Together”. The watchface/app allowed quick communication between couples or friends in the form of emojis, photos, sketches, and more. Today however Google has revealed that the app will be shutting down.

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There’s an increasing trend of using Android Wear as the OS for specialty fitness wearables. At CES, Casio announced a rugged sensor-packed Wear device that also has a monochrome watch mode. Polar is continuing in that line with an Android Wear watch that doubles as an exercise wearable with an optical heart rate sensor, GPS, and activity tracking.

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Smartwatches and fitness trackers have enjoyed quite a bit of popularity over the last 18 months as manufacturers like Apple, Motorola, Huawei and others vie for the prime wrist real estate. By and large, you need to get into the $200+ category to really cash in on a full featured smartphone accessory. A new product called the Ticwatch 2 from Mobvoi hit Kickstarter today with a $99 price tag and big dreams. Its clean design is attractive, and with GPS plus heart rate monitoring built-in, it also checks all the boxes…

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Samsung’s Gear S2 may not be an Android Wear watch, but it’s definitely one of the most popular smartwatches available for your Android phone outside of that platform. According to a report out of SamMobile today, a forthcoming update coming to the Gear S2 is bringing a lot of new features — namely, the ability to install suggested apps directly from the watch, set your own photos as a watchface background, and more…

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Android Wear 2.0 has been updated to beta today with the release of its second Developer Preview. The update packs new functionality and bug fixes, the most notable of the bunch being that third-party developers will now have the ability to add wrist gestures to apps. The Android Platform is also now at API 24 to match Nougat as of this release, but unfortunately the Preview is still only available for two watches…

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Following reports that Google is building its own Android Wear devices, new renders show off the possible look of the two watches. One looks very much like an LG Urbane, while the other is quite sleek, elegant, and compact. The image also shows off an extremely customizable default watchface that might be a part of Android Wear 2.0.

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According to a report this afternoon out of Android Police, Google is in the process of developing two new Android Wear devices with the company’s recently-announced “assistant” built in. The site’s “multiple sources” say that the watches will be launching sometime later this year (“after the new Nexus phones”), with one being more fully featured and physically larger than the other, more modest offering…

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