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Wear OS

1,462 'Wear OS' stories March 2014 - November 2015
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Wear OS is Google's wearable platform which is designed to run on watches. It's based on a modified version of Android, designed by Google, and used on many third-party smartwatches.

Wear OS is Google’s wearable platform which is designed to run on watches. It’s based on a modified version of Android, designed by Google, and used on smartwatches such as Pixel Watch, Galaxy Watch, and more.

The platform was first introduced in 2014 as “Android Wear,” before being modified until it became “Wear OS” in 2018.

As you’d expect, Wear OS is designed to be an extension of your smartphone. Notifications are mirrored to your wrist while condensed apps can be installed, both with their own independent functionality or as an extension of the smartphone app.

Where Wear OS was once found across a variety of smartwatch brands, the market has condensed in recent years. Names such as Fossil, Mobvoi, and others faded away in favor of first-party smartwatches from Google and Samsung, as other names in Android such as OnePlus, Oppo, Xiaomi, and more.

A few key Wear OS smartwatches include:

Google’s Pixel Watch is the poster child of Wear OS, with a heavy focus on Fitbit features and Gemini integration.

Pixel Watch 4
Galaxy Watch 8 Classic

You can read the latest news about the platform and its apps below.

LG Watch Urbane 2 LTE edition available at AT&T November 13, pre-order from Verizon today

Avatar for Cam Bunton Nov 12 2015 - 8:40 am PT
1 Comment

Earlier this fall, LG announced the second generation version of its stylish round Android Wear watch. The LG Watch Urbane 2nd generation was sleeker and more attractive than its predecessor, and also the first Android Wear device to come with an LTE-equipped model. Both AT&T and Verizon will be accepting orders for the LTE model from this week…


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New EM-Sense tech from Disney Research & Carnegie Mellon lets smartwatches know what you’re touching [Video]

Avatar for Stephen Hall Nov 10 2015 - 9:52 am PT
1 Comment

A new smartwatch prototype experiment from Disney Research and Carnegie Mellon might just be the smartwatch use case we’ve all been waiting for.

The technology, called EM-Sense, which is currently being shown off running on a Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, uses electromagnetic (EM) noise from electrical and electromechanical objects to determine what you’re touching. This gives your theoretical future smartwatch a glimpse into what you’re doing and allows the device to be context aware beyond just your email inbox, your calendar, and your geographical location. It’s also maybe a little creepy.
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First Tag Heuer Connected unboxing photos appear [Gallery]

Avatar for Abner Li Nov 9 2015 - 11:54 am PT
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The TAG Heuer Connected is available as of noon today in select stores, and it looks like some unboxing images are already popping up. It appears based on these images that the watch ships in a plastic lunch box-like case, and comes with a charging dock, the watch, and a wall adapter.

Check the locator tool to see if the Connected is available for purchase at a store near you.

Here’s what makes the $1,500 Tag Heuer Connected Android Wear smartwatch unique

Avatar for Abner Li Nov 9 2015 - 11:13 am PT
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In March of this year, TAG Heuer, a luxury Swiss watchmaker, announced they were making an Android Wear smartwatch with an Intel chip inside. For background, this was a full month before the release of the Apple Watch, but just over a week after Apple announced the prices of their watch. It was clear from the start that TAG Heuer would be competing with the highest end Apple Watch.

The TAG Heuer Connected was finally announced this morning. During that eight month period, Android Wear devices have matured and are in their second iteration. And for the most part, Tag’s watch is not all too different from the current line-up of watches running Google’s operating system — but there are a few notable differences.
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TAG Heuer Connected Android Wear watch officially announced

Avatar for Cam Bunton Nov 9 2015 - 8:35 am PT
4 Comments

After months of teasing us, TAG Heuer — in partnership with Intel — finally announced its Android Wear powered smartwatch in New York. It marks the first time any luxury watch maker has officially unveiled an Android Wear watch, and comes with TAG Heuer’s world-renowned build quality. Despite being a smartwatch, TAG also wanted to make sure the device was a great watch and so ensured that it displayed time very accurately. It claims the watch is accurate to 1/100th of a second.
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TAG Heuer’s long-awaited Android Wear smartwatch launches today, priced at $1500 [livestream starts 11am ET]

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 9 2015 - 4:51 am PT
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Update: The TAG Heuer Connected is now official. It goes on sale for $1500 very soon, has a 46mm case, connects with Android and iOS phones and will be available with a choice of 7 different color straps. Watch the promo video, see the official press renders and read up on the full official details here.

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer has announced that its Android Wear-based Carrera Connected smartwatch, launching today in New York, will have go on sale at $1500, a little lower than previously expected.

TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver told Le Matin Dimanche that he didn’t want to reveal too much ahead of today’s official unveiling, which takes place at 11am ET. Although it runs on Android Wear, the company appears to be targeting Apple rather than existing Android brands … 
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Android Wear 1.4 rolling out OTA w/ new firmware change log, removal of battery life graph, more

Avatar for Abner Li Nov 8 2015 - 5:34 pm PT
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The Android Wear companion app received an update to version 1.4 over the weekend, and these 1.x updates to the phone app are usually a sign that a new update is coming to the watch(es) as well. Tomorrow will see the introduction of Tag Heuer’s long-awaited luxury entry, so the stars might be aligning for more than just hardware announcements in the morning…


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With the new Nexus line & Android 6.0, Google wants you to talk to your phone more than ever

Avatar for Abner Li Nov 6 2015 - 6:37 am PT
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Google’s long stated vision, if not obsession, is turning your smartphone into the Star Trek computer. A key part of the computer on the Enterprise is that the primary means of interaction is through voice. The entire process mimics more asking a person a question rather than the ‘typing out what you want to know into a search box’ process that has made the Google so well known.

To meet this goal, the company has been continually doing massive research and investments into speech recognition and machine understanding. The latter is Google’s Knowledge Graph, announced in 2012, that understands concepts and their relationships between things.

These massive investments in speech recognition and Knowledge Graph ultimately culminated with Google Now. If ever there was a thing that paralleled the Star Trek computer in real life, it would be Now and its ability to provide verbal responses to verbally-asked questions. Now, Google is pushing the tech even further with Marshmallow and the new Nexus devices…
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Chronos under-watch disc turns traditional watches into smart ones (save $50 on pre-order)

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 5 2015 - 6:29 am PT
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There are many watch guys out there who are reluctant to give up their beautiful analog watches in favor of a smartwatch, but still feel slightly envious about the convenience of wrist notifications. Chronos is a $99 gadget geared to solving that problem.

It’s a 3mm thick disk designed to be discreetly worn underneath an analog watch. It offers multi-color flashing lights and vibrations for notifications from your iPhone, and also offers limited tap-based control of iPhone apps. You can, for example, skip to the next track in the Music app.

The Verge reports that it’s probably something you’ll want to use only with larger watches.

Chronos does add an appreciable thickness to the watch, setting it higher off of your wrist, but it isn’t particularly noticeable when placed beneath a larger model.

Chronos will retail for $129, but the first 250 people to pre-order can snag one for $79. The bad news is that you’ll have to wait until the spring to receive it.

Nexus 6P buyers get $50 discount on Huawei Watch

Avatar for Cam Bunton Nov 3 2015 - 2:18 am PT
1 Comment

Huawei has taken a leaf from Apple’s book with its latest promotion, offering discount on its wearable product when customers order a smartphone. Buyers who order the Nexus 6P direct from Huawei can get $50 off the Huawei Watch when they buy both devices at the same time. That means you’ll be able to get one of this year’s best Android Wear smartwatches for as little as $299.

This deal, of course, is more than likely being launched to counter Apple’s very similar promotion in which customers purchasing an iPhone and an Apple Watch at the same time receive $50 discount in select stores. Overall though, there’s still a huge price difference between buying the new Nexus and buying the new iPhone. Nexus 6P models start at $499, where the iPhone 6s begins at $649. Huawei Watch begins at the same price as the Apple Watch Sport, and is $200+ cheaper than the stainless Apple Watch models.

If you want to take advantage of the deal, head on over to GetHuawei.com and add the Nexus 6P and Huawei Watch to your basket. The $50 discount will be applied automatically. All in, the cheapest combination will set you back about $800, that’s only $50 more than the price of the cheapest 16GB iPhone 6s Plus on its own. That’s really not bad when you’re getting two of the best Android/Android Wear products available right now.

AT&T’s NumberSync feature coming first to Samsung Gear S2 & LG Watch Urbane 2, orders start Friday

Avatar for Zac Hall Nov 2 2015 - 9:32 am PT
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A few weeks ago AT&T announced an upcoming network-level feature called NumberSync, which will allow customers to use one phone number on multiple connected devices like smartwatches, tablets, and connected cars. As promised, the carrier is unveiling the first two devices that will work with NumberSync: the Samsung Gear S2 and LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE. 
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Developer manages to run Nintendo 64 and PSP games on his LG G Watch [Video]

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 30 2015 - 1:39 pm PT
1 Comment

We’ve seen a slew of emulators — everything from Macintosh II to Game Boy Color — running on Android Wear devices before, but the latest entries from Hacking Jules might be the most absurd yet. In these videos, we can see that popular PSP emulator PPSSPP and an unnamed Nintendo 64 emulator are both — albeit barely — capable of running on the LG G Watch…

It goes without saying that this is definitely a case of “why not,” rather than any kind of practical use case. Both emulators are barely chugging along (despite how impressive it is that they’re working at all). As you can see, frame rates are definitely in the realm of unplayable, and a screen of this size just doesn’t really work as a controller either.

Here are the videos:

9to5Toys Lunch Break: LG G4 Stylus (unlocked) $235, ZTE Axon Pro (unlocked) $320, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 30 2015 - 12:59 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

LG G4 Stylus brand new 8GB (unlocked): $235 shipped (Reg. $800) | eBay

ZTE Axon Pro factory unlocked in Phthalo Blue: $320 shipped (Reg. $400) | Amazon

New LG/Google Nexus 5 (unlocked): $175 shipped (Reg. $400) | eBay

LG G Watch Android Wear refurb: $60 shipped (Reg. $200) | BuyDig

Dell Venue 8 7000 Series 8.4″ Intel Atom 16GB Black: $280 shipped (Reg. $400) | eBay

Giveaway: Polk Audio’s Omni Whole Home Music System – Soundbar w/ subwoofer and S2 Speaker ($880 value)

More new gear from today:

Headphones: Audio-Technica Over-Ears $100 (Orig. $250), URGE Basics Bluetooth Earbuds $9 (Reg. $19), more

More deals still alive:

Logitech K480 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard (refurb) $20 shipped (Orig. $50)

New products & more:

GE’s new smart LED lightbulbs tell your brain when it’s time for bed

This life-size R2-D2 refrigerator carries your beer to you…for a price

9to5Toys Lunch Break: LG G Watch $60, Dell Venue 8 $280, Nexus 5 (unlocked) $175, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 29 2015 - 12:41 pm PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

LG G Watch Android Wear refurb: $60 shipped (Reg. $200) | BuyDig

Dell Venue 8 7000 Series 8.4″ Intel Atom 16GB Black: $280 shipped (Reg. $400) | eBay

New LG/Google Nexus 5 (unlocked): $175 shipped (Reg. $400) | eBay

Amazon offers over $70 worth of Android apps for free

Toshiba Canvio Connect II 3TB Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive $100 shipped (Orig. $170)

Logitech K480 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard (refurb) $20 shipped (Orig. $50)

Giveaway: Polk Audio’s Omni Whole Home Music System – Soundbar w/ subwoofer and S2 Speaker ($880 value)

More new gear from today:

Adobe Photoshop Elements 14 (Mac/PC) is on sale for Prime members: $40 shipped (Reg. $70+)

More deals still alive:

Monoprice 15% off sitewide: MFi certified Lightning cables as low as $4, more

A Dark Room — the best-selling iPhone/iPad RPG is now available for free (Reg. $1)

New products & more:

The Altwork Station cures the standing desk blues with its reclining design

Can a $99 Windows PC that connects to your iPad be any good?

Huawei Watch gets extended warranty, goes on sale in German Google Store

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 27 2015 - 2:56 pm PT
3 Comments

I already love the Huawei Watch (and so does Dom), and now I think I love it even more. Today, the Chinese OEM has announced that new buyers of company’s Android Wear smartwatch are getting an extended manufacturer’s warranty. Originally just 12 months, the Huawei Watch is now eligible for an additional 12 months of coverage if you buy direct from Huawei…
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Google patents way to tell if you are a car driver or passenger through smartwatch movements

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 26 2015 - 4:50 am PT
1 Comment

Google may have made leaps and bounds already in the development of future automotive technology with its autonomous vehicle program, but that’s not all it’s working on. A patent recently published by the USPTO reveals a concept for an in-car tool which uses your wearable device’s movements to work out if you’re the driver or passenger…


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Play Store listings now tell you when an app has Android Wear support

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 21 2015 - 2:23 pm PT
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Since day one of the Apple Watch, iOS users have been able to get a quick glance at which apps have a companion Apple Watch app and which ones don’t. Android users have never had this luxury, and have instead been left guessing — or reading a site like this one — to find out whether or not a given app will have a wrist companion. Now, that has changed thanks to a new Android Wear icon that’s appearing on the Play Store…
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Huawei Watch charging cradle now available on the Google Store

Avatar for Chance Miller Oct 13 2015 - 5:24 pm PT
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You can now purchase a replacement charging cradle for the Huawei Watch on the Google Store for $39.99. The accessory is listed as stock and will leave the warehouse within 1-2 business days. Shipping for the product is free, as well.

The charging cradle is the first accessory for the Huawei Watch to become available via the Google Store. The watch itself went up for pre-order on the Google Store at the beginning of last month and began shipping not too far after.

The Huawei Watch features a 1.4-inch screen with a 400 x 400 resolution, coming out to 286 pixels per inch. It sports 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB of on-board storage, a gyroscope, barometer, and accelerometer, all packed inside a 42mm case and powered by a 300mAh battery.

Huawei Watch owners can purchase the standalone charging cradle on the Google Store now. You can read our review of the watch itself here, in which we heavily praised the design of the device.


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The BLOCKS modular smartwatch has flown past its Kickstarter goal in a just a few hours

Avatar for Trevor Daugherty Oct 13 2015 - 2:00 pm PT
2 Comments

From 9to5Toys.com:

The BLOCKS modular smartwatch hit Kickstarter today and in just a few short hours it has flown past its initial $250,000 goal. There was a lot of hype initially surrounding its launch, which has proven to be well deserved.

BLOCKS was first teased back at CES with a promise of hitting the crowdfunding circuit this summer. The build-your-own watch offers a unique alternative to Apple Watch and Android Wear examples that are largely limited in function by their software capabilities. Although it took a little more time than originally expected, today’s response has been through the roof. Head below for more details.


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TAG Heuer teases its upcoming ‘Connected’ Android Wear smartwatch in new image

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 12 2015 - 11:40 am PT
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Mentions of TAG Heuer’s entry into the Android Wear market have been tossed around for a really long time now, but — as we learned just a couple of weeks ago — the device’s launch is finally right around the corner. We haven’t up to this point had any kind of peek at what the watch will actually look like, but a new teaser image tweeted today by the company itself gives us a little bit of a glimpse at this beast in the flesh…
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Report: Samsung pushing Marshmallow to most Galaxy S5, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, Note 4, and Note 5 variants

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 9 2015 - 9:38 am PT
4 Comments

According to a report this morning out of the well-sourced SamMobile, the South Korea-based Android OEM is planing to push Android 6.0 Marshmallow to a whole slew of its most popular handsets. Among those making the initial list are most variants of the Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy Note 5. For good measure, Samsung threw in the Verizon variant of the Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy S5 Neo. Why not?..
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