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Google Isn't Giving Up On Smartwatches; Two Flagship Android Wear 2.0 Watches Launching Early Next Year (theverge.com)
Google isn't giving up on its smartwatches. The company said today it will be launching two new flagship smartwatches in the first quarter of next year. These watches will run Android Wear 2.0 operating system and will be the first ones to launch with the new platform. From the report: Following the launch of the new devices, existing Android Wear watches will get the update to Android Wear 2.0. Not every existing Android Wear watch will be updated, but Google says most of the recent models will be. Certain features, such as Android Pay, require specific hardware, so not all models will support them. [...] Google will release the fifth and final developer preview of Android Wear 2.0 in January, and it is expected to include support for both Google Assistant and Android Pay (on supported devices) in it. It will also work with iOS devices, and Chang confirmed that while there will be differences between Wear 2.0 on Android and iOS, Android Pay will work on both platforms.
I'm "old" (if you consider 57 as being old). I've worn a watch, since the early 70's. Had an LED watch at one time too, so tech isn't something I shy away from. Heck, in 2010, when everyone was squinting at 3-4" smartphone screens, I bought a Dell Streak 5, with a (at the time) massive 5" screen. The stares, laughs and "what do you need a screen that big" was all I got. I didn't care. I wanted the larger screen. I've had two even larger, and now use a 6" screen. But, these "smart" watches, always seemed to me, to be an answer to a NON problem. People my age, wear a watch because that is what we are use to. The younger crowd, that has grown up with the phone in their hands, hasn't, since they have a "watch" with them all the time. I just never could wrap my head around a watch, with a tiny screen, tiny battery life, and a VERY high price, given you can pick up a watch for almost nothing, not to mention most people these days, really need 3 arms. The extra one for carrying their phone, since I see so many of them with it in their hands most of the time. Hey, if you want spend the money for one of these things, hey, it's YOUR money, but I just don't get it. But, I said the same thing a few years ago about services like Pandora/Spotify too, which I use DAILY now.
You can heat up toast in a pan, yet we have toasters.
You can make coffee with a cup and a filter and a kettle. But we have coffee makers.
You can walk or bike most places in cities, but we have cars.
Most things in life are not really answers to a problem so much as they are about making life better. The Apple Watch doesn't really solve a "problem" for me exactly, but it does make life better...
I have better tracking of workouts.
I have a better and quicker understanding of who is calling to decide if I need to answer.
I get (very select) notices right away even when I leave my phone somewhere in the house.
I have better and more direct access to some small subset of features than I would just by opening an app on my phone.
I have slightly easier ways to pay for things rather than dragging out my phone at a store.
A smartwatch is nice not because of any one problem it selves, but because of all the little ways it just improves what you do through the day.
By the way, before I got the Apple Watch I hadn't been wearing a watch for about a decades... because as you said I could just use my phone as a watch.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The first problem is the screen: it takes too much power, it's far too small, doesn't harvest energy from ambient light and can only flex two dimensions at once.
The screen may currently use too much energy, but I strongly disagree about it being too small. I bought the smaller Apple Watch because are screens on a wrist look absurd and take up too much space on your arm. A small screen can convey plenty of information.
As for flexing "in two dimension at once" WTF? I don't need or want the screen to flex, at all. Why would I? Curved screens on a wrist are a terrible idea, you'd have to turn your arm to see the whole display.
The second problem is the CPU: it takes about 1000x more power than it should and isn't even stateful. QCA based CPUs would solve these issues.
How is the combination of CPU + SSD not stateful. I agree that it would be much better a watch could last, say, a year but that is not 1000x difference in power consumption... that is about a 300x difference.
The third is the wristband: it doesn't keep the watch perfectly in place
Speak for yourself there. My wristband keeps the watch in perfect position because it doesn't have discrete steps as most do - I use the Milanese Loop, which you can tighten to a perfect fit that does not move. I just wish there were some kind of sports version.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The OS is not the problem. It's the hardware makers. I will accept a big chunky diving watch if the damn thing was waterproof and shockproof with a decent scratchproof crystal.
Also for god's sake give us some real battery life! 2 days at a minimum please.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Apple couldn't make it.
Pretty sure they did make it. Not everything has to sell 100 million units to be successful. The fact that Apple built a version 2 says something. But hey they probably didn't do any research about potential and consumer demand or anything. Apple is known for just throwing garbage products over the fence.
Smartwatches are good as notifications device, it can act like the top bar of your Android phone.
I have a Mi Band (like a Chinese FitBit), it is great because it has a very noticeable vibrator, much better than what you have on your phone because it is always in contact with your skin. Good enough to act as a silent alarm clock. It has sensors too and the new model has a tiny display giving you things like the time and unread message count.
Do you really need more? For any interaction, the smartphone you already have with you is much better.
Android Wear does too much, as a result, it need a really powerful CPU and a large and power hungry screen. First, it is expensive (>$100), but it also results in a ridiculously short battery life, usually around a day which mean you need to recharge it every day like a smartphone, typically overnight. Not only it is annoying but because you aren't wearing your watch at night, you don't get the silent wake-up alarms, which is a feature only wearables can provide. Same for sleep tracking if it has any value to you.
To put it into perspective the Mi Band is around $15 and has a real month of battery life. Version 2 is around $30 and has a tiny screen which shows time and notifications and the battery life is just slightly lower.