Google is the last to pick up the pace when it comes to its own platforms, having manufactured its own smartphones long after other brands adopted the Android OS. The same is now true for smartwatches. Android Wear is something we’ve seen in the likes of the Huawei Watch or the Asus Zenwatch 2, but now it’s time for the smartwatch OS to return to its maker.
According to Jeff Chang, the product manager of Android Wear at Google, the company will be launching two new flagship smartwatches in the first quarter of next year. The information was given in an interview with The Verge. The new watches will be the flagship Android Wear 2.0 devices and will be the first ones to launch with the new platform.
The new models will not sport either Google or Pixel branding, but will be branded by the company that is manufacturing them. The manufacturer was not named but has been confirmed to be one that has previously designed Android Wear smartwatches. This partnership is similar to that of the Nexus line of Google smartphones. Of the brands that have previously manufactured Android Wear smartwatches, the most prominent are Asus, LG, Moto and Huawei.
Once the new flagship smartwatches launch, other existing Android Wear smartwatches will be able to update to Android Wear 2.0. However, not all existing smartwatches will get the update due to the hardware requirements needed for Android Wear 2.0. The new platform brings a number of new features, including support for Android Pay, standalone apps that don’t require a phone to work, and support for Google’s voice-controlled Assistant.
Furthermore, Google’s partners will also release their new smartwatches in the new year. The new smartwatches by Google’s partners are expected to be revealed next year at CES and at the Baselworld trade show later in 2017.
Source: The Verge
