Despite the current lack of interest in smartwatches, Google will still attempt to enter the market and hopefully make some noise.
Google is on the right track so far with the announcement of not one but a couple of new flagship smartwatches. In an interview with The Verge, Android Wear product manager Jeff Chang confirmed that the new Android Wear 2.0 platform will debut on the said smartwatches.
The two smartwatches will not be exactly made by Google, though.
The software company struck a deal with an anonymous manufacturer which will be responsible for creating the devices. Chang said that the devices will not bear Google's name but that of the mysterious manufacturer. He also divulged that Google's collaborator has produced Android Wear devices before.
According to Engadget, this deal is similar to the one Google has with Nexus. The Nexus program involves Google providing the software for those in charge of the hardware. Google, of course, partnered with a hardware manufacturer that could make what the software giant wants in its phones exactly. With that in mind, Google has found the company that would create the smartwatches for their Android Wear 2.0.
Aside from the two still unnamed smartwatches, a number of Android Wear smartwatches will get an upgrade to Wear 2.0 in 2017. They are the following:
- Asus ZenWatch 2
- Asus ZenWatch 3
- Casio Smart Outdoor Watch
- Fossil Q Wander
- Fossil Q Marshal
- Fossil Q Founder
- Huawei Watch
- Huawei Watch Ladies
- LG Watch Urbane
- LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE
- LG Watch R
- Michael Kors Access Bradshaw Smartwatch
- Michael Kors Access Dylan Smartwatch
- Moto 360 Sport
- Moto 360 Gen 2
- Nixon Mission
- Polar M600
- Tag Heuer Connected
Android Wear 2.0 will provide new features to the said devices. The update will allow standalone apps to run without the need for a phone. It will also have support for Android Pay and for Google Assistant.
The two flagship smartwatches with Android Wear 2.0 are up for release early next year and is poised to challenge current wearables in the market such as Samsung Gear S3 and FitBit Charge 2.
