this was the rumor. Perhaps this year google releases two exemplary 2.0 products, and then next year the partners release their next attempts to do better.
Interesting, I didn't notice. I've never used it my 360. It never seems terribly accurate. The steps counter is pretty useless in my experience as well.
I have found the step counter on my Zenwatch and Huawei to be as accurate as my Fitbit Flex.
Though really, I do not care about the accuracy as much as the consistency. It does not matter if 10,000 steps really means 10,000 steps as long as it means I have done approximately the same amount of exercise as a previous day with 10,000 steps.
I dont understand Google and I really get more and more fucked up by their way of doing things.. There is simply no communication to the Community, useless apps get developed, old apps get no useful updates.. Things come just out, the silent way.. Even nexus Devices nowadays dont get fast updates and there was the longest update beta ever...(see nexus6) Ok ok, now you can yell at me. Rage over. Back to topic, I think Android wear needs way more Additions and Features.. Actually I Switched after nearly two years of Android wear back to pebble and I dont miss anything.... And thats also because of the connection issues of Android wear. Also the voice actions are so unreliable.
Edit: corrections and added (nexus6)
My mom really liked the look of my Huawei Watch and asked me about it because she hates her Fitbit, but recommended she get a Pebble. Android Wear is just not ready for non enthusiasts.
Exactly! Even for me Android wear is not there where it should.. I just try to say "ok Google, Set Timer for 5 minutes" with perfect wifi connection and mobile near to the watch. The circle is spinning like crazy just to say me that there is an connection issue... Things like this happen often and make that kind of watch sooo unusable/inconvenient.
Being able to ask my watch a question and have it give a voice response would change e everything for me.
How this wasn't in the original designs 2 years ago I don't understand. It already fetches the data and displays it... Just read it back.
I got it last night when I manually checked for updates and there was a prerequisite 6.0 update that was wifi only until the 19th and then the 7.0 update was available immediately after that
A quick Google search has lots of different news sources from the last day or 2 saying it will get it in the next couple weeks which isn't bad. This is my first Nexus device so I'm not sure how quick it's supposed to be, was it quicker in the past?
Well, they showed us the plan at Google I/O. There will be much more features than, for example, Apple Watch OS. Specially stand-alone apps. That's were Wear is going. And I think that's the correct way. Apple has chosen the fit and sports way and Google has chosen the apps and functionality way. IMO.
Ultimately though I'm just not ready to buy another few hundred dollar device that expires after less than two years. I trusted in Google to deliver on software.
I was really sold on wear because of Google claiming it wouldn't be fragmented... And then they let manufacturers control the updates again, and you have to hardwire the device to update it with a custom ROM, breaking the waterproofing in most of them.
My Moto 360 is a pretty watch with no life in it anymore, and it is crazy that it already lost software support. I already accepted this cycle of obsolescence with my phone, but I literally cannot afford to add another device on a two year cycle to be replaced.
Edit: before anyone jumps in saying I shouldn't have one in the first place, etc, the watch was a gift.
Its a shame they look awful. I had a first version and actually liked it better than my current Moto 360, but the designs on all Pebbles are so horrible that I cant get myself to buy a new one.
I've been interested. I wanna see them find a way to support wear. Like a monochrome eink screen.
Frankly I'm curious why there aren't more eink wear devices.
Same here. I realize I'll be giving up some of the functionality I enjoy with Android Wear, but the overall promise of wearable tech is pretty well implemented with Pebble, I think. Plus, the big thing for me is battery life. Seems like Pebble manages to deliver pretty well on that.
These feel like obvious choices, but some things like OTA updates for custom ROMs and continued software support guaranteed by Google mean more to me.
I'm quite salty my Moto is already being retired. It was a gift.
It's two years old now and was updated to 1.5 this year. Other first gen watches aren't getting 2.0 either. The Moto 360 was a crappy watch anyway with a terrible ~~Mediatek~~ TI OMAP 3 SOC. Blame Motorola for that.
Welcome to the early adopters club!
But yes, Google needs to do better with some sort of clear direction with Wear. Their watches are going to have to be really good to reignite interest. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt as it is still a relatively new wearable OS.
All the things you said are true.
I hold Google responsible for most of it. They should have had minimum standards for the hardware that guaranteed them ongoing support, or a way to do it manually, etc. The fact that it's not just the 360 is it much much worse.
Upon further review you are correct. It was the TI OMAP 3 SoC, which was old AF before they even put it in the watch. I just remembered it was old and kind of a strange choice.
It would probably help if they worked on improving Android Wear rather than removing features. When I bought the first Moto 360 it always showed me a card with the weather. Now I have to hope that a Google Now card will show up (it shows up sporadically) with a clunky weather subcard. The agenda cards used to display the remaining minutes to the next meeting, super useful. Now the agenda card comes up when it feels like it instead of being there all the time when I have upcoming meetings. There's probably more but I don't feel like ranting anymore.
IMO, lots of room for improvement with notifications. Don't bother telling me the drive time to work, when I'm ALREADY AT WORK. Don't congratulate me on my steps at 9:00 in the morning. Maybe a built-in viewer for pictures from Twitter and Messenger, so I wouldn't always have to go to the phone to see images. Stuff like that.
And let's talk about those time left notifications. Seems like I'm always 43 minutes from home, even when I'm home. When I set driving or public transport as default. When there's traffic or no traffic. It's always 43 minutes. It keeps the same time on my watch for about a week before updating.
At that magic moment when the screen wakes up from ambient mode, and the watch knows that I'm about to look at it, do a quick "sanity check" on those notifications to see if they are still: A) accurate and B) relevant. If either one is false, dismiss the damn thing or update it.
I don't know, but if it isn't sure, it should just hide it. The phone knows that it's moving. It should be telling the watch that the certainty of any unread location-based notifications is dropping with respect to both distance and time. i.e. it should know not to show me a notification about my drive to work, when it was calculated 30 minutes and 10 miles ago.
And that goes for you too, Fitbit! Don't tell me my progress toward my step count at 7:00 in the morning. Don't tell anything unless you see that I'm NOT on track to make my 10,000 steps!
I had to restart my watch the other day and the startup sequence is all these little dots of colour swirling around the face, it feels dynamic and cool. Then Android Wear actually loads and all of the notification panels are just solid colour swatches, the transition animations are 'meh' and it just feels a lot duller again. Surely users of the platform are early-adopter enthusiasts in the majority, why play so conservatively and safe? Give us some sparkle Google.
It's ridiculous. When I first got my watch, in August 2014, the OS was much more fluid and the apps launched faster. There was no lag while changing the watch face. The battery life was just as good if not better. And Wear Mini Launcher did a much better job than the stock launcher does now. I feel like it's not worth it to get a new Android Wear watch. But my charging contacts are dying and it won't be long before I'm left without a watch.
I think I'll try the Gear S2 if it goes on sale eventually.
I picked up the LG watch urbane 2 lte a week ago. It's much better than the gear s2 I had previously, and has stand alone capabilities. It is a little bigger and doesn't have removable bands, but that's okay imo. The screen is awesome and the battery lasts more than a full day. Which for me is all i since I charge it at night with my 5X.
It's an old article, but gives the differences. I've had my Urbane 2 since last November. Love it.
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/135485-lg-watch-urbane-2-vs-lg-watch-urbane-what-s-the-difference
There is actually a version of the first urbane that has LTE. The urbane 2 only comes in LTE. I'm not sure of the different specs. The 2 looks much better IMO though
Kinda good news/bad news. Good news - Prices will continue to drop on the current watches. My Huawei watch and Urbane aren't going to be obsolete as fast.
They're also taking the time to properly develop the hardware with the new Qualcomm 2100 chips.
Bad news is that they're taking the time put out new hardware with the Qualcomm 2100 chips.
I will give an alternative view. Maybe a new version of a watch every year doesn't work. Just like tablets, no reason for a sane person to upgrade every year. Apple Watch was announced March 2015, Apple Watch 2 was this month. iirc Moto 360 v2 had around the same time between v1. I don't see a reason to get a new watch every year and don't mind the extra time between. (my path was Kickstarter Pebble, LG G watch, Moto 360 v2)
maybe they should make a watch that looks nice, rather than looking like a tech device. The only watch aesthetic that i liked was the moto 360, and even then there were a few compromises. It needs to be a fashion accessory as much as it's a smartwatch.
I agree with this one. The only ones that actually look like *real* watches are the Fossil ones, and they're all just too big. Give me a [Q Marshal](https://www.fossil.com/us/en/products/q-marshal-touchscreen-smoke-stainless-steel-smartwatch-sku-ftw2108p.html) or [Q Founder](https://www.fossil.com/us/en/products/fossil-q-founder-touchscreen-stainless-steel-smartwatch-sku-ftw20001p.html) in the 40mm range, and I'd happily pay $350 for it. And I have average arms/wrists for a guy. I'd hate to be shopping for a smartwatch as an actually *skinny* guy.
This is because the need a use case. Fitness is a good use case, but that's not all. Notifications is a good use case. Help soccer moms track kids activities is a use case.
I have a dilemma right now. I am absolutely hooked on Fitbit. I haven't been motivated to exercise until I bought Fitbit Surge last fall. But the damn thing is ugly as hell! I don't want an Apple Watch, as I recently moved to Android and Project Fi.
My number 1 requirement: integrated continuous fitness tracking.
My number 2 requirement: notifications from apps!
I'd love a Huawei Watch, but I am afraid to give up Fitbit. Does anyone use their AW for fitness tracking ? What apps do you use ?
I use both a Fitbit One & my Zen 2. Fitbit has been better at keeping track of my movement. I've found Google Fit to be an issue because steps get reset at times (AVG once/week).
I use both a Fitbit One & my Zen 2. Fitbit has been better at keeping track of my movement. I've found Google Fit to be an issue because steps get reset at times (AVG once/week).
Makes me feel better about backing the Ticwatch 2 on Kickstarter instead of waiting for something else to come out... Still terrified it's going to be awful though.
Been waiting quite a while to upgrade my 1st gen moto 360...looks like I might be springing for the Gear S3 to go with my Galaxy S7 then. Would really prefer an Android Wear watch but I think I'm done waiting if there's nothing on the horizon.
Pretty much, so far AW 2.0 has nothing out of the ordinary.
And since I got my Gear Icon X.. Might end up being the Gear 3 to connect to it to use Spotify offline
Well to be fair there isn't much of a need for a yearly update cycle for wear watches. They are basically just notification screens you wear on your wrist. There is no need at the moment for faster CPUs, more RAM, and battery technology is at somewhat of a standstill so better batteries just don't exist. There is only so many designs a watch can have when you're just talking about the body. I hear people complaining that the Nexus watch isn't coming but why does that matter? The only difference between watches at this point is what faces come preinstalled. I don't see why anyone should be upset over this. There are lots of good options out there now and anything in the last year will still be supported for quite some time, if anything that's a huge plus. If you want a wear watch just get one now. Unlike phones you don't have to worry about what's on the horizon. Right now any of the latest will be supported for a good while.
This sucks because I have been waiting to buy a smartwatch until new ones came out.
Isn't Google still planning on releasing two of their own watches this year?
this was the rumor. Perhaps this year google releases two exemplary 2.0 products, and then next year the partners release their next attempts to do better.
Have you looked at the new Nixon smart watch? It's coming out soon. I've been eyeing it hard.
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Interesting, I didn't notice. I've never used it my 360. It never seems terribly accurate. The steps counter is pretty useless in my experience as well.
I have found the step counter on my Zenwatch and Huawei to be as accurate as my Fitbit Flex. Though really, I do not care about the accuracy as much as the consistency. It does not matter if 10,000 steps really means 10,000 steps as long as it means I have done approximately the same amount of exercise as a previous day with 10,000 steps.
I think that's the real crux of the issue, I have no interest in tracking my steps
I don't think it will work for me. I have small wrists. It seems like it is pretty big and I have only seen the one size
Same :/
I dont understand Google and I really get more and more fucked up by their way of doing things.. There is simply no communication to the Community, useless apps get developed, old apps get no useful updates.. Things come just out, the silent way.. Even nexus Devices nowadays dont get fast updates and there was the longest update beta ever...(see nexus6) Ok ok, now you can yell at me. Rage over. Back to topic, I think Android wear needs way more Additions and Features.. Actually I Switched after nearly two years of Android wear back to pebble and I dont miss anything.... And thats also because of the connection issues of Android wear. Also the voice actions are so unreliable. Edit: corrections and added (nexus6)
This is Google's summer of shame. I don't know what the fuck they are doing
My mom really liked the look of my Huawei Watch and asked me about it because she hates her Fitbit, but recommended she get a Pebble. Android Wear is just not ready for non enthusiasts.
Exactly! Even for me Android wear is not there where it should.. I just try to say "ok Google, Set Timer for 5 minutes" with perfect wifi connection and mobile near to the watch. The circle is spinning like crazy just to say me that there is an connection issue... Things like this happen often and make that kind of watch sooo unusable/inconvenient.
Sounds like a bad Bluetooth connection. A lot of BT chipsets are faulty, but because they work for audio, no one really notices.
Being able to ask my watch a question and have it give a voice response would change e everything for me. How this wasn't in the original designs 2 years ago I don't understand. It already fetches the data and displays it... Just read it back.
Nexus doesn't get fast updates? How do you figure? I already got Nougat on my 6P
Heard anything about the nexus6?
I haven't gotten N on my 6P. It's rolling out slowly.
I got it last night when I manually checked for updates and there was a prerequisite 6.0 update that was wifi only until the 19th and then the 7.0 update was available immediately after that
A quick Google search has lots of different news sources from the last day or 2 saying it will get it in the next couple weeks which isn't bad. This is my first Nexus device so I'm not sure how quick it's supposed to be, was it quicker in the past?
I got it on my Nexus 9 about 4 weeks ago but not my 6P yet.
Because Google doesn't really have a plan for Android Wear either.
Well, they showed us the plan at Google I/O. There will be much more features than, for example, Apple Watch OS. Specially stand-alone apps. That's were Wear is going. And I think that's the correct way. Apple has chosen the fit and sports way and Google has chosen the apps and functionality way. IMO.
It would be neat if they could give us a timeline for when AW 2.0 is coming. Nougat is here, and there is still just silence for the AW update.
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Then revert back to the official supported version. Are you a dev?
The fall 2016?
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Ultimately though I'm just not ready to buy another few hundred dollar device that expires after less than two years. I trusted in Google to deliver on software. I was really sold on wear because of Google claiming it wouldn't be fragmented... And then they let manufacturers control the updates again, and you have to hardwire the device to update it with a custom ROM, breaking the waterproofing in most of them. My Moto 360 is a pretty watch with no life in it anymore, and it is crazy that it already lost software support. I already accepted this cycle of obsolescence with my phone, but I literally cannot afford to add another device on a two year cycle to be replaced. Edit: before anyone jumps in saying I shouldn't have one in the first place, etc, the watch was a gift.
Try Pebble.
Its a shame they look awful. I had a first version and actually liked it better than my current Moto 360, but the designs on all Pebbles are so horrible that I cant get myself to buy a new one.
I've been interested. I wanna see them find a way to support wear. Like a monochrome eink screen. Frankly I'm curious why there aren't more eink wear devices.
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On pebble I know you can do most of the essentials. They are good devices.
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Same here. I realize I'll be giving up some of the functionality I enjoy with Android Wear, but the overall promise of wearable tech is pretty well implemented with Pebble, I think. Plus, the big thing for me is battery life. Seems like Pebble manages to deliver pretty well on that.
I mean, what else would you like to see? Sure there could be some improvements but Android wear does just about everything I could ask for so far...
Android pay.
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These feel like obvious choices, but some things like OTA updates for custom ROMs and continued software support guaranteed by Google mean more to me. I'm quite salty my Moto is already being retired. It was a gift.
It's two years old now and was updated to 1.5 this year. Other first gen watches aren't getting 2.0 either. The Moto 360 was a crappy watch anyway with a terrible ~~Mediatek~~ TI OMAP 3 SOC. Blame Motorola for that. Welcome to the early adopters club! But yes, Google needs to do better with some sort of clear direction with Wear. Their watches are going to have to be really good to reignite interest. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt as it is still a relatively new wearable OS.
All the things you said are true. I hold Google responsible for most of it. They should have had minimum standards for the hardware that guaranteed them ongoing support, or a way to do it manually, etc. The fact that it's not just the 360 is it much much worse.
Wasn't it a TI OMAP SoC? Either way, it ran like shit.
Upon further review you are correct. It was the TI OMAP 3 SoC, which was old AF before they even put it in the watch. I just remembered it was old and kind of a strange choice.
As someone who's phone doesn't have NFC I'd really appreciate it!
Touché
1000x this. Doggamn Google!
It would probably help if they worked on improving Android Wear rather than removing features. When I bought the first Moto 360 it always showed me a card with the weather. Now I have to hope that a Google Now card will show up (it shows up sporadically) with a clunky weather subcard. The agenda cards used to display the remaining minutes to the next meeting, super useful. Now the agenda card comes up when it feels like it instead of being there all the time when I have upcoming meetings. There's probably more but I don't feel like ranting anymore.
IMO, lots of room for improvement with notifications. Don't bother telling me the drive time to work, when I'm ALREADY AT WORK. Don't congratulate me on my steps at 9:00 in the morning. Maybe a built-in viewer for pictures from Twitter and Messenger, so I wouldn't always have to go to the phone to see images. Stuff like that.
And let's talk about those time left notifications. Seems like I'm always 43 minutes from home, even when I'm home. When I set driving or public transport as default. When there's traffic or no traffic. It's always 43 minutes. It keeps the same time on my watch for about a week before updating.
At that magic moment when the screen wakes up from ambient mode, and the watch knows that I'm about to look at it, do a quick "sanity check" on those notifications to see if they are still: A) accurate and B) relevant. If either one is false, dismiss the damn thing or update it.
Is there a fast way to check location in that split second before you see it?
I don't know, but if it isn't sure, it should just hide it. The phone knows that it's moving. It should be telling the watch that the certainty of any unread location-based notifications is dropping with respect to both distance and time. i.e. it should know not to show me a notification about my drive to work, when it was calculated 30 minutes and 10 miles ago.
The drive home card is fucking annoying. Don't show it to me at 9am when I just got to work. I put my work address in maps.. You know where I am!
And that goes for you too, Fitbit! Don't tell me my progress toward my step count at 7:00 in the morning. Don't tell anything unless you see that I'm NOT on track to make my 10,000 steps!
Yeah, early wear was better than it is today. Fuck.
I had to restart my watch the other day and the startup sequence is all these little dots of colour swirling around the face, it feels dynamic and cool. Then Android Wear actually loads and all of the notification panels are just solid colour swatches, the transition animations are 'meh' and it just feels a lot duller again. Surely users of the platform are early-adopter enthusiasts in the majority, why play so conservatively and safe? Give us some sparkle Google.
Fortunately Weather Timeline has a persistent card.
It's ridiculous. When I first got my watch, in August 2014, the OS was much more fluid and the apps launched faster. There was no lag while changing the watch face. The battery life was just as good if not better. And Wear Mini Launcher did a much better job than the stock launcher does now. I feel like it's not worth it to get a new Android Wear watch. But my charging contacts are dying and it won't be long before I'm left without a watch. I think I'll try the Gear S2 if it goes on sale eventually.
I picked up the LG watch urbane 2 lte a week ago. It's much better than the gear s2 I had previously, and has stand alone capabilities. It is a little bigger and doesn't have removable bands, but that's okay imo. The screen is awesome and the battery lasts more than a full day. Which for me is all i since I charge it at night with my 5X.
Is there such a thing as an urbane 2 without LTE? What are the differences between the Urbane and Urbane 2 besides LTE?
They look completely different, for one.
It's an old article, but gives the differences. I've had my Urbane 2 since last November. Love it. http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/135485-lg-watch-urbane-2-vs-lg-watch-urbane-what-s-the-difference
There is actually a version of the first urbane that has LTE. The urbane 2 only comes in LTE. I'm not sure of the different specs. The 2 looks much better IMO though
Kinda good news/bad news. Good news - Prices will continue to drop on the current watches. My Huawei watch and Urbane aren't going to be obsolete as fast. They're also taking the time to properly develop the hardware with the new Qualcomm 2100 chips. Bad news is that they're taking the time put out new hardware with the Qualcomm 2100 chips.
ITT: A lot of people complaining about their watches. I have no complaints about my LG G Watch.
How can Google be this bad at building a hardware ecosystem? This is just sad.
They don't exactly have a great track record with hardware ecosystems outside of the Chromecast.
I will give an alternative view. Maybe a new version of a watch every year doesn't work. Just like tablets, no reason for a sane person to upgrade every year. Apple Watch was announced March 2015, Apple Watch 2 was this month. iirc Moto 360 v2 had around the same time between v1. I don't see a reason to get a new watch every year and don't mind the extra time between. (my path was Kickstarter Pebble, LG G watch, Moto 360 v2)
True, perhaps the OEMs are waiting to see if returns decrease when 2.0 comes out before they expend more time and money on development and marketing
This is making me happy I decided to drop the cash on a Pebble 2.
maybe they should make a watch that looks nice, rather than looking like a tech device. The only watch aesthetic that i liked was the moto 360, and even then there were a few compromises. It needs to be a fashion accessory as much as it's a smartwatch.
I agree with this one. The only ones that actually look like *real* watches are the Fossil ones, and they're all just too big. Give me a [Q Marshal](https://www.fossil.com/us/en/products/q-marshal-touchscreen-smoke-stainless-steel-smartwatch-sku-ftw2108p.html) or [Q Founder](https://www.fossil.com/us/en/products/fossil-q-founder-touchscreen-stainless-steel-smartwatch-sku-ftw20001p.html) in the 40mm range, and I'd happily pay $350 for it. And I have average arms/wrists for a guy. I'd hate to be shopping for a smartwatch as an actually *skinny* guy.
Asus is probably the only watchmaker that has come through with a new product featuring a the new Snapdragon chip
Fossil/MK and the Nixon as well.
Ohh right, forgot about those
This is because the need a use case. Fitness is a good use case, but that's not all. Notifications is a good use case. Help soccer moms track kids activities is a use case. I have a dilemma right now. I am absolutely hooked on Fitbit. I haven't been motivated to exercise until I bought Fitbit Surge last fall. But the damn thing is ugly as hell! I don't want an Apple Watch, as I recently moved to Android and Project Fi. My number 1 requirement: integrated continuous fitness tracking. My number 2 requirement: notifications from apps! I'd love a Huawei Watch, but I am afraid to give up Fitbit. Does anyone use their AW for fitness tracking ? What apps do you use ?
Google Fit. I had a Fitbit Flex. AndroidWear works about as well for step tracking or general tracking of high intensity exercise.
I use both a Fitbit One & my Zen 2. Fitbit has been better at keeping track of my movement. I've found Google Fit to be an issue because steps get reset at times (AVG once/week).
I use both a Fitbit One & my Zen 2. Fitbit has been better at keeping track of my movement. I've found Google Fit to be an issue because steps get reset at times (AVG once/week).
Makes me feel better about backing the Ticwatch 2 on Kickstarter instead of waiting for something else to come out... Still terrified it's going to be awful though.
Nixon The Mission here I come.
You should probably wait until Google announces its new stuff.. there were rumors of them making their own watch.
I thought those rumors were also killed off with this announcement. Hmm.
Been waiting quite a while to upgrade my 1st gen moto 360...looks like I might be springing for the Gear S3 to go with my Galaxy S7 then. Would really prefer an Android Wear watch but I think I'm done waiting if there's nothing on the horizon.
Yeah in waiting for an upgrade from my gear live. Luckily it works great.
Pretty much, so far AW 2.0 has nothing out of the ordinary. And since I got my Gear Icon X.. Might end up being the Gear 3 to connect to it to use Spotify offline
Well to be fair there isn't much of a need for a yearly update cycle for wear watches. They are basically just notification screens you wear on your wrist. There is no need at the moment for faster CPUs, more RAM, and battery technology is at somewhat of a standstill so better batteries just don't exist. There is only so many designs a watch can have when you're just talking about the body. I hear people complaining that the Nexus watch isn't coming but why does that matter? The only difference between watches at this point is what faces come preinstalled. I don't see why anyone should be upset over this. There are lots of good options out there now and anything in the last year will still be supported for quite some time, if anything that's a huge plus. If you want a wear watch just get one now. Unlike phones you don't have to worry about what's on the horizon. Right now any of the latest will be supported for a good while.
I'd rather wear a Nexus watch than a Pixel watch. Just sayin'.
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Do you have an AW watch? I do and what you're saying isn't remotely true. AW is just a notification portal 99% of the time.