[UPDATE February 10,2017]
Android Wear 2.0 was officially released on February 9th and is rolling out to existing watches on February 15th. See the list below for watch update. Here is an overview from Android.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
It looks as though Android Wear 2.0 should release in February. In our last article it seemed Google would be launching in 2016 but several things had changed and it appeared they might even discontinue their support. But that is not the case. One of the more changes is that Google will release its own pair of watches. More on this at the bottom.
In a recent leak, it is said that – “Google is targeting Feb. 9 as the release date for Android Wear 2.0, bringing a bunch of features that were first announced at Google I/O in May, including Android Pay support, third-party complications (the fancy term for customizable faces), and integration with Google Assistant.”
The following watches are currently on the list of devices ready to take advantage of the update, including popular models from Huawei, Motorola, and LG:
- Asus ZenWatch 2
- Asus ZenWatch 3
- Casio Smart Outdoor Watch
- Fossil Q Founder
- Fossil Q Marshal
- Fossil Q Wander
- Huawei Watch
- Huawei Watch Ladies
- LG G Watch R
- LG Watch Urbane
- LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE
- Michael Kors Access Bradshaw
- Michael Kors Access Dylan
- Moto 360 Gen 2
- Moto 360 Sport
- Nixon Mission
- Polar M600
- Tag Heuer Connected
The biggest news is that Google has announced at the end of last year that it would be launching a pair of new watches. They would obviously take advantage of the new update, marking the company’s first step into wearable hardware. Were still waiting to hear what the names of the watches will be. This is yet one more piece of hardware in their “Made by Google” line up. If it’s as good as the Pixel, I’m excited.
The reported specs said they will sell in color choices of titanium or dark blue, while the Watch Style will sell in color choices of titanium, silver, and rose gold. The Watch Sport will feature a 14.2mm thick case, 1.38-inch round display (480×480), 768MB RAM, 4GB storage, and a 430mAh battery. The Watch Style, on the other hand, will feature a 10.8mm thick case, 1.2-inch round display (360×360), 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, and a 240mAh battery. Each smartwatch should have Bluetooth and WiFi, IP68 (Sport) and IP67 (Style) water and dust resistance, and Google Assistant integration, plus the Watch Sport will gain 3G and LTE connectivity, GPS, NFC, and a heart rate sensor. Additionally, both watches will feature a digital crown of sorts, to help with navigating the new Android Wear 2.0 UI. The newest feature may be they have radar and unique gesture control. See the video below.