Time waits for no-one, and in smartwatch terms that means the Qualcomm Snapdragon 3100 is long overdue. The latest chipset for Wear OS by Google wearables, it picks up where its predecessor left off, only with the promise of better performance, more flexible displays, and significantly longer battery life. Read on for five things you need to know.
Montblanc has revealed its newest smartwatch, the Summit 2, powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset. Announced in San Francisco, CA today, the Summit 2 follows the original Summit luxury smartwatch, launched back in early 2017.
Qualcomm promised some big news in smartwatch chips, and the Snapdragon Wear 3100 is just that. Bringing a long-awaited update to the company's wearable-focused silicon, the new platform promises to be more powerful and more power-efficient, with a number of big names in smartwatches already signed on.
If you were hoping Huawei had something more to show off at IFA last week, you might have come away very disappointed. That said, the Chinese OEM did tease its upcoming October event where it will showcase the power of the Kirin 980 processor in the Huawei Mate 20 series. That event, however, will still lack one Huawei annual staple: a smartwatch. Smartwatch and Huawei fans need not worry, though. The company’s still invested in the wearable device. It’s just taking its time to develop a better one.
The hopes of smartwatch fans, especially those from the Android Wear/Wear OS crowd, might have just been dashed. Google has allegedly confirmed there will be no such things as a Pixel Watch this year. Truth be told, there was never really assurance there’d be one. But Google also didn’t actually discount the possibility of having its own Pixel-branded Wear OS smartwatch in the future, maybe even next year. Google, however, shouldn’t dillydally too long on making that wearable device. Because right now, the smartwatch market needs a Pixel miracle.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch continues the legacy of the smartwatch line called Samsung Galaxy Gear - but with a far superior brand. The Galaxy Watch works with TIZEN Wearable OS and has built-in hardware bits that allow it to work without the aid of a smartphone. This smartwatch is ready to be released in two sizes and with interchangeable watch straps for unlimited customization options.
It’s probably a bad time to launch a new smartwatch these next few weeks, unless you’re Samsung or Apple. That’s because any smartwatch you put into the market will be running on a mobile platform that is effectively two years old. Even older if you consider that the Snapdragon Wear 2100 is based on a modified Snapdragon 400 chipset. And in about 30 days, that wearable processor will be rendered obsolete now that Qualcomm itself is teasing when the long-overdue successor, tentatively known as the Snapdragon Wear 3100, will be unveiled.
Watchmakers at Fossil have a fourth-generation Fossil Q to show this week with a more "tech-packed" touchscreen-laden body than they've ever released before. This watch was revealed in two forms: Fossil Q Explorist HR and Fossil Q Venture HR. The Explorist is a bit bigger, while the Venture is a bit smaller, and both roll with Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processors and Wear OS by Google.
There are only a few holdouts among smartphone OEMs still making smartwatches. In contrast, the wearable market is flooded with designer and fashion brands adding some smarts and screens to their timepieces. The latest to join that fray is Emporio Armani, whose initial smartwatch and hybrid watch selection left some things to be desired. With the new Emporio Armani Connected 2018 though, it is finally offering truly smart devices with heart rate sensors, NFC, GPS, and more.
Planet Computers' Gemini has already been wooing Psion fans with its clamshell design and finger-friendly keyboard, but now it's looking to fix the absence of an external display. Currently, when closed, the quad-booting PDA uses an array of multicolor LEDs that can flash in different, customizable sequences to flag when certain people are calling, new messages are received, or other notifications come in.
Smartwatch maker Mobvoi has come up with a new twist on the wearable battery dilemma, with the TicWatch Pro doubling the number of displays to cut power consumption. The new Wear OS smartwatch has a circular OLED touchscreen as we've seen from plenty of other wearables, but when that's idle a whole second panel comes into play.
Although they have never really disappeared, traditional smartphone manufacturers have more or less backed out of the smartwatch market. It has become the territory of accessory makers and luxury brands like Fossil or TAG Heuer. One OEM (aside from Apple) that has remained consistent is Samsung with its Gear line of smartwatches and fitness trackers. But while a new smartwatch is still expected to debut in a few months, change is reportedly afoot. Samsung might be switching back to Wear OS, formerly Android Wear, and it might actually start with this year's Gear S4.