Wear OS

Smartwatches are rather curious little gadgets that are like miniaturized and watered-down versions of our smartwatches. For better or worse, that means that smartwatches can't really use the same interaction conventions and UIs that are almost second nature on smartphones. While touch screens and buttons are always an option, Google has been pushing for more hands-free controls on Wear OS using Google Assistant. Unfortunately, an important part of the process has been broken for months before the company committed to working on a fix.

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Samsung was actually the first manufacturer to come out with an Android-based smartwatch even before there was Android Wear, now Wear OS by Google. It used a modified version of Android that, unfortunately, meant Samsung had to do things its own way yet again. Eventually, it decided to just ditch Android altogether, aside from at least one model, and created its own experience around Tizen OS. Now, however, a single rumor has users taking sides on whether Samsung switching to Wear OS is a good thing or not.

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Wear OS by Google, formerly Android Wear, also by Google, still leaves some things to be desired but no one can deny how it opened up the smartwatch market to more players. While it ironically seems to have pushed away smartphone makers, it invited traditional watchmakers to the party. That includes ones that make super-expensive luxury watches like Hublot who is bringing a Bing Bang e Premier League edition to fans of football or, as it is known in the US and some parts of the world, soccer.

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One of the benefits of the openness of the Android platform is that users technically aren't limited to getting apps just from Google Play Store or any app store for that matter. At their own risks, users could simply "sideload" or install APKs for apps that are distributed outside of those channels. That feature has more or less also been available on Android's wearable version but Google is soon making a major change that would make sideloading Wear OS apps next to impossible.

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Way back in November 2019, Google announced its intention to acquire Fitbit for a whopping $2.1 billion. The acquisition has clear benefits for Google, as bringing Fitbit under the Google umbrella could help the company build out Wear OS in a big way, but the proposed acquisition was met with a significant amount of resistance from regulators and advocacy groups alike. Fast forward to today and Google's acquisition of Fitbit is complete, but not without some hefty promises made on the part of Google.

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This week the folks at Fossil revealed a new set of smartwatches aimed at simplicity, beauty, and functionality. It would appear that at this point in the history of the smartwatch, Fossil's realized that their best bet at taking on the titan that is Apple and its Apple Watch is making a solid, reliable experience that doesn't break the bank. With that in mind, they've revealed the Fossil Gen 5 LTE smartwatch.

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If there was ever one product that OnePlus may have flip-flopped on, it would be on its own wearable. Although it is still missing a smart speaker and, almost ironically, a tablet, it hasn't exactly been rumored to be working on those devices anyway. Since its early days, however, OnePlus already hinted at a smartwatch of its own, only to have it canceled before it could even see the light of day. Those rumors resurfaced a few months ago only to be shot down once more. This time, however, OnePlus' own CEO finally and officially sets the record straight.

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OnePlus has definitely come a long way from an upstart startup to one of the big boys, at least in terms of popularity and sales figures. That growth, however, wasn't with its costs. It definitely wasn't smooth sailing for OnePlus, especially in these last few months when it bid farewell to some of its most important key executives. In a recent interview, CEO Pete Lau bares some of those missteps, especially one that involved everyone's favorite social network Facebook.

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The holiday season is upon us, a season that is usually associated with rest, relaxation, and, more often than not, stuffing ourselves beyond capacity. While self-care is definitely important, part of that involves also taking care of physical fitness. Knowing that many health-conscious people will be fussing and fretting over their calories over the next few weeks, Google has started rolling out an update to Google Fit for Wear OS smartwatches that will make keeping track of your workouts actually take less work.

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Google's wearable platform hasn't enjoyed the raging success that Android has long had on smartphones and even tablets. Sure, Wear OS by Google is pretty much widely used, even by luxury watchmakers, but Apple Watch remains the household name when it comes to smartwatches. Some owners of Wear OS devices have even felt abandoned by Google but the company is now trying to assure these users with an update that will try to keep their heart rate in check and their stress levels low.

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For a time, smartwatches were believed to pose a threat to traditional analog watches. That proved not to be the case, especially as those traditional watchmakers started to embrace smart wearable technology and even gave it a hybrid spin. It's not unusual to hear even luxury watch brands trying to leave their mark in that market and Citizen is just one of the latest to join that bandwagon with its first full digital display smartwatch, the CZ Smart.

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It seems the OnePlus finally has a rumor that would never die, at least not until it comes to fruition next year. It started way back in 2014, right around OnePlus' own debut, and almost had an announcement this month before OnePlus reportedly pulled out the rug yet again. The company's first wearable device might still be in the works, with a rumored 2021 launch, but when it does, it might not look like most smartwatches these days, at least not when it comes to the software that runs on it.

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