Wear OS

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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This morning Fossil revealed several new smartwatches with Wear OS by Google and surprisingly low prices. The device line is called Fossil Gen 5E, and it comes in 7 different base iterations. This expands the Fossil collection of Wear OS smartwatches by a considerable amount and should serve to drive down watches in previous generations.

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Today the folks at Mobvoi revealed the first Wear OS watch to utilize the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor platform. The device is called TicWatch Pro 3, and it rolls with a surprisingly robust set of features for its price. This smartwatch works with fitness tracking, health monitoring, "duel-display 2.0" tech, NFC with Google Pay, and a quoted "up to 72 hours use in Smart Mode" battery life.

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Mobvoi launched a new TicWatch GTX last week that may have left some drooling over the price but dissatisfied over its features. For those still wishing for a formidable Wear OS smartwatch won't have to wait long. The company has already confirmed that the TicWatch 3 Pro is landing this week and, if the leaks are correct, it could yet again be one of the more notable if not the most notable smartwatches running on Google's Android-based wearable platform.

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It may not be a renowned watchmaker but China-based Mobvoi has been turning heads one way or another in the smartwatch market. That started with Google's investment in the company's voice search technology, which blossomed into a deeper partnership, followed by a then unique dual-screen strategy to preserve battery life. Now it seems that Mobvoi has cut ties with Google, at least with the latter's wearable platform, in order to also cut down on the new TicWatch GTX's price tag.

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Android Wear, now Wear OS by Google, should have taken the wearable market by storm. For one reason or another, however, Android's wearable incarnation didn't take off as well as its mobile original, and Wear OS lagged behind Apple's watchOS and Samsung's Tizen-based OS in more ways than one. With Android 11 just around the corner, Google is reassuring the remaining Wear OS faithful that all is not lost and that the major update will finally bring much-needed performance improvements across the board.

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The end for Google Play Music, one of the few remaining "Play" services, is just around the corner. It has been months, maybe even years, coming but it hasn't been a smooth transition. YouTube Music, which is set to replace is it, still isn't on feature parity with Play Music and only recently got the ability to migrate albums from one to the other. When Google flips the switch in the coming weeks, however, it will be Wear OS smartwatch owners that will be left with the short end of the stick instead.

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OPPO first every wearable might have left fans feeling a bit conflicted. On the one hand, it is the brand's first-ever smartwatch and has all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a modern wearable. On the other hand, it's hard to deny its striking similarity to the Apple Watch, especially considering it also offers an ECG feature.

Regardless of that uncertain reception, OPPO seems unfazed and will in fact be launching its Watch in the US at the end of this month. It will, however, not be the same OPPO Watch it announced months ago in one important aspect.

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Smartwatch maker Mobvoi has revealed a new model, with the TicWatch C2+ promising smoother performance as it focuses on fitness. The latest Wear OS by Google model from the company, it updates 2018's TicWatch C2 with double the memory, taking it to 1GB of RAM. That, Mobvoi promises, should make for a more responsive smartwatch day to day.

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There are always expensive smartwatches but there also very expensive smartwatches. Unlike Apple's wearables that have a more or less consistent price tag, Wear OS smartwatches run the gamut of tiers, styles, and prices. That variety has been even more apparent when fashion marques and luxury watch brands practically took over but Hublot's latest timepiece makes a very poor case for an already uncertain smartwatch segment.

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