Wear OS

Casio revealed a smartwatch this week with Google Wear OS on-board - and metal outside. This smartwatch was revealed with three color options for exterior casing metal - black, blue, and orange. This is the sort of smartwatch you'd wear if you were risking your life to go on a James Bond-type adventure scaling the fully-vertical side of a jagged rock-bottomed crevice. It'll survive more inclement weather than you can.

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Google revealed a redesign and basic reboot of the Wear OS platform this week for smart watches of all sorts. This new version of Wear OS makes quicker use of Google Assistant and Google Fit, and makes the entire experience more intuitive. This new system is coming to "Wear OS by Google smartwatches" over the next month - presumably to every watch currently running the newest version of Wear OS.

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This morning the folks at Google revealed the new Google Fit. This is Google's fitness ecosystem, a system that ties together the many sensors and devices given to users across the mobile smart device universe to create a health-aimed regiment of activity for the everyday average citizen. This system focuses not only on smartphones and fitness trackers, but on mobile wearable devices too.

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Google is making a bit of noise about something that users may have presumed has actually been the case even when Wear OS by Google was known by a different name: Android Wear. The Android maker is now giving smartwatch app developers a heads up to tell them that starting next month, all new Wear OS apps are required to undergo a review process before being listed on the Google Play Store. This is to ensure the quality of apps that should really be a primary concern in the first place.

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Fossil Group has released a new Wear OS smartwatch, the Michael Kors Runway, featuring Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 2100 alongside a classy design and heart rate tracking. This is a smartwatch version of the classic Michael Kors Runway watch, adding new silicone band options while retaining the same generally small size.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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This year might be a slow one for Samsung. The Galaxy S9, despite re-imagining the camera, isn’t doing so hot. The Galaxy Note 9 due in a month may have a few tricks up its sleeve to make it more interesting than what it so far looks like. The most interesting Samsung product this year, however, might ironically come from its least interesting line: smartwatches. Its name, its OS, and its features are pretty much still in flux, which, at the very least, makes it sound a bit more exciting.

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Smartwatches have a two-fold problem. First is how they sometimes feel like a solution in search of a problem. The more pressing problem, however, is the short, often less than 24-hour, battery life. Smartwatch makers Mobvoi can’t really answer the first but is offering a solution for the second. With the new TicWatch Pro that’s launching today, you can get two, even three, days of use. The secret, if you haven’t heard yet, is that it has two screens instead of one.

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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.

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Today a leak of data on the upcoming Samsung Gear S4 (aka Galaxy Watch) suggests a top-tier competitor for the hottest devices in the market. Much like the tablet market, Apple seems to have all but crushed the competition in smartwatches.* But with the market set to rise over the next couple of years (in a big way, apparently,) Samsung might be in a prime position to grab some share of the cash. If only they had a winning brand name.

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