Two Nexus-Like Smartwatches Set To Lead Android Wear In 2017

Next year Google will be releasing two new Android Wear smartwatches in the style of their Nexus smartphone line. There's very little to get in Google's way in the market for these devices as the only massive competition out today is the Apple Watch. According to a recent study, nobody wants a smartwatch at the moment – except some Apple fans, apparently, who all want the Apple Watch. So why would Google want to continue rolling in this market?

Apparently, according to a chat The Verge had with Jeff Chang, Android Wear product manager, Google wants to push the market forward. They wish to do this with a public final launch of the software by the name of Android Wear 2.0. This software is currently available in a public Beta form for quite a few Android Wear users out in the wild today.

These smartwatches – two of them – will be manufactured by the same company. A company Google wont yet name, but will confirm has made Android Wear devices in the past. We can fairly safely narrow this down to just a few companies right out the gate.

Of the companies that are big enough, still willing to get involved with Android Wear, and have made Android Wear devices in the past, just three come to mind. Huawei, LG, and ASUS haven't publicly given up on wearables and have previously made Android Wear devices. This short list does not include a variety of traditional watchmakers and fashion brands like Fossil, Nixon, Casio, and Michael Kors. I wouldn't count these brands out entirely, but they're a bit less likely than LG, Huawei, or ASUS.

All of the brands listed in this article have smartwatches that'll be able to be updated to Android Wear 2.0. This means that, even if they do not end up being the participants Google is speaking about, they'll still be in the Android Wear game at some point. Lenovo-owned Motorola has bowed out of smartwatches – even though they've made some of the most successful Android Wear devices yet.

Google's aim with the two smartwatches that'll lead the Android Wear 2.0 pack will be like Google's Nexus line of devices "in terms of collaboration and goals" according to The Verge. These devices will not be Pixel branded. If anything is going to give developers confidence that the platform isn't about to die, that'll be it.