Android Wear 2.0 review: A massive upgrade for the wrist

Everything you know about Android Wear has changed, and what happens next is up to you.

Are smartwatches dead? Are smartwatches the future? Is my sock drawer full of smartwatches? Over the last year, we’ve seen a lot of hand wringing and hot takes about the future of wrist computers. It doesn’t really matter who the manufacturer is or what operating system is running on it, you can find opposing opinions on the future of this tech category. For Google’s part, smartwatches started out as an extension of a larger wearables strategy. Android Wear wasn’t going to just be for watches, it was going to be on anything connected that you wore. Why, Google Glass may one day be considered part of Android Wear.

For Google’s part, smartwatches started out as an extension of a larger wearables strategy.

Plans change, and Android Wear has since become an OS for many different manufacturers to explore what people want in a wrist computer. It turns out there isn’t one answer. Some of us want a thin, svelte notification portal to occasionally glance at. Some of us want a standalone phone on our wrist with Android Pay, storage for music, and a full fitness tracking experience. Some of us want to leave our phones in the water-tight box and use our watch as a fish finder. The point is, it became clear there was never going to be a single hardware design and feature set for everyone, and while Android Wear had made this diversity clear over the last two years in terms hardware, the software hasn’t kept up.

Welcome to Android Wear 2.0, an almost-modular watch operating system built to make it easier to build a unique software experience on top of the hardware of your choice. But does that make this the watch OS for everyone… or for no one?

Hungry for more?

Android Wear 2.0 is a complete overhaul of Google’s wearable platform, but the hardware is just as important. Check out what LG and Google have done together with two new watches built specifically for Android Wear 2.0!

Read our complete LG Watch Sport review here!

Read our complete LG Watch Style review here!

About this review

I’m writing this review after months of using Android Wear 2.0 in its Developer Preview form, with particular focus on the final build of the preview for two weeks. This review was written alongside the release of the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style, the first watches made with Google specifically for Wear 2.0.

Read more: These are the watches being updated to Android Wear 2.0

Assistant and Passwords and Play Store and More

Android Wear 2.0 Initial setup

In most situations, Android Wear is still very much a tethered platform. You connect it to your phone via Bluetooth, and through that connection the phone serves information to and receives instructions from the watch. In previous versions of Android Wear this relationship was always primary-secondary; the watch did nothing without information from the phone. Android Wear 2.0 changes this relationship quite a bit, turning the watch into a largely standalone platform that relies on the phone for a data connection to process instructions entirely on its own.

The initial pairing process for Android Wear hasn’t changed much, but it is now step one in a much larger process. Your phone pairs to the watch, checks for software updates, and now asks you for your Google Account as though you were logging in to a new phone. You can move multiple accounts to the watch if you have more than one on your phone, allowing you to switch between work and personal if desired, and when the data is transferred you get a resting notification on your phone letting you know that a Google account was sent over. You know, just in case someone moved your account to a watch in order to steal your data.

Unlike previous versions of Android Wear, you’re far from done. No app icons have been moved from your phone to the watch, because apps don’t exist simply as secondary access terminals to the app on your phone anymore. Android Wear apps are separate from Android phone apps, installed and in many cases used independently of the phone. This is great for keeping your watch free of a long list of icons you may never use, but it also means Google’s staple apps aren’t yet on your watch. If you want Hangouts or Google Maps, for example, you need to install them from the Play Store on the watch, or from the web straight to your watch.

If you want Hangouts or Google Maps, you need to install them from the Play Store on the watch.

Activating the Play Store and installing apps is simple enough, but now you need to enable any other features you may want to use on your watch before you’re fully set up. Want to use Google Assistant from your wrist? You need to enable the feature on the watch, then go back to your phone and confirm on your phone you want Google Assistant on your watch. Android Pay, if your watch supports it, has a similar setup. You can only enable it on the watch if you have a lock screen set up on your wrist — yeah, you read that right — and then you can confirm on your phone you want Android Pay.

Android Wear security is just like Android security now. You can use pin unlock, password unlock, or pattern unlock. When this security measure is in place, you’re asked to “unlock” your watch any time it leaves your wrist thanks to the heart rate monitor. Neither of these unlock mechanisms on your wrist is particularly convenient, but the pattern lock allows you to unlock your phone without using a keyboard on a 1.3-inch display. If you aren’t using Android Pay, it’s not a requirement to have the feature enabled.

The one great part about this setup process is the lack of prompts. After the setup tutorial to show you how to swipe notifications and choose watch faces, you don’t have to to enable any of this. If all you want is a way to see notifications on your wrist and respond with your voice when you can, you never have to worry. If you do want these features, it means setting up an Android Wear 2.0 watch is considerably more complicated than it has been in the past. But it can also do much more.

Hope you like buttons and knobs

Android Wear 2.0 Interface

By the time you get to the end of setting up Android Wear 2.0, something about the user interface becomes abundantly clear — you’re going to be doing a lot of scrolling. Previous iterations of Android Wear avoided interfaces that were more than a single swipe, unless it was an email or some other form of message. The interface itself was largely contained to single “cards”, and that experience is now almost entirely gone.

Every app scrolls; the app launcher scrolls; and of course your messages still scroll. The amount of swiping in Android Wear is significant, unless of course your watch has a rotating button on the side to scroll as you turn. It’s clear from this design change Google anticipates a lot of future watches to include Gear S3-style rotating bezels or LG Watch Sport and Style rotating side buttons.

In an attempt to prepare for the future of Android Wear, there’s some weirdness in using a hardware scrolling mechanism right now. As far as the OS is concerned, this rotating piece of hardware can be programmed to do multiple things. In most menus it scrolls up and down. In Google Maps it zooms in and out. Developers have the freedom to make this piece of hardware do whatever they want, and because not every app has been updated to support Android Wear 2.0 sometimes the thing you can do with the rotating hardware is nothing at all. It’s a little confusing to spin the crown on the LG Watch Sport and, in some apps, have nothing at all happen, but this is likely to be a temporary frustration.

Developers have the freedom to make the rotating piece of hardware do whatever they want.

Perhaps more important than directly encouraging users to turn a button on the side of the watch is how much more frequently you’ll be pressing them. In the past, the button on the side of your Android Wear watch was used to return you to the watch face or back out of a menu. The interface was a single large cascading menu for you to interact with, but with Google Assistant replacing Google Now, and your App Drawer living behind a button press, the physical button on the watch is now the primary interaction mechanism, which is significant.

From the watch face, you can swipe down for quick settings, swipe up to see unread notifications, and swipe left and right to swap watch faces to whatever is stored on the watch. The button on the side accesses your app drawer, an alphabetical list of apps you have installed with the most recently used app at the top. Each app is standalone now, so you navigate to the app you want just like you would on your phone. If your Android Wear watch has multiple buttons on the body, these buttons can be programmed to launch specific apps so you’re not stuck frequently swiping through the app drawer to get to them.

Notifications for Android Wear 2.0 are one of the best reflections of how Google’s visual design has changed over the last two years. As a user, you are no longer sorting through a stack of digital cards as you triage notifications from your phone. Instead you have flat panels with muted colors and bright text filling the display. This new design increases information density, ensures the cards are easier to read in just about every environment, and there’s some improved control over notification priority that has been desperately needed for a long time. Status notifications, like uploading something to Facebook, are sent to the bottom of the stack to disappear instead of placed on top to show you the thing you’re already doing on your phone.

Overall, Android Wear 2.0 is a great deal simpler to navigate than its predecessors.

Quick Settings exists mostly to replace the features you lose on the watch button by moving the App Drawer and Google Assistant there. You can no longer double-click the button in order to activate Theater Mode, so instead you swipe down and tap on the sun in your Quick Settings. You can no longer triple-click to access the brightest mode the screen has to offer, so you swipe sown and tap the sun icon again. This section is a little more useful if you’re able to turn cellular on and off on watches with LTE support, or if you regularly use the watch to control notifications in Do Not Disturb, but that’s about it. It’s a quick alternative, not really any better or worse than what was there before.

Overall, Android Wear 2.0 is a great deal simpler to navigate than its predecessors. You’re unlikely to ever get lost in this interface, because everything is a direct action. If you’re using apps, you press the button and go there. If you’re checking notifications, they’re always right in front of you. Gesture controls still work exactly the same as they always have, and the number of actions you take to complete most tasks is limited to one or two taps. This design can become as complicated as you choose depending on how many apps you use on a daily basis, but the overall design approaches simplicity from a new position and it works well.

Okay, so we’re doing this

Android Wear 2.0 Features

Visually, the face of Android Wear is going to appear very similar. Watch faces are available by the truckload in the Play Store, and that’s not going to go away anytime soon. What you will start to see is an effort to make those watch faces a great deal more customizable, and useful, than we’ve seen in the past, thanks to Google’s new Complications API.

This setup has been cribbed right from the Moto 360, and it’s fantastic. Watch face creators can now designate areas on the face for users to plug in information from all over the watch. Any app that supports complications can feed data to the face, and users get to choose how that information fits. We’re already seeing several watch face creators moving to implement this API in the Developer Preview, which means tons of new options for the already massive list of watch faces.

The biggest feature changes in Android Wear 2.0 fall into place when you go to use the watch as though your phone is just there to serve data. Some of this sounds downright silly when you say it out loud — replying to emoji by drawing on the screen, swiping on a teeny tiny virtual keyboard when voice alone is insufficient, or scrolling through the Play Store on your wrist in search of new apps.

Existing Android Wear owners may frown on these kinds of interactions, due to the size of the display and the kind of latency expected with these experience, and in some cases they’ll probably be right. But Android Wear 2.0 does not exist for a single kind of user. If you’re someone who has no interest in keyboards and emoji, there’s never a situation where you’re forced to use it. Everywhere you find handwriting and emoji writing, you’ll also find voice and quick replies.

The same can be said for Google Assistant. You can choose to have your watch always listening for the Assistant launch phrase, but it’s frequently not as fast to launch as your phone or Google Home. Being able to say “OK Google” while your phone sits on the table or in the cupholder of your car is not the same as pressing and holding the button on your watch until the four colorful orbs show up, either. The important thing about Assistant being on your wrist is that it’s there just in case. It’s a way to fill the gap for some interactions, and for others it could very well become the default way to use the service.

Android Wear 2.0 does not exist for a single kind of user.

In the quest to create individual Googles for everyone, Assistant needs to be everywhere and work identically. The biggest challenge associated with Assistant on the wrist right now is lag. If Assistant isn’t immediately available, like it is elsewhere, it’s simply less useful on the wrist. It’s likely this will be where we see older Android Wear watches running the 2.0 update appear less optimized.

Google’s big shift in Android Wear with the 2.0 update is apps. Being able to install apps on your watch and have them run entirely independently of your phone is significant. People who almost never use Google Keep on their phone but love having lists on their wrists can accomplish this without cluttering up the primary app drawer. Fitness apps can be built specifically for Wear that require no phone at all. This is how Google creates the same Android Wear experience regardless of the phone platform you’re using. If the app is on the Play Store, and the Play Store is on the wrist, it won’t matter that you have an iPhone connected.

But there are things missing from this isolated experience that complicates Wear in ways that aren’t entirely necessary. Play on Android Wear is slow, often taking anywhere from 3-5 seconds to fully load. The auto-update feature that is enabled by default doesn’t tell you when an app has been updated or why, and choosing to do so manually is tedious. You also can’t really tell from the watch how much data you’re using in any meaningful way, which means you have to check with your phone.

This is by far the most complete feeling version of Android Wear to date.

An important part of any OS that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserved most of the time is the Accessibility section, and the biggest addition to Android Wear in this particular category is that it now actually has an Accessibility section. Magnification gestures allow you to triple tap on the screen and zoom in, text-to-speech and TalkBack modes use the speaker to read content to you, Select to Speak will call out menu options, and you can even set the power button to end a call.

These features combined make it clear Google is thinking about watches as more than just luxury items. This now becomes an emergency communication tool for the elderly, an assistive device for the blind, and a functional alternative to a large phone when that simply isn’t an option for someone.

We know that Google is still working with developers to do more with Wear as 2.0 is adopted by more manufacturers as well. The ability to launch apps based on behavior — fitness apps launching when the watch detects a significant amount of movement — is something we’ll see a lot more of in the coming year. In previous versions of Android Wear it felt like Google had created a lot of options and then waited for developers to wander in and create things for users. Android Wear 2.0 is a lot more focused on letting users build their own experience, which allows developers to help users adjust that experience as the need arises. It’s a big shift, and it requires a little more work on behalf of the user than previous attempts at wearables, but this is by far the most complete feeling version of Android Wear to date as a result.

Go make it your own

Android Wear 2.0 Bottom line

So what is this new version of Android Wear, exactly? Is it an attempt to put a phone on your wrist? Could this be a way to sneak the Play Store onto the wrists of iPhone users? Is this an attempt to fight off stagnation by stuffing in every feature your relatively small user base demands? In a way, it’s probably all of these things. But in the process, it’s actually none of these things.

Android Wear 2.0 is the perfect encapsulation of “Be Together, Not the Same” in hardware form. Google was already ahead of the pack with personalization in the form of watch faces, and by enabling hardware manufacturers to offer more unique watches there’s a lot of potential for this platform moving forward. No two people are going to have the exact same experience, but at the same time there’s a consistency that can be appreciated by anyone interested in having a computer on their wrist that also tells time.

LG Watch Sport specs: 1.4-inch display, LTE and Android Pay

If you like bells and whistles, you get them on the LG Watch Sport.

On the opposite end of the spectrum from the LG Watch Style, we also have the big and brawny LG Watch Sport. The name gives it away — this is a sport-focused watch that includes some nice features. Its big circular display offers ambient brightness sensing, and the thick case gives you a speaker, LTE, a top-notch heart rate sensor and standalone GPS for fitness tracking.

There’s a lot going on in this watch — here’s the full LG Watch Sport spec sheet.

Software	Android Wear 2.0
Display	1.38-inch 480×480 P-OLEDAuto-brightnessGorilla Glass 3
Processor	Snapdragon Wear 2100 1.1GHz
Memory	768MB
Storage	4GB
Battery	430 mAhWireless charging
Connectivity	LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFCAccelerometer, gyroscope, barometerPPG heart rate sensor
Resistance	IP68
Straps	TPUNon-removable
Dimensions	45.4 x 51.21 x 14.2 mm
Colors	Titanium, Dark Blue (Google Store only)
Price	$349

Google announces LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style with Android Wear 2.0, on sale Feb 10

Welcome to a new era of Android Wear smartwatches.

Google is ready to launch its newest revision of Android Wear, version 2.0, and it has paired up with LG for two new smartwatches to showcase the latest software. The LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style are launching in tandem to show both sides of what Android Wear can be — big and powerful, but also slim and beautiful.

Both watches are cut from 316L stainless steel, and have resistance from the elements (IP68 for the Sport, IP67 for the Style). They have Gorilla Glass 3-covered circular P-OLED displays with ambient brightness sensors (even without a “flat tire”), as well as new Snapdragon Wear 2100 processors and rotating crowns for a new form of input. Beyond those shared basics, they couldn’t be more different.

The LG Watch Sport picks up where the last-gen Android Wear watches left off. With a 1.38-inch display it’s large and full of features, including LTE, GPS, NFC for Android Pay, a PPG heart rate sensor and a large 430 mAh battery to handle the extra workload. Of course that all has to fit somewhere, and the Watch Sport is over 14 mm thick, with a case size of 45.4 x 51.2 mm and integrated straps to hold necessary radios. You can choose between a deep silver case with a dark grey band, or a dark blue case with a black band (exclusive to the Google Store).

You get the same core experience, but the designs couldn’t be further apart.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the LG Watch Style, which is the most compact Android Wear watch to date. It has a smaller 1.2-inch display and a 10.8 mm thick case that is finely sculpted to fit on even small wrists. Of course that means it has a smaller battery, 240 mAh, as well as a lack of a heart rate sensor, GPS, NFC, LTE and the two extra side buttons. It comes in three colors — silver, titanium and rose gold — with genuine leather straps, which can also be swapped out for any 18 mm strap of your choosing.

Read our LG Watch Sport review!Read our LG Watch Style review!

Aside from the handful of hardware-dependent features, both watches run the same new software: Android Wear 2.0. The latest revision includes a redesign watch face design that integrates complications from apps, a fresh take on notifications that are easier to act on, and standalone apps that can do even more without the need for a connection. Android Wear 2.0 also introduces Google Assistant on your wrist, and new methods of input like gesture typing and emoji drawing.

Both watches will go on sale starting Friday, February 10, through a variety of retail channels. The simpler and sleeker LG Watch Style comes in at just $249 and will be available from Best Buy and the Google Store. The powerful LG Watch Sport will set you back $349 at the Google Store, AT&T and Verizon — data plans, which are not required, will run $5-10 per month from the carriers.

Internationally, the LG Watch Sport and Watch Style will come to various carriers and retailers across Canada, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, UAE and the UK in the coming weeks.

More: What’s new in Android Wear 2.0

Press release:

Android Wear 2.0: Make the most of every minute

While traditional watches tell the time, Android Wear watches make the most of your time. In an instant, you can check when and where you’re meeting a friend, whether you’ll need an umbrella tonight, or how many minutes you’ve been active today—all without reaching for your phone. Today, we’re announcing Android Wear 2.0 to give you more informative watch faces, better work outs, new ways to use apps, more ways to stay in touch, and on-the-go help from Google Assistant. We’re also introducing two new watches that run Android Wear 2.0.

More personalized, helpful watch faces

You can now personalize your Android Wear always-on watch face with information and actions from your favorite apps. Simply glance at your wrist to check your next appointment, stock performance, progress on fitness goals, or whatever is important to you. A quick tap on your watch face lets you instantly order an Uber ride, start a workout, or get in touch with your significant other. Interested in different info throughout the day? Just swipe to switch your watch face as you go from the office to the gym to dinner with friends and home again.

Better ways to work out

Google Fit, the pre-installed fitness app on most Android Wear watches, now lets you track your pace, distance, calories burned and heart rate* as you’re walking, running or cycling. You can also measure weight-lifting reps, in addition to push-ups, sit-ups and squats. When you work out with a cellular-connected Android Wear watch, you can stay in touch with calls and messages, stream tunes from Google Play Music and still use your favorite apps right on your watch.

New ways to use apps

With Android Wear 2.0, you can choose which apps you want on your watch and download them directly from the new on-watch Google Play Store. If your watch has a cellular connection, you can make calls and use your watch apps no matter where your phone is. Whether you use an Android phone or iPhone, you’ll be able to use apps built for Android Wear 2.0, like AccuWeather, Android Pay*, Foursquare, Google Fit, Google Messenger, Google Play Music, Lifesum, Robin Hood, Runkeeper, Runtastic, Strava, Telegram, Uber and many more.

More ways to respond to messages

Now it’s easier than ever to read and respond to a message right from your watch. When you receive a message, you can expand the notification and tap to respond by dictating, typing or handwriting your answer, or drawing an emoji. Try it out on apps like Facebook Messenger, Glide, Google Messenger, Hangouts, Telegram or WhatsApp., Need to respond quickly? Use Smart Reply, which instantly and intelligently suggests different responses based on the message you received.

The Google Assistant on your wrist

Android Wear 2.0 brings the Google Assistant to your wrist, so you can find answers and get things done—hands free. Ask your Google Assistant about the weather or remind yourself to bring an umbrella. Make a restaurant reservation or navigate to work. You can even update your shopping list right from your wrist. To ask for help, just hold down the power button on your watch or say “Ok Google.” The Google Assistant is available in English and German on Android Wear and will be available in other languages in the coming months.

Introducing LG Watch Style and LG Watch Sport

The first watches with Android Wear 2.0 are the LG Watch Style and LG Watch Sport—both designed in collaboration with Google.

The LG Watch Style is thin, light, beautiful to look at and comfortable to wear. It’s available in three classic designs and finishes—silver, rose gold and titanium—and compatible with snap-and-swap 18mm leather and silicone bands out of the box, so you can quickly switch bands to match your look or the occasion. The rotating power button lets you easily scroll through your stream, bring up the app launcher, or access your Google Assistant.

The LG Watch Sport is Android Wear’s most powerful watch yet. Available in titanium and dark blue, the LG Watch Sport comes with a high performance elastomer strap, NFC for payments, GPS for tracking exercise and navigation, a heart rate sensor for your workouts, and cellular connectivity. With dedicated buttons for Google Fit and Android Pay, plus a rotating power button, it lets you instantly launch your favorite apps. From phone calls to payments, LG Watch Sport is pretty much everything you need whether you’re running the trails or just running some errands.

Starting February 10, you can find LG Watch Style at Best Buy and the Google Store and the LG Watch Sport at AT&T and Verizon. These watches will be available at carriers and retailers across Canada, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, UAE and U.K. in the coming weeks.

Android Wear 2.0 will be available for all supported Android Wear watches in the coming weeks. We hope Android Wear 2.0 lets you stay more informed, organized, healthy and connected to what matters most.

* Some functionality require hardware sensors which are not available on all Android Wear watches.

Android Wear

• Everything you need to know about Android Wear 2.0
• LG Watch Sport review
• LG Watch Style review
• These watches will get Android Wear 2.0
• Discuss Android Wear in the forums!

LG Watch Style specs: 1.2-inch display, swappable straps, no heart rate sensor

This small watch has the basics covered.

Looking at the previous crop of Android Wear watches, many wanted something that was a bit smaller, thinner and easier to manage on an average wrist. LG answered with its LG Watch Style, which comes in with a smaller display, compact case and subtle thickness. Inside that case you get all of the basic specs, though, and simply miss out on some of the fringe features.

Here’s everything you can find inside the LG Watch Style.

Software	Android Wear 2.0
Display	1.2-inch 360×360 P-OLEDAuto-brightnessGorilla Glass 3
Processor	Snapdragon Wear 2100 1.1GHz
Memory	512MB
Storage	4GB
Battery	240 mAhWireless charging
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Resistance	IP67
Straps	Italian genuine leatherUser-replaceable 18 mm
Dimensions	42.3 x 45.7 x 10.79 mm
Colors	Silver, Titanium, Rose Gold
Price	$249

LG Watch Style review: Fashionable, not future-proof 

With a smaller display and Android Wear 2.0, the LG Watch Style would have been nearly perfect if it just had wireless payment abilities.

It’s 2017 and we’re still talking about smartwatches like they’re this untapped element, waiting to be unearthed. The reality is that many of the companies making the wearable devices have failed to answer the question of why I’d need to sport one of these things in the first place. What’s the point? Is it to be fashion forward, or to have all the functionality of a smartphone on my wrist? And why can’t I have both? 

The LG Watch Style has only made this conundrum worse. On the one hand, this is the first Android Wear smartwatch I’ve been able to wear for prolonged periods of time. And as a result, it made me want to use Android Wear: to remember to strap it on before I leave the house; to turn my wrist over to check on notifications; to take more walks so I could hit those steps. It’s the first time that an Android Wear watch truly felt like a necessary accessory. But on the other hand, the LG Watch Style is missing a key feature that would have made it a worthy bragging point against my pals sporting Apple Watches, and there’s where I’m struggling to justify its hefty $250 price tag.

 

About this review

I (Florence Ion) am writing this review after a week of sporting the LG Watch Style on my left hand. I tested it while connected to a Pixel XL over Bluetooth. For testing purposes, I was using the pre-release version of some Google Apps. The watch did not receive a software update during the course of the review. The LG Watch Style was provided to Android Central by Google.

Get the gist

LG Watch Style Video review

Don’t feel like reading? With the help of our executive editor, Alex Dobie, we put together a concise video review of the LG Watch Style. If you’re finding you need more after watching it, read on for the full rundown!

  

Work it, Watch

LG Watch Style Hardware 

Let’s be clear: smartwatches haven’t traditionally been designed with a woman’s wrist in mind. The evidence was always in the available sizing. The typical excuse for the gargantuan devices that existed these past few years was that the necessary miniaturization of technology “wasn’t there yet.” Thus, I can only surmise that the comfortable display size of the Watch Style means we’re finally there.  

The LG Watch Style comes with a 1.2-inch POLED display, which I’ve officially deemed the best size for an Android wear watch for my dainty little wrist. This watch looks like a real watch, too, though it’s also helped in part by its brushed metal chassis. The Watch Style that I have is a slight rose gold with a camel-colored leather band, but you can pick it up in a black or silver casing if that’s more to your liking.

The spinning metal crown on the side of the watch is quite a treat. It’s there to make the device look more authentically watch-like, but you can use it as both a back and home button, or to call up Google Assistant (more on that later). The crown scrolls through pages, too, which is exceptionally helpful for cold weather days, when tapping at a screen without gloves on is the last thing you want to do. I do have one slight gripe about the placement of the button, in that it protrudes out of the side of the case just a bit too far, and occasionally pokes me when I lift my wrist.

The back of Watch Style is plastic. I was a bit dubious about this design decision at first because it makes the watch seem a bit under polished, but as I wore it out I realized that the smooth finish of the plastic is actually what makes it so comfortable. I appreciate, too, that the device comes with snap-off watch straps, even though it’s a ploy to get you to invest in Google’s MODE watchbands. If you don’t need fancy buckles, you can buy cheaper 18mm watchbands off Amazon. 

Inside, the Watch Style runs on Qualcomm’s new wearable-centric processor, the 1.1GHz Snapdragon Wear 2100, along with 512MB of RAM. A new processor seemed to be exactly what Android Wear needed to feel like a more responsive operating system. Besides a few frustrations with Google Assistant — I blame the fact that the microphones are placed on the back— Android Wear 2.0 on the Watch Style was quick to reply to commands and shuffle between screens.

Touch responsiveness was a bit of an issue.

Touch responsiveness was a bit of an issue, however, and sometimes I found myself having to tap a spot twice — like on a complication, for instance — to get it to register. To that end, I found myself using the scroll wheel to navigate the interface since I figured using my finger would be more effort than it’s worth.

Battery life on the LG Watch Style is still not where I want it to be. Granted, I could get through an entire day of activities on the watch’s 240mAh cell, but I’d still have to charge it the next day. I’d like a smartwatch where I don’t have to worry about having the battery charger packed nearby if I forget to charge it overnight. At the very least, you can go every other day without charging the watch, and that’s even with the always-on display enabled.

More on what’s inside the LG Watch Style

Better than before

LG Watch Style Software

Google did a bit of reconstructive work on Android Wear to make it more palatable for the average smartwatch wearer. User feedback revealed that what people cared about with regards to wearables were watch faces, notifications, and fitness tracking, so that’s what the company focused on. For the most part, Android Wear 2.0 has excelled in all three of those categories.

Google did a bit of reconstructive work on Android Wear to make it more palatable.

Many of the new watch faces that come with the Watch Style feature slots for “complications,” a new API that essentially allows you customize indicators based on what the developers of the apps you have installed have offered. For instance, I set up my watch face to show me my next alarm, my progress in Google Fit, and how much battery I have left. The options are limited for now, but there are plenty more options coming from third-party app makers once Android Wear 2.0 goes live.

Notifications have improved in the Android Wear update. Not only are fewer swipes and taps involved to get through them, but even the relatively useless ones (“Your IFTTT recipe ran in the background!”) are organized so that you have some type of context. You can also easily reply to emails and messages from within the same window, without having to navigate far and wide through menu screens just to get to the option.

Eventually, throughout the course of using the watch, Android Wear 2.0’s tiny little keyboard will pop up. It’s finicky to use — a keyboard on a tiny watch screen is not really the pinnacle of user-friendliness — but seeing as how voice dictation is still hit-and-miss on Android Wear, it’s nice to have a backup input method.

Android Wear 2.0 also comes with Google Assistant, which is not as good or as effective as it is on the Google Pixel or Google Home, but it’s there nonetheless. I hardly used it because of my frustrations with the watch’s inability to understand me most of the time. I even had issues getting it to play specific Spotify playlists. And though it’s only tangentially related, I did like the Google Feed button, and that it now lives in Android Wear as a separate entity rather than a feature integrated into the interface.

Our complete Android Wear 2.0 review!

Android Wear 2.0 is a complete overhaul of Google’s wearable platform, from interface and design to apps and functionality. For the complete breakdown of everything that’s new in the latest release, be sure to read our complete Android Wear 2.0 review.

Read our complete Android Wear 2.0 review here!

You won’t get the new fitness tracking abilities of Android Wear 2.0 on the Watch Style, and that’s primarily because of hardware limitations. Unlike the Watch Sport, the Style doesn’t have a heart-rate monitor, a barometer, or standalone GPS.  It doesn’t have NFC, either, which is the real tragedy here, considering how close to perfect the Watch Style would be if I could just pay for stuff with it.  

NFC would have been really nice

LG Watch Style Bottom Line 

The LG Watch Style is definitely the most stylish Android Wear watch ever, but I’m stuck on the fact that it doesn’t have wireless payment abilities. Even the Apple Watch has Apple Pay!

I’m aware that there’s a practical reason for why the LG Watch Style isn’t outfitted to the nines with features, and that’s likely because the smartwatch is physically too small for all that. But my fear is that, since this particular lineup of wearables from Google is supposed to be a blueprint of sorts for other manufacturers to follow, they’ll continue to eliminate any forward-facing features for fear of crowding up the chassis. As a result, those stylish watches you see from fashion brands like Michael Kors and Fossil will continue to offer a simplified experience of a wearables platform that’s really quite good.

Here’s to hoping that’s not the case. I plan to keep wearing the LG Watch Style because there’s finally an Android Wear device that’s comfortable enough for me to wear throughout the day. But until companies find a way to perfectly marry fashion and functionality — specifically something that offers an edge to the Apple Watch — Android Wear will continue to struggle to appeal to the masses.

More: Where to buy the LG Watch Style

LG Watch Sport review: The best showcase for Android Wear 2.0

LG was a launch partner for Android Wear, and now it’s leading the charge for Android Wear 2.0.

After being quite exciting in its early days, Android Wear really lost whatever luster it initially had over the last two years. Google did a great job getting a good variety of more traditional fashion brands on board for new and interesting hardware throughout 2015 and even into 2016, but with the announcement of Android Wear 2.0 at Google I/O it kind of put the brakes on buying watches as we all knew new hardware would be coming with the final release of the software.

With a bit of a setback pushing the Android Wear 2.0 launch to 2017, we had to wait a bit longer to see the platform’s “launch” watches: the feature-packed LG Watch Sport and the svelte LG Watch Style. The latter has its own draw in that it’s sleek and sets itself apart from previous big Android Wear watches, but the LG Watch Sport is a true evolution of what you think of today as a full-power smartwatch.

It’s relatively big, thick and filled with all sorts of features that showcase the brand new refocused Android Wear 2.0 software. This is the launch product for what Google hopes is a new wave of excitement about Android wearables, and that means it has to get it right with the $349 LG Watch Sport — see how it all comes together in our complete review.

About this review

I (Andrew Martonik) am writing this review after one week using the LG Watch Sport, connected to a Pixel XL over Bluetooth and with an active AT&T SIM in the watch. For testing purposes I was using pre-release version of some Google apps; the watch’s software was not updated during the course of the review. The LG Watch Sport was provided to Android Central for review by Google.

Moving pictures!

LG Watch Sport Video review

Sometimes video shows it best. To see a condensed version of the LG Watch Sport review in video form, check out the video up above! Once you’re finished, keep reading to see all of the details about this new smartwatch from LG and Google.

New big watch

LG Watch Sport Hardware

LG was there in 2014 for the original release of Android Wear, trotting out the boxy LG G Watch, and has also been one of the most active Android Wear partners since. So it’s only fitting that it is the sole company kicking off Android Wear 2.0’s introduction to the world. If you’re an Android nerd like me you’ll recognize the Watch Sport as a clear member of the LG Watch family, building on the history of round watches that it started with the G Watch R.

Before we get any further, here’s a quick note on color options. The Watch Sport shown in this review is the “silver” model, which will be available everywhere this watch is sold. But there is also a “dark blue” model (looks black depending on the light) with black straps that will be available exclusively from the Google Store.

The LG Watch Sport is circular, thick and crafted out of a nice chunk of metal with a simple mix of lightly textured finish on the sides and a flat brushed finish encircling the display. Even though it packs a large 1.38-inch circular display, the metal casing keeps the bezel quite small. The two-tone brushed metal keeps the understated look going, making it less bulky feeling when compared to the likes of the Samsung Gear S3. LG has made the transition from metal to plastic on the back much smoother and less noticeable than Samsung as well.

This is definitely still a big watch, though, further necessitating the simultaneous launch of the thin-and-light LG Watch Style for the two-thirds or so of the market who just can’t handle a watch as big as the Sport. At 14 mm thick it still sits up off of your wrist a considerable amount, making it tough to even stretch a long sleeve over it.

More: Complete LG Watch Sport specs

Of course that thickness isn’t just empty space — there’s a sizable 430 mAh battery inside, as well as dedicated LTE, GPS and NFC radios and a heart rate sensor. It also gives you enough room on the case for three hardware buttons: a crown that also rotates for software interaction, and two customizable shortcut buttons.

The other part of the story with the LTE and NFC on the Watch Sport is that they necessitate having integrated TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethane) bands that aren’t user-replaceable, as LG has tucked necessary radios into the bands themselves. Not only does that limit the flexibility of the band attachment points if you’re trying to crank down the watch onto a smaller wrist, but some will also be put off by the lack of customization options. Again, this is where the LG Watch Style takes over with its standard swappable 18 mm lugs.

On the front of the watch, you’ll find a typical great LG display. The P-OLED panel comes in at 480×480 resolution, and has a really small bezel that only slightly cuts into your screen real estate. It also offers an ambient light sensor for automatic brightness, without an unsightly flat tire. The display gets very bright but also very dim when needed, and generally looks great all around.

Refocused, redefined

LG Watch Sport Software

Android Wear 2.0 is a massive departure from previous releases, as it completely rethinks what’s important on a smartwatch. Speaking ahead of the launch with David Singleton, VP of Android Engineering at Google, he explained that user feedback programs showed there were really three areas that consumers wanted their watches to be really great: watch faces, notifications and fitness tracking.

Focusing on the core experience … but also, look at all of this other stuff!

Watch faces are now proper useful pieces of information rather than simply “form over function” displays that sit there waiting to be covered by notifications and apps. With the introduction of an API structure for complications, developers of both watch faces and apps can build to each other’s benefit. Watch faces can have slots for a number of complications, which are user-customizable with various system-level utilities and third-party apps alike. App developers can choose what data to surface when a user places their app in a complication slot, and watch face developers can choose how they want to display it.

Notifications have also been simplified to require fewer swipes and taps. Apps can surface their most-used function to be visible at the bottom of a notification, saving you an extra swipe to perform that common action. For example, messaging and email apps surface simple one-tap buttons for actions like replying to or archiving messages. These new actions can be seen surfaced at the bottom of many parts of the Android Wear 2.0 experience, saving you time while also hiding fewer buttons from view.

Our complete Android Wear 2.0 review!

Android Wear 2.0 is a complete overhaul of Google’s wearable platform, from interface and design to apps and functionality. For the complete breakdown of everything that’s new in the latest release, be sure to read our complete Android Wear 2.0 review.

Read our complete Android Wear 2.0 review here!

Interestingly, Android Wear also puts in many deeper levels of interaction for those who want to do more with their watch. The ability to add a standalone LTE connection to your watch is a great indication that Android Wear devices are now designed to operate (at least sometimes) independently of your phone. App developers can now create watch apps that don’t require a companion app on your phone, and at the same time when you install an app on your phone it doesn’t automatically push a companion app on your watch. I far prefer this approach, particularly if you’re someone who won’t be using a ton of apps on the watch itself — you can keep things clean, on your terms.

Google has also brought over a somewhat-limited version of Google Assistant to Android Wear 2.0. Through either a long press on the crown or a mention of “OK, Google” you can launch Assistant, and ask it just about anything you’d ask of your Pixel or Google Home. Integrations with things like smart home devices aren’t yet here, but simple queries about the weather, navigation, messaging, search terms or simply launching an app all work just fine. There’s a considerable speed difference between the watch and a Pixel performing the same task, though, limiting its realistic usefulness to situations where you don’t have a phone or Google Home nearby.

Perhaps my favorite part about the Android Wear 2.0 update is its new emphasis on “rotational input.” The new interaction method lets companies create smartwatches that can use other forms of input than just the touch screen, like LG did with a rotating crown on the Watch Sport and Watch Style. Rotational input isn’t simply translating spinning hardware into touch, either — it’s a whole new form of interaction that developers have to specifically target and choose what to do. For example it’s used for scrolling throughout the interface, but zooming on Google Maps — developers can run with it.

The rotational input isn’t just limited to crowns, though — it could perhaps be a fully rotating bezel, or something else entirely. I absolutely love using the crown throughout the interface — it makes getting through long lists a breeze, while at the same time making it easier to move precisely through an app without covering the content you’re trying to navigate. And yes, I have to give the nod to the Gear S2 (and to a lesser extent, Apple Watch) for getting to this idea first.

Big improvement

LG Watch Sport Experience

The combination of this refreshed Android Wear software experience and new hardware that actually feels modern gives me a renewed sense of hope about Android Wear. The new wearable-tuned Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor pairs up with 768MB of RAM to give you a slick and smooth experience, and if you keep to basic tasks you won’t ever be waiting for something to load longer than you would expect. Heavier tasks like some full-blown apps (like Google Maps) or those that need heavy network access (like Google Assistant) take a few extra beats, but this is a few massive steps ahead of the performance on older models using a Snapdragon 400.

As someone who really has little desire to use the more advanced features of Android Wear (or really any smartwatch) because they quickly become frustrating on a tiny screen, I’m very happy with the way the LG Watch Sport performs.

Android Pay

Yes, you can finally pay for things with just your watch! Android Wear 2.0 introduces the mobile payments for devices that choose to include NFC (like the LG Watch Sport, but not the Watch Style). Setup is quick, assuming you’ve already configured Android Pay on your phone. You can set a default payment card on the watch, and see a payment history when you tap into each card.

Finding the tap-to-pay point is extra awkward when you’re using a smartwatch.

You can quickly fire up Android Pay by opening the app or assigning it to one of the customizable case buttons, and it’s immediately ready to pay. In the case of the LG Watch Sport you place the top portion of the watch — where the band meets the case — to the terminal, and it gives you a satisfying vibration to let you know the payment went through.

Paying with your wrist is nice if you live somewhere that has finally started to adopt new payment terminals with NFC. Just be prepared to get a few awkward looks as you figure out where, exactly, the tap-to-pay areas are on some of the newer terminals. It all looks so much more awkward when you’re trying to do it with your smartwatch.

Fitness tracking

The “Sport” designation means this is a smartwatch suited for working out and generally sticking with you as you stay active, and that has come with a solid improvement to the default Google Fit app. By default Fit is mapped to the top button on the watch, which can launch you into a workout with a single tap. Of course all of the data syncs back to the Google Fit app on your phone, tracking your activities over time and breaking down all of your actions.

Google Fit received a much-needed update to cover most of your fitness needs.

With minimal setup you can get tracking right away with the LG Watch Sport, even if you don’t set up the Fit app on your phone first. You can enter your height and weight, then be off to the races with tracking your daily step count, as well as your heart rate through a higher-end and more accurate PPG heart rate sensor. Google Fit can handle walks and runs pulling GPS data from your connected phone, or if you want to stride freely you can use its integrated GPS instead. Without starting explicit workouts Fit will track your movements and estimate when you went on a walk or run, but won’t kick in the GPS without your permission. At the end of the day you get a nice breakdown of your steps, active time, calories burned and distance walked, if you’re interested.

You can, of course, go beyond just walking and running with Fit — from standard gym machines to body weight exercises, Fit can help you track everything if you tend to vary your workouts. The size of the Sport could be a hindrance for some gym workouts, but that will be up to your personal preference. If you decide to bring the Sport with you, it can pair to Bluetooth headphones and play music without your phone — a forthcoming Google Play Music update will let you stream music over LTE and Wi-Fi as well.

Battery life

I recently reviewed the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier LTE, and quickly saw how much stress LTE and GPS could put on a smartwatch. Now I’m using an Android Wear watch with the same features, and am of course seeing the same results. Keeping LTE turned on significantly cuts into the battery even if you’re primarily connected to a phone over Bluetooth, as the mobile data has to be idly available for incoming calls and connections.

Battery life is great, provided you don’t actually use LTE.

On my first couple of days using the LG Watch Sport, getting settled in and using it more than typical to get acquainted with it, I hit 15% battery — which triggers “battery saver” mode — at around 4 p.m. after having taken it off the charger just before 9 a.m. that morning. That included a couple of walks pulling GPS from my connected phone, transferring some tracks that I downloaded in Google Play Music and several requests to Google Assistant — all with LTE and Wi-Fi turned on (they idle when Bluetooth is connected), and notifications pinging my wrist.

That’s pretty good considering it’s what I’d call above-average use, but that still means I’m putting the watch on a charger at dinnertime rather than making it the “full day” that LG claims. Further on in my week of testing when I was using the watch a bit more normally and trialed turning off LTE (as a majority of people will experience it), battery life improved dramatically. Standby battery was great, and I regularly went to bed after 14 hours off the charger with 30% battery left. So, not enough to get 2 days without charging … but plenty left in the tank to always make it through a full day — again, so long as you don’t use LTE.

LTE on your wrist

Mobile data on a smartwatch isn’t something that everyone is clamoring for, and definitely isn’t a feature you’ll find everywhere in the market, but after dipping its toe in with the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE (that name …) it’s back at it again here. Just like Samsung’s last few smartwatches, you can get a distinct data plan from your carrier — AT&T and Verizon at launch — that gives your watch its own connection that can be used for calls (yes, over the watch loudspeaker) and texts, all synchronized with your phone.

Few will be willing to pay $5-10/month for LTE on a watch.

You can also use that connection to operate the watch independently outside the range of your phone’s Bluetooth connection. That means you can use Android Wear’s new standalone apps to load maps, send and receive messages, stream fresh music from Google Play Music and generally keep up with the world. Adding LTE to the equation doesn’t mean you have any more room to work with on the watch, though, so remember you’re still dealing with a limited operating system on a 1.38-inch display.

Even though you can buy the LG Watch Sport from AT&T or Verizon, that doesn’t mean you have to. You can buy it unlocked for the same $349 price from Google (and other retailers) directly, and simply use it with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (including GPS) as you would any other smartwatch. In the end I expect a small minority will see the value in paying $5-10 per month for LTE on their watch — I sure don’t see the value in it myself.

A new era

LG Watch Sport Bottom line

Google still has an uphill battle ahead trying to get a notable number of people interested in smartwatches. Comparing to the scale of Android phone sales, Android Wear is just a tiny blip on the radar — and it’s going to take many iterations of this platform to improve adoption. Android Wear 2.0 and the LG Watch Sport are a great combination pushing toward that goal of getting Google-powered wearables on more wrists around the world.

Many technology enthusiasts will still be wooed into considering the LG Watch Sport, even at $349. The allure of a fresh smartwatch that fixes many pain points of previous Android Wear watches will be strong. It has a great display without a dreaded flat tire, a nice case that is unfortunately a bit too thick but has great build quality, and every feature you could want crammed inside. It’s a proper antithesis to its launch companion, the LG Watch Style, and when viewed together as a product portfolio they both make more sense.

Sure, the LG Watch Sport won’t be the watch for everyone — in fact, the cheaper and simpler LG Watch Style is perhaps more likely to succeed — but it’s a great piece of hardware to put all of Android Wear 2.0’s capabilities on display. The new software incorporates two years of feedback on how we use smartwatches, and in general does a good job of hitting the features we want most on our wrist. Quick and functional interactions with the basic features, along with a few extras for those who need to do more, make this a clean separation from Android Wear of the past.

The LG Watch Sport is for the wearable fan who wants to experience Android Wear 2.0 to the fullest right from the start, and see the latest Google has to offer on some great hardware from LG.

More: Where to buy the LG Watch Sport

Where to buy the LG Watch Style

The sleek and beautiful LG Watch Style is available for an affordable price.

At just $249 and with a size that appeals to a wide range of buyers, the LG Watch Style has the features for success. The final part of the equation is where to buy it — and thankfully, Google has a big partner on board in Best Buy to supplement availability online from the Google Store.

The LG Watch Style doesn’t fully go on sale until February 10, but thankfully we have all of the details already. Here’s what you need to know.

More: LG Watch Style review

Best Buy

Best Buy will carry all three color combinations for the LG Watch Style, and you can take your pick for $249. If you’re looking to buy in-store you may not find all color options right away, so shop online if you have a specific color in mind.

See at Best Buy

Google Store

So long as you’re okay buying online, the Google Store is a solid choice for the LG Watch Style. Not only does it offer the same color choices, but you can also buy new MODE swappable bands at the same time to give you extra options right out of the box. You can get leather bands for $59 or silicone ones for $49 to fit in with any occasion — as a reminder, you want the 18 mm band to fit the LG Watch Style.

See watches at the Google Store

Android Wear

• Everything you need to know about Android Wear 2.0
• LG Watch Sport review
• LG Watch Style review
• These watches will get Android Wear 2.0
• Discuss Android Wear in the forums!

Where to buy the LG Watch Sport

At launch you have three places to buy the latest LTE-connected Android Wear watch.

The new LG Watch Sport is here, and Google is giving you three different places to buy it at launch: its own Google Store, as well as AT&T and Verizon.

To simplify things, every LG Watch Sport includes an LTE radio is sold unlocked — meaning you don’t have to make up your mind about a carrier decision at the time of buying. That means you can find the retailer that makes the most sense for you, knowing that it won’t come back to bite you later.

The LG Watch Sport doesn’t actually go on sale until February 10, but we do know where you can buy it and the details for each store. Here’s all of the information you need.

More: LG Watch Sport review

Google Store

The Google Store should be your first choice for the LG Watch Sport, so long as you’re willing to buy online. Not only does it save you from having to go to a carrier when you’re not interested in a data plan, but it also gives you access to a limited edition color combination: a “dark blue” case with a black band. The Google Store will also offer you 12-month zero-interest financing for the $349 smartwatch, if you so desire.

If you do want a data plan later on, you can always go into a Verizon or AT&T store to have it added to your existing plan.

See at the Google Store

Verizon

Going to Verizon you’ll have the same silver color choice, but pricing is a tad different. It’s putting the price at $379, but will knock $50 off for signing a two-year contract (don’t do that, please).

To get an LTE connection on your LG Watch Sport, Verizon charges an extra $5 per month to add it to your existing plan. This includes Verizon’s Message+ service that lets you make and receive calls and messages using your primary phone number.

See at Verizon

AT&T

AT&T will charge the same $349 for the LG Watch Sport, but once again you’ll be limited to just the silver version.

If you choose to get a data plan for your watch through AT&T, it will set you back $10 per month extra on your existing plan. That includes the carrier’s “NumberSync” tech that lets you make and receive calls on the watch using your phone’s number.

See at AT&T

Android Wear

• Everything you need to know about Android Wear 2.0
• LG Watch Sport review
• LG Watch Style review
• These watches will get Android Wear 2.0
• Discuss Android Wear in the forums!

Verizon is now making its own Android Wear smartwatch, the Wear24

Verizon is offering its own smartwatch, because why not?

Riding on the news of the the LG Watch Sport being announced, Verizon is also releasing a self-branded exclusive smartwatch running Android Wear 2.0 called the Wear24. Much like its own Ellipsis tablets, the Wear24 watch is a less-expensive option that Verizon can offer without managing a partnership for a big brand name company.

Unfortunately we don’t have a ton of details on the watch just yet, which isn’t so surprising as the focus will land on the LG Watch Sport — which is also available from Verizon — for a while. We know the Wear24 will be available for $299 with a two-year contract, $30 less than LG’s watch.

The Wear24 is waterproof and of course has LTE, and in many ways shares design traits with the LG Watch Sport like its large, circular display and metal case with large band attachments. Beyond that, Verizon isn’t dropping details on us.

Flipboard streamlines your feed with ‘Smart Magazines’

The latest update from news aggregation service Flipboard aims to further unify and organize users’ online feeds by introducing “Smart Magazines.” The new feature creates topic-specific publications that readers can customize by selecting their favorite websites and social feeds.

Previously, Flipboard users had to rely on an overwhelming 34,000 topics and 30 million magazines as the primary way of navigating the platform. The Cover Stories section simplifies this chaos, but it’s not organized by topic. Smart Magazines bridge this gap by filtering the noise and giving users more control over how their news is presented.

“Where do I go if I just want to see photography stuff?” Flipboard CEO Mike McCue told TechCrunch. “I might follow 50 different magazines and 12 different topics [related to photography], so how do I see it all together? There hasn’t been a good way to do that until now.”

Users begin creating Smart Magazines with the Passion Picker, a one-screen tool that prompts users to select a broad topic of interest. Then they pick more specialized subcategories and follow sources like Twitter feeds and hashtags, YouTube channels, and specific websites. The resulting magazine features major stories as well as more niche news within the topic.

For example, a sports Smart Magazine might include the day’s biggest news and highlights, then get into finer details like the Los Angeles Lakers or NBA trade rumors. The Smart Magazines also aim to improve their content selections over time with machine learning as the reader likes and adds stories. The update is rolling out to iOS, Android, and web users today, so watch the video below to check out the new features in action.

Source: TechCrunch