ZTE’s first Android Wear watch is also one of the cheapest

Android Wear 2.0’s release has been delayed multiple times, and aside from a few watches that have just hit the market, there aren’t many ways to get Google’s latest wearable OS right now. That changes in about two weeks, thanks to ZTE, which is making its first-ever Android Wear watch. It’s called the Quartz, and it will be available on April 21 via T-Mobile for just $200. You can also get it online starting April 14th.

For that price, you’ll get a round 1.4mm AMOLED display, interchangeable 22mm band, water-resistant (rated IP67) body and, most importantly, Android Wear 2.0 and all its improvements. There is also a 500mAh battery, which is larger than the LG Watch Sport’s 430mAh cell. That should hopefully help the Quartz outlast LG’s pair of wearables, which both barely made it through a full day during our testing. The Quartz will also supports LTE, and will be compatible with T-Mobile’s Digits program that lets you use the same phone number across your smartphone and other connected devices.

But there are some tradeoffs the company made to hit that $200 price. In particular, the most notable missing features are NFC, a heart rate monitor and a rotating dial. In addition to cutting costs, ZTE also cited longer battery life, a slimmer profile and less risk of damage as reasons for leaving those out.

As a comparison, LG’s Watch Style, which also lacks NFC, a heart rate sensor and doesn’t have its own LTE radio, costs $250. The Style has a useful rotating dial that makes scrolling easy, though. The Quartz also has to content with the Asus Zenwatch 3, which costs about $255, but runs the older Android Wear for now.

To be clear, this isn’t ZTE’s first smartwatch. It already makes the Axon watch, which runs Tencent OS and only retails in China. All that really means is the company already has some experience making watches, and the partnership with Google here makes for a compelling product.

Google’s Home speaker could soon support multiple accounts

One of the biggest problems with Google Home is the lack of mulit-user support. If you’re the only person that uses the smart speaker, there’s no problem, but for families and other house-sharing groups it’s a real nuisance. Ask the Assistant to create a new calendar appointment, for instance, and it might go into someone else’s diary. Thankfully, it sounds like Google has been working on the problem and will soon be rolling out an update. A message in the Google Home app says “multiple users are now supported,” even though the functionality isn’t live just yet. (Boo.)

In theory, Google Home would recognise your voice and immediately switch over to your preferred Google account. That means it could instantly leverage your Google-related data — your schedule, emails, and playlists, for instance — without you having to dig into the Home app and manually switch. User recognition would also stop other people from accidentally messing with your preferences by conversing with the Assistant while you’re out of the room. We’ll keep you posted on the roll-out — it’s possible Google has enabled the message too early, and an update is still a ways off, but we suspect it’ll be here sooner rather than later.

Whoa, Google Home just got multi user support! pic.twitter.com/lZy3JWd1Fy

— Owen ⚡️ (@ow) April 10, 2017

Via: Owen Williams (Twitter), The Verge

New Patent Describes Waterproof AirPods Case That Could Double as iPhone or Apple Watch Charger

A new patent filed by Apple last year, and published recently by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, details a future iteration of the AirPods charging case that could simultaneously recharge the wireless headphones as well as an iPhone or Apple Watch. In the patent, Apple has visualized an AirPods case that, when placed flat on a surface, could turn into an Apple Watch charging pad thanks to a “wireless power transmitting component” (via Patently Apple).

This would allow the AirPods case to double as a portable charging battery, providing power to both the AirPods internally and a separate device externally. The patent depicts multiple ways for the case to detect if an external device is ready to receive transmitted power, including an optical sensor, a mass sensor, or a mechanical interlock or button. When any of these methods are activated, the case would begin charging the external device, which also could include MacBooks.

Image via Patently Apple

“Such devices can include, for example, portable music players (e.g., MP3 devices and Apple’s iPod devices), portable video players (e.g., portable DVD players), cellular telephones (e.g., smart telephones such as Apple’s iPhone devices), video cameras, digital still cameras, projection systems (e.g., holographic projection systems), gaming systems, PDAs, as well as tablet (e.g., Apple’s iPad devices), laptop (e.g. MacBooks) or other mobile computers. Some of these devices can be configured to provide audio, video or other data or sensory output.”

Additionally, a future version of the AirPods case could have an entirely waterproof design, providing even further protection to the AirPods when they’re placed within the charging case for long periods of time. Apple’s patent depicts ways that the AirPods charging case could have simple water resistance, or could include a full waterproof seal that would be able to survive submersion up to 100 feet for 30 minutes.

Apple notes that In various embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 3 (spraying water) and 6 (powerful water jets) while in some embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 4 (splashing water) and 7 (immersion up to 1 meter). In various embodiments the liquid-tight seal shall be rated between 5 (water jets) and 8 (immersion beyond 1 meter) while in some embodiments liquid-tight shall mean the seal will protect the electronic device against liquid ingress up to 100 feet for 30 minutes.

Wireless charging has been rumored for this year’s upcoming iPhone 8, which is said to most likely use Apple’s in-house wireless charging methods — like the Apple Watch’s inductive charging — and not an extended-range solution. If the company integrated an inductive charging pad right onto the AirPods case, it would be an interesting mobile solution for users to juice up their Apple Watch or iPhone, but the amount of power that the AirPods charging case could hold remains unclear.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 3, iPhone 8 (2017)
Tags: patent, AirPods
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Steve Jobs’ Prototype Apple 1 Computer Going on Display in Seattle’s ‘Living Computers’ Museum

Living Computers: Museum + Labs in Seattle, which is dedicated to showcasing the history of computing devices from around the world, is this Friday opening up a wing focused on all things Apple. Called the “Apple Computer Exhibit,” visitors will be able to walk through the first two decades of Apple’s products and advances in technology, ranging specifically from 1976 to 1999 (via GeekWire).

The prototype Apple 1 computer on display
The exhibit will house what Living Computers executive director Lāth Carlson described as “the most important computer in history,” a prototype Apple I that sat in Steve Jobs’ office and was used as a demo model in the early years of the company. Visitors will be able to interact with an Apple 1, although it’ll be a different version than the Jobs machine, while also viewing Apple computers like the Apple II, IIe, IIc, Apple III, Lisa, and various Macintosh computers.

Although Carlson admitted that Jobs’ Apple 1 is “also the most boring to look at,” its importance has earned it a spot as the centerpiece of the new exhibit.

“About 200 of these were made, around 70 are known to have survived, and around seven are operable,” Carlson told GeekWire while showing off the museum’s working 1976 Apple I. “We’re going to be running Steve Wozniak’s version of BASIC that he wrote on it.”

The exhibit includes details about Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, the original $666.66 price point for the Apple I, and “much more.” A point of focus in the new exhibit is Apple’s early connection with Microsoft, and the museum itself was founded by Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates.

“We’ve always actually had a fairly significant Apple collection, and we’ve always had Apples on display,” Carlson said. “I think people a lot of times come here and are a little surprised to see that. They associate us with Paul Allen, with Microsoft. And a lot of times people don’t realize Microsoft provided a lot of the early software and hardware for Apple, and continued to over the years. When Steve Jobs went back to Apple, there was a significant investment by Microsoft — $150 million — to keep the company basically going. And they agreed to keep providing Office for Macs.”

The Apple 1 in question is said to have been used by Jobs and Apple’s first investor, Mike Markkula, as a modified version of the basic computer that the company used to take on the road and showcase its capabilities to potential investors. The machine was left behind by Jobs when he left Apple in 1985, and when Apple allowed employees to clean out his office, an engineer named Don Hutmacher ended up going home with the Apple 1.

When Hutmacher passed away this past year, his family discovered the Apple 1 sitting in his garage, leading to its new residence at Living Computers. Overall, the Apple exhibit in the Seattle-based museum is said to organically fit into the overall story of Living Computers, including the rise of IBM and its support of Microsoft that lead to industry domination. Diverging paths will allow visitors to witness the emergence of Windows 95 in one direction, or the new “evolving story” of Apple in the other direction.

Tags: Steve Jobs, Apple-1
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Possible Google investment in LG Display bodes well for Pixel 2 supplies

Why it matters to you

A rumored investment in production of OLED screens should mean that Google can avoid supply shortages like it’s experiencing with the first-gen Pixel and Pixel XL.

Google has proposed an investment of at least $880 million in LG Display, in return for it building flexible OLED screens for a future Pixel smartphone, according to anonymous individuals speaking to local news source ETNews. Neither company have officially commented on the story, but the sources say LG Display is examining the offer, which may end up being higher than the initial figure quoted in the report, if supplies demand it.

The investment from Google would enable LG Display to stabilize production of OLED screens, which are currently in short supply, and meet the numbers required by Google for a new Pixel phone. No specifications of the screen have been discussed, and although the panels are referred to as “flexible,” this doesn’t mean the entire device will be flexible. The panel inside the Galaxy S8 is flexible, enabling the curve at the sides, for example.

More: Everything we think we know about the Pixel 2

LG Display has two production lines primed for its sixth-generation OLED screens already. The first, named E5, is expected to begin operating after the summer this year, and the second, named E6, in 2018. Google’s investment will be used to increase capacity, and to give the company priority access to the panels being produced, it’s speculated.

Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL phones, which were announced in late 2016 and built by HTC, have 5- and 5.5-inch OLED screens. Rumors have been spreading about the Pixel’s successors, which are expected to launch in late 2017, although leaks have revealed very little about them so far. Demand for the original Pixel has often outstripped supply, a situation Google will want to avoid for the sequels, and securing a steady stream of OLED screens would help immensely.

Demand for OLED and AMOLED screens isn’t going to slow down in 2017. Apple has long been rumored to be securing OLED panels for the next iPhone, or at least the special edition iPhone X model, and may have already struck a deal with Samsung to supply more than 70 million such screens.

Japan and the U.S. are having a giant robot duel, and we have the deets

Forget Samsung’s Galaxy S8 vs. the tenth-anniversary iPhone! Who cares about a nuanced discussion comparing the necessity for big data-driven surveillance and the importance of privacy and strong encryption? What kind of puny, pencil-necked geek spends time pondering the relative pros and cons of logic-based artificial intelligence and statistical AI?

If you’re a red-blooded, testosterone-pumping tech fan who likes your gear served up with a thick-crusted slice of pro wrestling pageantry, the only confrontation that matters this year is the one pitting Californian robotics company Megabots against Japanese robotics company Suidobashi in a totally awesome robot duel that’s been years in the making.

More: Method-1 mech is your sci-fi fantasy come to life

Set to finally take place this August (an announcement made this week), the date is the culmination of thousands of hours both companies have spent building giant human-driven mech robots — you know, like those things out of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.

Now they’re going to do what any self-respecting big kid would do when playing with kickass action figures: bash them against each other until a clear victor has emerged. In short, Megabots and Suidobashi’s creators are here to kick ass, chew bubblegum, and do some wicked engineering. And they’re both all out of bubble gum.

“In 2015, we challenged Suidobashi Heavy Industries to a Giant Robot Duel between our existing Mark II robot and their KURATAS robot,” Gui Cavalcanti, CEO and co-founder of Megabots told Digital Trends. “They accepted the challenge, and upped the ante to include hand-to-hand combat. We tested the Mark II to see if it would survive in combat. The robot would but we, the pilots, wouldn’t.”

Megabots

Like a Rocky training montage, Cavalcanti and his team went back to the drawing board for a rethink, and emerged with the Mark III robot.

This wasn’t always straightforward. As it turns out, bringing a giant mech to heaving, servo-assisted life isn’t as easy as you might imagine.

“Our biggest challenges have been suppliers, systems integration, and logistics,” Cavalcanti continued. “The Mk. III includes about $800,000 worth of off-the-shelf and custom parts, that we often order in gigantic bulk orders. Simply getting high-quality parts in the door reliably has been a huge issue for us. Integrating all those parts into a cohesive system has been really challenging. We have about 3,000 wires on the robot, around 300 hydraulic hoses, 26 of the fastest hydraulic valves in the world, and a 430 horsepower gas engine that wants to be in a car and not a robot. Getting all of those to play nice has been a long process.”

There was also that boring old stuff about logistics that turns out to be totally important, too. It’s a bit like those old road stories with professional wrestler Andre the Giant where body slamming fools wasn’t half as challenging as finding a hotel bathroom that could accommodate his 6’11, 500 pound frame.

We’ve had to change our designs in fundamental ways to allow them to be shipped nationally and internationally.

“Simply moving the robot around nationally and internationally has been a huge challenge,” Gui explained. “The robot has to break down into parts that fit inside a shipping container, for example, and be easy to re-assemble on-site. More than anything else, we’ve had to change our designs in fundamental ways to allow them to be shipped nationally and internationally.”

Still, the results have been worth it — since the team’s Mark III robot is a seismic upgrade over its predecessor. As far as tales of the tape go, it weighs 12 tons instead of six, and towers in at 16 feet instead of 15. In short, Cavalcanti said it was, “designed for hand-to-hand combat from the ground up.”

So onto the final question, then, which is why — with so many astonishing advances in robotics — should this all be settled in a duel?

“Because there’s a 50-year-long tradition in most world cultures of science fiction depicting giant robots fighting,” Cavalcanti said. “When we show our robot to people who haven’t heard of us, the reaction is always ‘Oh! I saw that in…’ and then they list any of 60 or 70 different video games, movies, [or] animated shows that feature giant robots fighting. We’re trying to bring the fantasies of sci-fi fans around the world to life.”

You can’t say fairer than that! We just hope Suidobashi is ready…

Galaxy S8’s Bixby features headed to Germany in Q4 2017

Bixby will be fully functional in Germany around the time we’re expecting the Galaxy Note 8.

The full feature set of Bixby, Samsung’s AI assistant feature for the Galaxy S8, will only be available in U.S. English and Korean at launch, with other regions having to wait it out. And now we have a rough idea of just how long that might take.

According to an entry on Samsung’s German support site, first spotted by GalaxyClub, Germans can expect a fully functional Bixby experience by… Q4 2017.

As in October, at the earliest.

Given the complexity of the features — and the fact that not even UK English will be supported at launch — it’s not entirely surprising that Bixby voice is going to take a while to port to additional languages. But still, six months from the launch of the GS8 is a considerable wait. And while not confirmed, it’s likely a similar lead time would also apply to other European languages.

By that time, we’ll be in the thick of the Galaxy Note 8 launch. Later in the year, a new multilingual Bixby might go up against an improved Google Assistant on this year’s Pixel phones, as well as a smarter Siri on the iPhone 8.

Bixby is clearly a long term play for Samsung. The feature is huge in scope, and won’t just be limited to phones — in time, expect to see it in smart appliances, TVs and wearables. But it’s also clear it’s going to take months, if not years for Bixby’s full potential to be realized.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on preview!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

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Galaxy S8 enjoys record-breaking pre-orders in Korea

Pre-orders more than five times that of the Galaxy S7, according to local media.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 went up for pre-order in South Korea over the weekend, where it’s been met with a record-breaking reception. ZDNet reports that Koreans snapped up 550,000 Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones in the two-day period since pre-orders began, ahead of the phone’s April 21 street date.

To put that number in perspective, it’s 2.75 times that of the late Note 7 and 5.5 times that of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The Galaxy S8+ model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage — exclusive to Korea and China — was reportedly in highest demand.

Strong demand around Samsung’s new flagships in its home market follows a massive marketing campaign by the company. What’s more, the lack of a big-screened Samsung flagship last year following the Note 7 recall likely created pent-up demand for the larger of the two phones.

Korean pre-order customers will be among the first to get their hands on the GS8 and GS8+, with pre-orders arriving from April 17.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on preview!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

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How to quickly launch the Galaxy S8 camera with the power button

The Galaxy S8’s camera shortcut has moved from the home button to the power button. Here’s how it works!

On the Galaxy S6 and S7, the camera app was easily accessible by double-pressing the physical home button from anywhere — screen on or off, and in any app. But the Galaxy S8 has no physical home button, which necessitated a change of strategy.

By default, the Galaxy S8 will launch the camera app if you double press the Power button. You can choose whether to Turn Off or Keep On the first time you use this shortcut.

But let’s say that, perhaps, you were too quick to dismiss the helpful shortcut feature at the beginning. The good news is that you can go into the phone’s settings panel to turn it back on.

How to enable Galaxy S8 camera quick launch

Open the Settings panel.
Tap on Advanced Features.
Tap the Quick launch Camera shortcut to enable it.

Now you’re back in business with the Galaxy S8’s quick launch camera shortcut.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on preview!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

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Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 review: The undisputed fashion smartwatch king

“It’s too expensive”. “It’s unnecessary”. “It’s too big”. “It doesn’t have all the features of a watch a quarter of the price”.

The arguments against the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 are many and varied. What we see, however, is a fashion-forward and quite excellent smartwatch with a genuine twist: modularity of body, lugs and strap choices. It’s desirable, a status symbol, and for many perhaps the only kind of decoration that will always be worn.

The Modular 45 is unashamedly plush, reflecting the luxury brand to which it belongs. That’s something that some people will never understand or accept, in the same way that some would argue buying an Audi isn’t worth the money over buying a Skoda. Brands have value and when the world of tech meets the world of fashion, it ruffles feathers – in both good and bad ways.

Sure, the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 is big, it’s expensive and, yes, there are cheaper smartwatches that do more. But this is hands down the most attractive Android Wear watch on the market right now.

Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 review: Design brilliance

• Modular design: choose body, lugs and strap
• Premium metal body and metal backplate
• 45mm diameter, 13.5mm thick
• Waterproof to 50m

The second iteration of Tag Heuer’s Connected smartwatch brings with it a twist, but offers much the same visual appeal as the original model. We loved the chunky and sporty looks of the Connected and the Modular 45 repeats that Carrera-apeing design.

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Unlike many of the other Android Wear watches, it’s in design that Tag really makes a statement. There isn’t a sense of “that’ll do” or compromise about it, it feels as though it has been designed and considered by a watch maker – which is perhaps no surprise, seeing as it has been.  Everything from the bodywork to the strap is superior to those cheaper rivals. That’s the definition of luxury: being better is what it’s all about.

While the Modular 45 doesn’t have all the technical abilities that some other smartwatches offer, it’s the design that makes this watch. It wears well, it looks good and it feels good. It’s a watch you want to wear and a watch you want to be seen in. It doesn’t feel like an unnecessary gadget and there’s no qualm about the choice of materials.

Sure, some might baulk at the 45mm body, but that’s the same as the analogue Carrera that this watch is based on. It’s not a big smartwatch, it’s a big watch full stop.

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Design improvements over the original Tag Heuer Connected (now called the Connected 46) include the metal backplate: this is even more substantial in the body than the slightly older model, but the big design twist is modularity, which takes this watch into a totally different league.

Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 review: Modular marvel

• Huge number of colour combinations
• Choose your body, lugs and strap
• Easy switch modularity

If the Connected Modular 45 is a toy for kids who don’t want to grow up, then its modularity is only part of the appeal.

First of all, the 45 presents you with choices. You can choose the strap which is a fairly common option. Being able to choose the lugs is something else entirely. So is having the option to choose the body materials and bezel colour.

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Sure, there are some limitations, but you’re not limited to silver or rose gold here: there’s titanium, aluminium or gold, there are even diamond bezels. There are matte black bodies with blue bezels, a rainbow of coloured aluminium bezels on a titanium body, or, as pictured here, black ceramic bezel on titanium body and many more. The price will vary depending on what you choose.

Being able to choose the lugs is a big point of differentiation too. This is the part that connects the strap to the watch and, with the press of a button, separates from the main body. There are matte black ceramic, diamond crusted, gold or the classic satin titanium lugs. 

The important take-away point is that you can buy the watch you want. If you’re a gadget fan and you have plenty of cash, you can decide exactly what you want your Tag to look like. There’s even the option to buy an analogue watch module, so that you can leave the smartwatch at home, and walk out wearing a mechanical chronograph instead.

There’s also another consideration: this is Tag Heuer classic design and we suspect that in future there could be the option to buy a different smartwatch as technology evolves.

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We’ve found it easy to break down our test watch into its main component pieces. Separating body, lugs and strap is simple, as is detaching the buckle from the strap. Important if you intend to have various options for different days, meetings, events, moods or whatever else suits you.

The one negative is that this modularity does present a natural failure point: there’s some movement between the lugs and the body and we have no idea how the mechanism will wear over time. For us using the watch over a short period of time there’s been no sign of it, but after a year, we simply can’t say.

We are also left wondering whether modularisation is a big sell: will people wanted to change parts of their watch repeatedly, or is this play for differentiation only going to be used to buy a unique watch and thereafter be ignored?

Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 review: Hardware and specifications

• Intel Atom Z34XX, 512GB RAM, 4GB storage
• GPS, NFC, motion sensors 
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
• Android Wear 2.0 operating system

Behind that premium design the technology doesn’t throw up too many surprises, except that this is an Intel powered watch when many are Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100.

The Intel Atom Z34XX chipset sits at the heart of this watch as it did the previous model. There’s 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage, which you can use to store music on your phone, connecting to Bluetooth headphones, so you can have music without the need for your phone.

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Our experience is that this watch is every bit as fast and powerful as other Android Wear watches we’ve used. It’s perhaps more difficult to quantify that as we’re not roaming around playing games on the watch – but it reacts to the touch and does what we ask of it without any problems. 

There’s Wi-Fi on board to let it connect independently to networks, something that’s more pertinent in Android Wear 2.0, which now runs much more independently than previous software versions. 

The Modular 45 has GPS, NFC (for Android Pay) and motion sensors, as well as a microphone and ambient light sensors. The GPS means it’s a better device for tracking location independently, but it lacks the autonomy that comes from having its own 4G connection. There’s no such thing here, meaning it’s often dependent on your phone for more data, unlike something such as the LG Watch Sport.

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There’s no heart-rate sensor, so this Tag isn’t an out-and-out sports watch. You can use a compatible Bluetooth heart-rate sensor, although we didn’t test this ourselves, so we can’t comment on performance or compatibility.

We don’t think that the lack of a heart-rate sensor is a huge deal here: although it offers 50m waterproofing, we can’t see that anyone is going to seriously choose it as a sports device. There are plenty of other options, like the Polar V800 or the Garmin Forerunner 920XT, that will happily give you a premium sports experience.

Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 review: Display and watch faces

• 1.39-inch AMOLED display
• 400 x 400 pixels (287ppi)
• Sapphire glass

The Modular 45 hosts a 1.39-inch fully round display. There are no flat tyres here, like with the Moto legacy watches (which Fossil persists in running with). The Tag offers a 400 x 400 pixel resolution, resulting in 287ppi, which is typical of such a device. Just because it’s Tag doesn’t mean you’ll get more resolution. However, Tag has used an AMOLED panel for rich blacks and covered it with a 2.5mm thick sapphire crystal cover for protection. 

Display-wise, we think the Apple Watch S2 looks better, with deeper blacks and more vibrancy. The Apple display also looks closer to the surface, whereas the Connected Modular 45’s deep glass – while great that it’s sapphire crystal – looks a little deeper set into the body than we’d like. While that means it maintains some of the character of a watch display, it doesn’t have that brilliance that some digital displays offer where they appear right on the surface.

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There’s plenty of brightness, as well as an ambient light sensor, but this Tag isn’t strong in bright conditions, partly because the default watch faces are rather conservative and lack contrast. Metal-looking hands rotating over a metal-looking backgrounds don’t really standout when in direct sunlight. Still, you can still read the time which is the main point – so we can’t complain too much.

Watch faces have greater prominence in Android Wear 2.0 than they did in the earlier version, easily changed on the watch with a deliberate swipe across. To help you create your own design Tag gives you a few options with the Tag Heuer Studio or interactive themes.

Studio gives you a wide range of options and is best used in conjunction with the Connected app; the interactive themes version limits your options of colours, but will let you add your own complications, such as steps, appointments or battery life for example.

Interactive themes perhaps best showcases one of Android Wear’s new features, but it doesn’t feel fully embraced by Tag: we want a dazzling blue display with those complications, not just the choice of black or white.

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Fiddle about and you can again come up with something unique and if you want more then you’ll have to reach to the Play Store for a little more. 

Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 review: Android Wear 2.0 software

• Google Assistant voice control
• NFC for Android Pay

The Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 is one of the first devices to land with Google’s new take on watch software. It’s a refreshing change, adding a range of tweaks to make things more exciting throughout. AW2.0 is more mature, it looks better and it’s easier to get to the things that matter.

One of the exciting elements is that Android Wear is now better at working without a connected phone, or rather, that it’s less dependent on the phone it’s connected to. The Tag lacks its own 4G connection as we mentioned, but once connected to Wi-Fi, you can download apps directly to the watch, rather than via the phone. Greater independence should mean a better experience for iPhone users who want to pair Apple’s device with this watch.

• Android Wear 2.0: What’s new in the major software update for watches?

Adding payment support is a popular option as you will simply have to tap to pay in supported locations, while GPS means better tracking for your activities – be that walking or other sports. You’ll need to opt for an app that supports that, of course, and unlike many others, Tag isn’t pushing a bespoke workout app on you, so select Google Fit, Strava or download something else that suits.

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Disappointingly there’s no support for one of Android Wear’s most interesting additions: rotational input. The Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 only has one button, which is used for everything from opening the apps menu to triggering Google Assistant. We can’t help feeling that more buttons, giving you another plunger to set to, say, a favourite app would have been a nice touch. 

Google Assistant, however, works with the microphone, letting you dictate various commands and requests. With Assistant getting more and more connected, you can use it to control your smart home devices, put in a navigation request or to reply to messages. It works well enough, although if there’s one software element that’s likely to fail, it seems to be Google Assistant, and we found it sometimes slow to get going.

There’s now also an on-screen keyboard so you can input text directly. It’s a little fiddly, but it works well enough if you have the patience and necessity to use it.

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Then there’s the general crossover with things like Spotify or Netflix, giving you control on your wrist. Or navigation through Google Maps – so you can glance at your watch rather than needing to look at your phone – or through Citymapper, where you can plot the route and follow it on your wrist rather than needing your phone all the time.

Overall, it’s a much better experience than Android Wear was before, but with the Tag Heuer Connected 46 also updating to Android Wear 2.0, there are only going to be a few minor differences between these two watches. That said, there’s still room to make the software slicker, but that’s on Google, not Tag. 

Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 review: Battery life

• 410mAh battery
• 24 hour life at a push
• Magnetic charging plate 

Battery life is the bane of many mobile devices, none more so than smartwatches. The Modular 45 has a 410mAh battery, charged via a magnetic contact plate that attaches to the rear (which, in turn, needs to connect to a Micro-USB power source).

The battery life isn’t substantial. It will make it through the day, but don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll get more life here than you do on other smartwatches. With minimal use you might get into a second day – but more often than not, you’ll need to charge this Tag every night.

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We’ve managed, in average use, to end the day with 30 per cent battery, but you typically then lose 15 per cent overnight while you’re not wearing it.

Should you choose to use the Connected Modular 45 for a GPS event, too, or perhaps play some Bluetooth music, then you’ll find things deplete a lot faster. That’s pretty much par for course for smartwatches – so Tag Heuer is very much in the same position as everyone else.

Verdict

The Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 is a lovely smartwatch – the best looking you can buy today.

Its focus is firmly seated in fashion, reflecting the brand’s Carrera watches with an added emphasis on personalisation. The Connected Modular 45, as its name suggests, not only offers watch face customisation, but physical customisation too – and there is a huge range of options so you can get exactly what you want… if you can afford it.

Armed with the credentials to be a wear anywhere premium smartwatch, the 45 also brings GPS and NFC to boost its digital skills, although it’s not as fully-loaded as some rival devices. That fits its lofty position, but this isn’t a smartwatch that sees a boost in battery or other technical skills: modularly and physical customisation is its forte, ticking every box on the spec sheet isn’t.

The Connected Modular 45 is an example of what Android Wear has enabled. While the new software is better, it’s still brand new and some of that is reflected in the experience of living with this watch, the most obvious being stuttery Google Assistant performance. That will get better as Google and app developers continue to refine things, so we’ll give Tag the benefit of the doubt there.

• Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 vs Tag Heuer Connected: What’s the difference?

What’s most important is that this premium smartwatch feels like a premium smartwatch. While others will ape its style and design, there’s really nothing that matches its luxury position – and the modular approach is unique. With that said, there’s a closeness to the Connected 46 in terms of design and function. That older watch is now cheaper by some £300, and although it lacks some sensors, it might be all the Tag Heuer smartwatch you need.

The alternatives to consider…

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Tag Heuer Connected 46

It might not be modular by design, but with Android Wear 2.0 incoming the differences between this and its follow-up aren’t really that significant.

Read the full review: Tag Heuer Connected review