Android Wear sporting ASUS ZenWatch drops to $129 in the Play Store
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The Android Wear sporting smartwatch portfolio is pretty hefty. The Motorola Moto 360
The watch had a retail price tag of $199.99, which was slightly less than the round variant of the Moto 360 unless it happened to be on sale. Currently the watch is listed for $129.99, $70 off. There is no indication that it is permanent or sale price drop. If it is permanent, then it is likely the ZenWatch 2 could be finally making its way into the store soon. Either way, if the ASUS ZenWatch was on your list of things to pick up, now is looking like a pretty good time to do it.
Head to the Google Store and get your ASUS ZenWatch order in before things change.
The post Android Wear sporting ASUS ZenWatch drops to $129 in the Play Store appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Swatch will launch its first smartwatch later this summer
As smartwatches are finally beginning to make their way to the mainstream, we’re seeing a steady rise in the number of manufacturers jumping on board the wearable train. But so far, since the launch of Android Wear, we’ve really only seen technology-focused companies produce wearables. Obvious contenders like Motorola, LG and Samsung were quick to get their first smartwatches onto consumers’ wrists, but that’s definitely not the case for actual watchmakers.
Smartwatches in video
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TAG Heuer recently announced that its first Android Wear-powered device would be the Carrera Wearable 01, though it looks like that’s not going to be the only Swiss-made connected wearable on the market in the next few months. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Swiss watchmaker Swatch plans to release its first Internet-connected watch sometime this summer.
Now, this “smartwatch” might not be anything close to what you’re thinking. The watch will come with NFC on board, mainly to be used for mobile payments and hotel room access. The report didn’t mention anything about an OS, so we’re not sure if this new device will come with Android Wear or any in-house built operating system from the watchmaker. The report states that the watch won’t require daily recharging thanks to NFC’s low power consumption, but details beyond that are scarce at the moment.
The Swatch NFC watch will launch in the U.S., China and Switzerland in H2 2015
Swatch CEO Nick Hayek said earlier today that the “Swatch NFC watch” will be announced later this summer and will go on sale in the U.S., China and Switzerland sometime in H2 2015. Hayek also says that this product is in response to the Apple Watch and similar devices from manufacturers like Samsung. The report didn’t shed any light on cross-platform compatibility, but since the Swatch watch was built in response to Apple’s and Samsung’s offerings, this new wearable will likely be compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
As of now, details are scarce. We know the watch will be unveiled sometime this summer and will have NFC on board, but that’s about it. As more details trickle in over the next few weeks, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Motorola hosting event on July 28th, expect it to be filled with new hardware
Motorola just announced they will be hosting an event on July 28th and we can infer that this is when the company will unveil its latest round of hardware. The unveiling will take place in three major cities simultaneously – London, São Paulo, and New York City.
The tagline for the event states “Yes, We’re in a relationship with our phone” and “A better mobile relationship is on its way.” According to recent leaks, we should see the new Moto X flagship and the more affordable Moto G. The company may also release some new low-end handsets and possibly the new Moto 360 smartwatch. Unfortunately, we haven’t heard many rumors about the latter, so Motorola could be waiting even longer to show the world its next smartwatch.
What are you most excited about?
Source: Motorola
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Ingress gets Android Wear support
Niantic Labs, part of the Google collective, has released an update for their popular Ingress augmented reality game. Whether playing for the Resistance or for the Enlightened, users will finally be able to hack portals using their Android Wear smartwatch.
Support for smartwatches makes sense since one of the concepts of the Ingress title was to get gamers out from behind their computers and out into the real world. Moving around to portals also introduces some health and exercise facets to the experience. Even with this construct, users still had to use their smartphones to participate. The move to support Android Wear will hopefully keep players more “in” the real world instead of the screens on their devices.
Niantic Labs first announced Android Wear support was coming to Ingress earlier this year, although the release has been delayed since the expected March release. If you want to give Ingress a try, including the Android Wear support if you have a smartwatch running Wear, hit the download link below.
Come comment on this article: Ingress gets Android Wear support
Ingress update adds Android Wear support!
Google has been promising Android Wear support for the Ingress social game since February, when they suggested the update would come sometime in March. Said month (as well as a few following it) has come and gone with no results. Don’t lose hope just yet, though – Google is finally ready to update Ingress and Android Wear support is a go!
With Ingress version 1.81, you can now play Android without looking like a weird man staring at his phone while walking around those portals. As it goes with any Android Wear application, the game will continue running on your smartphone, but you will get access to certain actions and notifications on your smart watch.
For example, the Android Wear system can now notify you when there are portals within range, or when they are under attack. Google provided us with a nice graphic showing us what the interface would look like in that tiny screen. Thankfully, we won’t have to rely on graphics soon, as we will be able to experience this first-hand. Regardless, the concept looks simple and very helpful for Ingress players.
For those who need a rundown of what Ingress is, this app uses augmented reality to use your surroundings as the in-game environment. There are two sides; you can choose to join either the “enlightened” or the “resistance”. The goal would be to take over as many portals and areas as possible, which can be hard when the opposing team is trying to do the same. Yep… it’s an endless game!
The Ingress update to firmware 1.81 should be rolling out periodically, as always. Has your update shown up? Mine hasn’t, so let us know how well Ingress works on your Android Wear smart watch, if you have access to it.
Huawei Watch lands at FCC ahead of launch
One of my personal highlights of Mobile World Congress in February was Huawei’s first Android Wear smartwatch, the Huawei Watch, which was announced as a last minute decision at the event. We’ve already heard that it wasn’t likely to be released until September or October but the Huawei Watch paid a trip to the FCC this past weekend, which suggests the smartwatch may finally be ready for release.
In its FCC filing, Huawei isn’t even attempting to hide which product has been certified and the Huawei Watch has FCC ID QISMERCURY and hardware version EB1MERCURYM. I guess it’s safe to say that the Huawei Watch used the codename “MERCURY” at some point.
The FCC listing also confirms the specs of the Huawei Watch, which haven’t changed since it was announced in March. The front has a 1.4inch AMOLED display with 400 x 400 pixels resolution (and 286 pixels per inch density) that is protected by a sapphire crystal display; the protection makes it one of the few smartwatches in the world to use sapphire crystal, which is almost impossible to scratch.
Other than the impressive display, the rest of the specs are very similar to other Android Wear devices as a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage and 300 mAh battery have all been used in other devices. The display sets the Huawei Watch apart from the competition and with a 42mm diameter (and 11.3mm thickness), it’s certainly impressive and stylish to boot.
Like other devices, the Huawei Watch comes with an array of sensors and connectivity options – including a Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Heart Rate Monitor and Bluetooth 4.1 – and will be available in two flavours, one with a leather strap and the other with a stainless steel strap.
Top Picks of 2015:
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The FCC filing doesn’t reveal any more details about a release date for the Huawei Watch but its likely that we’re just a few short weeks away from a launch – although a launch in China could still be delayed until 2016 – and Huawei may release it to market at its planned IFA 2015 press conference. What do you think about the Huawei Watch? Let us know your views in the comments below guys!
The next Android Wear update brings interactive watch faces, watch to watch messaging and more
The Android Wear platform has been around for over a year now, and although it has come a long way since launching with the LG G Watch and Moto 360, we are looking forward to seeing it evolve even more. The next Android Wear update was originally scheduled to be released on July 28th, but this has now been postponed to an unspecified date in August. This doesn’t mean that we have to wait to find out about some of the alleged new features though.
Thanks to the information provided to Phandroid, we are able to see that the next Android Wear update will include the ability to tap the watch display once to change aesthetics, launch activities, inline expansion and more. While there’s already third-party watch faces that offer the tap once gesture, it’s a feature that has to be hacked in by the developer, which often leads to system issues. Below are some examples of what a single tap can do, with the first example showing how the user could cycle through a list of options, i.e. different watch faces.
A single tap could also bring up more information from a watch face, the weather, for example, as seen below.
Or, the single tap could bring up your fitness information, which could prove handy if you are at the gym.
Finally, the single tap could be used to open a new app, which would then slide in from the right of the display. It’s said that Google has informed Android Wear developers of the new features so that they can update their apps accordingly when the update is released. If Google hasn’t been in touch, you shouldn’t have to wait too long to get access to the new API.
Together is a new feature that gives the ability for Android Wear users to send messages, emoji’s, stickers and doodles to other Android Wear users, as seen mentioned in the strings of code below:
“Stay together by sending messages directly to your friend’s watch face”
<string name=”wc_doodle_message_received”>%1$s sent you a doodle with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_photo_message_received”>%1$s sent you a photo with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_sticker_message_received”>%1$s sent you a sticker with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_message_received”>%1$s sent you a message with %2$s</string>
At present, it isn’t known whether the Together function will be launched as a system app or limited to just the one watch face. If it was indeed limited in use to the one watch face, it wouldn’t be very useful at all. It should be said that the information given to Phandroid wasn’t up to date, which means it may well have just been the starting point.
Finally, if you’re rocking an LG G Watch R, you’ve probably been waiting patiently for its WiFi capability to be activated, as promised by LG. This next Android Wear update appears to be the one you’ve been waiting for, now its just a matter of time until the update is released.
Are you excited about this upcoming Android Wear update? Let us know what features you would like to see included in the comments below.
The next Android Wear update brings interactive watch faces, watch to watch messaging and more
Source: Phandroid
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Android Wear reportedly getting watch-to-watch sharing features
Google is launching brand new watch-to-watch communication features for Android Wear that are not unlike those on Apple’s Watch, according to Phandroid. Users will reportedly be able to send each other doodles, photos, stickers, messages and more using a feature called “Together.” That’s pretty similar to the Apple Watch’s Digital Touch, which allows users to relay tap patterns, drawings and even heartbeats to each other. Oddly, Android Wear users who want to share items may need to use the same the same watchface, as the feature isn’t system-wide. However, Phandroid admitted that its information on that aspect “is quite old.”
The update will also supposedly bring new interactive watch faces and change the functionality associated with a single-tap. Right now, when you tap once, it opens a launch menu for various apps, settings, etc. With the new update, however, tapping on the new interactive watchfaces will cause them to cycle through different states like time, weather, and sports training info. It can also be used to open new activities, which would slide in from the right side of the watch face.
Finally, there’s good news for G Watch R owners, as the smartwatch will finally have WiFi functionality. LG’s device was left out when that feature arrived with Android 5.1.1, but will get it via an over-the-air update soon. As for the other features, Google has reportedly given developers the latest SDK, and the update is set to roll out next month. Treat all of this with some skepticism, however, as Phandroid admitted that some of its information was old and the rumored functions may not make into the final update.
Filed under: Wearables, Google
Source: Phandroid
Android Wear could soon offer watch to watch communications
The next big version of Android Wear looks set to bring a couple of new features that have been present on the Apple Watch, if a new report is to be believed. According to information obtained by Phandroid, the next version of Android Wear will have a collection of cool, new features and was originally due for launch on July 28th but looks to be delayed until August.
The first of the new features is interactive watch faces, which will bring a new single tap gesture to Android Wear. Currently, developers are using a hacked method to offer watch faces that support the single tap gesture but this can lead to conflicts with the system.
The introduction of interactive watch faces means Google will officially support the single tap gesture but will also result in a change in the way you activate the launcher on Android Wear. Since the Android 5.1.1 update, the launcher on Android Wear can be activated by swiping from right to left and once Google brings out the next Android Wear update, this will be the only way to open the launcher.
Android Wear in video:
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In Google’s documentation, the company details four example cases of when you might want to use the single tap gesture. The gesture can be used for everything from making aesthetic changes to the watch face and state changes to revealing more information and even launching an activity. Google is actively working on the update and should be launching an API for the new interactive watch faces in the coming weeks.
The next version of Android Wear is also expected to bring another big new feature; cross-device communication. Users of the Apple Watch are able to send heartbeats and doodles to each other and it seems that Google wants to get into the action. From the next version of Android Wear, a new communication method called Together will let Android Wear users send each other messages, sticks, emojis and doodles but this seems to be limited to just one watch face at the moment.
The string below reveals more about Together:
“Stay together by sending messages directly to your friend’s watch face”
<string name=”wc_doodle_message_received”>%1$s sent you a doodle with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_photo_message_received”>%1$s sent you a photo with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_emoji_message_received”>%1$s sent you an emoji with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_sticker_message_received”>%1$s sent you a sticker with %2$s</string>
<string name=”wc_message_received”>%1$s sent you a message with %2$s</string>
If Google does limit the Together feature to just a single watch face (and doesn’t make it system-wide like on the Apple Watch), this will be unintuitive for users, as you’re likely to need the watch face enabled to send or receive messages. However, Google’s rapid development cycle means there’s no guarantee that Together will make it to Production and if it does, how it will be implemented.
There’s also good news for LG G Watch R users – like myself – as the update will also enable Wi-Fi on the watch. Like many users, I was quite disappointed to see that WiFi was left out of the 5.1.1 update on the G Watch R but it looks like LG will finally roll out the feature in the next version.
With the Apple Watch offering a credible alternative to Android Wear, the next version of Google’s wearable platform could be the most crucial in its development cycle yet. Features such as the single tap gesture and Together will offer additional features to improve the appeal of Android Wear but it remains to be seen whether this is enough to combat the impressive adoption of the Apple Watch.
[Deal] Woot selling ‘factory reconditioned’ LG G Watch for $69
Nervous about getting into Android Wear? That’s understandable with any platform that you’ve never invested in or tried. Now, though, is seemingly the time to get into Google’s wearable platform as one retailer has a launch device for less than $100.
On Woot, the LG G Watch is available for $69. While this is not for a brand new model, it is ‘factory reconditioned’ and Woot notes that this means the device is as close to being new as possible. Woot also offers a one-year protection plan for an additional $11.
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Woot selling ‘factory reconditioned’ LG G Watch for $69
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