Google Confirms It Will Launch Two Android Wear Smartwatches In Early Next Year

We all know that smartwatches and wearables market is going through difficult times. But, recently Google announced that it will launch two new smartwatches as early as on 2017.They'll both be running Android 2.0

The smartwatches and wearables market is going through difficult times. After a great interest at the moment they reached the market, they are less and less present, and only a few can thrive.


Google's wearable platform has been in very obvious trouble in the last several months. Several former big players in Android Wear have dropped out, and the v2.0 update to the platform has been delayed by multiple months. Google is still planning to release Wear 2.0 in early 2017, and now the company has confirmed that it will launch two smartwatches with the new software very soon.

In an interview with The Verge, Android Wear product manager Jeff Chang said the new watches would not have Google or Pixel branding, despite previous rumours of a Pixel smartwatch. Instead Google will be partnering with another manufacturer, but wouldn't confirm which.

Earlier this year Google released its first flagship smartphone, but that too was built in partnership with HTC. While we'd also love to see HTC partner up for the watch, Chang confirmed Google was working with a company that had made Android Wear devices before, and that it would be akin to the Nexus partnerships of the past, meaning we'll likely see its branding on the watches.

These two new devices will be the first to have access to the second version of Android Wear and will also debut some of the new features. The most relevant are the possibility of making payments directly from the smartwatch through NFC, as several other brands already do.

Both smartwatches are of the round-faced variety although, praise be, there's word that they won't have the annoying flat tyre that blights the Moto 360 range and the Fossil Q Founder.

After this release, Android Wear 2.0 will be released for the remaining models that are already on the market. Of course, not everyone will receive this version, leaving the older ones out.Google is currently on the final developer preview for Wear 2.0 and is expected to finalize the software in the coming weeks. With these new watches launching alongside the software, that could mean an announcement is right around the corner.

With the tech giant Apple and Samsung playing a strong role in the smartwatches business, Google has the role of empowering its operating system and its features.