The smartwatch isn't dead, it's just waiting for a new service pack:
Google will be launching two new flagship smartwatches in the first quarter of next year, according to Jeff Chang, product manager of Android Wear at Google. In an exclusive interview with The Verge, Chang said that the new watches will be the flagship Android Wear 2.0 devices and will be the first ones to launch with the new platform. The new smartwatches had been rumored before, but Google confirmed the upcoming launch today as part of a larger effort to convince consumers that wearables — smartwatches specifically — are still in demand.
The new models will not have Google or Pixel branding, but will be branded by the company that is manufacturing them. Chang says that Google collaborated with the manufacturer — which he wouldn't name, but said has produced Android Wear devices in the past — on the hardware design and software integration for the watches. He likened the partnership to Google's Nexus smartphone program in terms of collaboration and goals.
Quick, get in the market while Apple is bleeding! Don't forget the fitness-related branding.
More information about Android Wear operating system. In other news, Niantic has launched Pokémon Go for the Apple Watch.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday December 27 2016, @05:47PM
Does it infringe on my personal security/privacy?
Then no thanks.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday December 27 2016, @06:04PM
Somewhat more interesting in the article is the list of upgraded models
Android Wear watches that will be upgraded to Wear 2.0 next year:
The problem below:
The company says it’s committed to supporting and promoting these launches in order to help build awareness in a consumer climate that is becoming increasingly adverse to smartwatches and wearables in general.
is due to the devices being confused. Is its purpose to be big brother monitoring you, which gets boring as hell and ignored after the honeymoon phase, or is its purpose to bug the crap out of you as a secondary notification screen?
It would be nice if the watch could "do stuff" so I could leave the freaking gigantic phablet phone in my binder or cargo pocket rather than having to fish out a brick to accomplish menial tasks. I can accomplish some tasks like see and perhaps ignore incoming calls, or respond to a message with a thumbs up or ignore it. I can see incoming emails when they arrive and either look or ignore.
We have left the era of social where the dominant activity is socializing and entered the area of annoyance or phrased more nicely, the era of notification. The future being unevenly distributed some folks don't "get" the watch yet.
Meanwhile clueless corporations think the gamification of health works so I got my watch because of a work provided wellness coupon because I'm supposed to give a flying F about the weekly step counter emails. I would imagine the impact on 99.9% of the population of nagmail is approximately zero, much like traditional email spam response rate. Likewise as long as watch mfgrs can get corporate "health and wellness bullshit cash" we're going to have to sit thru ridiculous retcon explanations about the incredible value of step counters.
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Tuesday December 27 2016, @07:25PM
I have a first release Moto360 that I got a while after they first came out. It's definitely primarily used for very quick access to notifications, including reading emails, but I also use it a lot for controlling my music, seeing what song is playing, quick access to Google Authenticator, appointments, countdown timer, etc. The Pebble I had before was almost as good, and better in some ways. For me, if it's less than $200, it's value ratio works for me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @03:07AM
My sister got her a health app on her phone that tracks 'steps per day' based on cellphone movement. Only my mom doesn't carry her phone around most of the day so the numbers are always quite low.
She was joking the other day that since she always places 'dead last' in her health group stats, that she is just going to hang the phone off our dog's harness and send the dog out in the yard to play so she'll have 'first place' on the statistics next time.
I personally don't see any of these techniques working well as non-dedicated fitness monitors (outside of only enabling them during intentional fitness, since lots of false positives are possible during normal daily movement.)
But then I'm not the sort of person lazy enough to require an app to keep track of my fitness (or lack thereof.)