Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Sony now says ‘door not closed’ to Android Wear

By
Sony SmartWatch 2 front right
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In spite of HTC neglecting to mention anything about a supporting device for Android Wear during its HTC One M8 launch, today remains a strong news day for wearable tech.  

In an interview with CNET, Ravi Nookala, the head of Sony Mobile’s U.S. arm, said that his company is shunning Android Wear, and will instead use their own Android-based Smartwatch platform.

Recommended Videos

“We’ve already invested time and resources on this platform, and we will continue in that direction,” Nookala said.

Android Wear is a modified version of the Android OS for watches and wearable devices. Since such devices have small screens, it relies heavily on Google Now voice recognition. 

So far, HTC, LG, Asus, and Motorola have signed on to make Android Wear hardware. There are already a number of Android Wear products in the pipeline. LG is up first with the G Watch. The company tweeted a photo of the smartwatch on Monday. (No word yet on the specs.) LG’s idea of a timeline for release is a tweet that said “Coming Soon!” 

Meanwhile, Motorola also recently released details for its Moto 360 smartwatch. It can be controlled through gestures and is probably the only smartwatch to date that can go with an Armani suit.   

Sony’s Smartwatch platform will have its own set of applications. Nookala said that the Lifelog app, which accompanies the Smartband activity tracker, will be a part of future product releases.

Updated on 3-26-2014 by Jeffrey Van Camp: In a tweet, Sony has clarified its stance on Android Wear. It’s not using it yet, but it might in the future.

It looks like the success of Sony’s proprietary products may determine whether it adopts Android.

Article originally published on 3-25-2014.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Christian Brazil Bautista
Christian Brazil Bautista
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Christian Brazil Bautista is an experienced journalist who has been writing about technology and music for the past decade…
The best Wear OS apps for your Google-powered smartwatch
Looking at a smartwatch using the Wear OS.

Some of the best smartwatches run Wear OS , and there are loads of apps that add all sorts of handy capabilities. A great Wear OS app does more than just send notifications to your wrist -- they entertain, track your fitness and health, help you to stay organized, and can indirectly save your phone's battery life, as you're checking your wrist rather than your phone's display.

With all of that in mind, here are our picks of the best Wear OS apps. Most of these apps still rely on a partner app on your smartphone, but a few offer stand-alone functionality. Either way, they're all must-haves for your Wear OS smartwatch.

Read more
Google is finally bringing YouTube Music to older Wear OS watches
youtube launches music feat

Google earlier this year brought the YouTube Music app to Samsung's new Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic watches which both run Wear OS 3. It is now doing the same to older Wear OS watches running Wear OS 2. Not all watches will get it at immediately, though. The company will deliver it first to a select few Android smartwatches, before then rolling it out to more devices "later this year" via the Google Play Store.

The initial app rollout will come sometime this week, and it'll hit the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch (Michael Kors Access 6 version included), the Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, the TicWatch Pro 3 Cellular/LTE, and the TicWatch E3. While Google doesn't exactly say it, these watches are all more powerful Snapdragon Wear 4100 watches. It's possible the company still needs more time to optimize the app for older Wear OS watches which typically have much weaker hardware.

Read more
Disappointingly, Wear OS 3 won’t be saving Android smartwatches for a while yet
Galaxy Watch 4 Classic on the wrist.

It all started out so well. Google working with Samsung and Fitbit on an updated version of Wear OS that would be faster, provide longer battery life, and enable more apps was exactly what we wanted -- an injection of effort, investment, and excitement into a piece of software that had stagnated for too long.

“It’s not just for Google and Samsung,” said Google’s Sameer Samat about Wear OS 3 at Google I/O 2021, putting our minds at rest, “it’ll continue to be available for all.” Excellent news, but what he actually should have said is, "available for all, eventually," because the software we hoped would be the Android smartwatch’s savior in 2021, won’t really be doing much saving for a while yet.
What’s the problem?
Wear OS 3 is available on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, and that’s the way it looks set to stay until the second half of next year. There’s an argument to be made that it’s right for Samsung to benefit from the software platform it co-developed first, but that’s not the impression Google gave, and not really the idea behind any of Google’s software generally. Android has always been for everyone, while Wear OS 3 isn’t just yet.

Read more