Android Wear: the age of Google smartwatches begins – The Verge

Android Wear’s biggest update ever takes aim at the Apple Watch

2015-04-20T10:00:02-04:00

Android Wear is getting a new update today that's easily its biggest yet. Google's introducing several new features that change how we use our watches, from Wi-Fi support to hand gestures and hand-drawn emoji. Individually, these changes are small, but collectively, they promise to make even year-old hardware seem new. They also ensure that Android Wear keeps up (and in some cases surpasses) the Apple Watch from a pure features perspective. That could become important down the line should Google's plans to release Android Wear for the iPhone come to fruition.

Probably the most fun part of the update is the new support for drawing emoji char …

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Android Wear can now help you find your lost phone

2015-03-19T20:22:04-04:00

Running around the house trying to find your phone is basically a thing of the past, at least if you have some battery life left. The same tools from Apple, Google, and Microsoft designed to curb theft can also make your phone ring, even if it's silenced. The only rub is having to make your way to a computer, or using someone else's phone to do it. Google's taken that extra step out of the equation as long as you have an Android Wear device. A new update introduced to Google's Android Device Manager app lets you say "Ok, Google. Start. Find my phone," into your Android Wear device and your Android phone will start ringing at full volume. You …

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These are the new faces of Android Wear

2014-12-17T10:05:02-05:00

Google has opened a section to the Play Store dedicated to serving new watch faces for Android Wear smartwatches. Until this new debut, which accompanies a significant software update for the Android Wear watches themselves, the only choices available were the standard ones preloaded by Google, a few extras provided by manufacturers like LG, and a few from grassroots fans who made their own. Now Google has an official development kit for new faces and a whole bunch of options already populating the store. You'll find some of the standouts below, in both their active and passive modes, and you can peruse the full collection of novelties in ou …

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Netflix now supports Android Wear, but it’s not the remote control you’re hoping for

2014-12-16T07:12:13-05:00

One of the cooler things you can do with an Android Wear smartwatch is remotely control media-playing apps on your connected Android device. SoundCloud is a great example of this, using the watch to display the cover art of what you're listening to and some basic volume and playback controls. Netflix's latest Android update sounds like it would do the same, with the company promising to let you "play" videos using the watch, but it's actually much narrower in functionality.

Netflix is adding the social recommendation features that were first introduced in September to Android now, and it's extending them to Android Wear watches. That means y …

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Google brings custom Android Wear watch faces to the Play Store

2014-12-10T13:00:02-05:00

The Android dress code, says Google, is to simply wear what you want.

In the spirit of promoting endless customization and personalization, Google is today rolling out a big update to Android Wear that sees dozens of new watch faces added to the original set plus a whole new section to the Play Store dedicated to hosting watch faces. Designs from the likes of Rebecca Minkoff and Hugh Turvey mingle with ones featuring Pac-Man and Plants vs. Zombies. An official Watch Face API is also being released to allow others to develop their own Android Wear faces, and Google anticipates an explosion in the variety of available looks and styles you can …

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LG G Watch R review

2014-11-04T08:41:36-05:00

Watches are functionally boring. Their primary task of displaying the time has been figured out for centuries, which is why modern wristwatches are celebrated for their complications, the extra things they can do beyond mere timekeeping. No complication has been more fundamental or profound than the present rise of the smartwatch, as embodied primarily by Google's Android Wear. So long as there's a smartphone nearby, an Android Wear watch will receive notifications, control music, take notes, count its wearer's steps, and generally be much more useful than the typical wrist-worn timepiece.

In the space of a few months, Android Wear watch de …

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Between Google and Apple, the smartwatch wars are over before they’ve even begun

2014-09-10T11:50:06-04:00

We're stood at the foothills of a very large and formidable mountain that has the perfect smartwatch at its peak. It's still very early, not everyone's sure of their footing or the right course to take, but we are all instinctively drawn toward that pinnacle. The thing is, even with all the months and maybe years standing between humanity and its ideal wrist gadget, the winners of the race are already known. Google and Apple won.

Attempts at standalone smartwatches seem to resurface every few years. There was Microsoft's SPOT, the LG GD910 Watch Phone, and the Meta Watch - to name just three in the past decade - and none of them ever amount …

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This is the LG G Watch R

2014-09-04T10:00:19-04:00

Work on the G Watch R, says LG, began more than two years ago. This fully circular smartwatch may be running Android Wear and competing against the likes of the Moto 360 and Asus ZenWatch, but LG argues that it's the product of a long-term project rather than a kneejerk reaction. The 1.3-inch OLED screen on the G Watch is the first mass-produced round display of its kind, which is indeed the sort of innovation that takes years of planning to complete. LG has committed just as much time on the design, which has been inspired by the forms and styles of luxury cars, classical watches, and other jewelry. Set to launch in October, the G Watch R m …

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Sony joins the Android Wear ranks with underwhelming SmartWatch 3

2014-09-03T10:45:02-04:00

In March, Sony said it'd stick to its own smartwatch software in lieu of joining the Android Wear party with the likes of LG, Motorola, and Samsung. Today, Sony's completely reversing that stance with the introduction of SmartWatch 3, its fifth-generation smartwatch, which has completely embraced Google's Android Wear platform. Sony intends to add a Walkman app for music playback via a Bluetooth headset along with a remote control app for stuff you're playing on another device. Don't look for much more to distinguish this device on the software front.

Check out all of Sony's new devices

In terms of design, the SmartWatch 3 leans toward a s …

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Asus adds Zen to the Android Wear smartwatch

2014-09-03T07:52:40-04:00

Promises, promises. Asus went into this year's IFA show in Berlin with the immodest pledge of revealing the best looking Android Wear smartwatch to date. Featuring a curved 2.5D design on the front and a stainless cover on the back, its newly announced ZenWatch emphasizes style above all else. Its price also isn't bad, coming in at 199 euros, and it has a set of high-quality internal components, too - including a 1.6-inch AMOLED display, 4GB of storage and 512MB of RAM, and the same Qualcomm processor as inside the first Android Wear watches. But Asus wants to wow you with its looks, not specs.

A tan leather strap connects an Asus-branded b …

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