If you think smartwatches is yesterday’s thing, then think again. The search giant is planning to release its Android Wear 2.0 platform for smartwatches in 2017. If a Twitter post from renowned tipster is to be believed, Google’s Android Wear 2.0 will be unveiled on February 9. Evan Blass aka @evleaks posted on Twitter “Mark your calendar: Android Wear 2.0 launches on February 9th.” The Watch Sport and Watch Style by Google and LG are expected to be the first devices to come with this new platform.
According to a report on VentureBeat, Google has some serious strategies to heighten the Android Wear 2.0 as Blass said that the two watches will be available in retail stores right from the next day in the US market, whereas it will be introduced to the international markets over the coming months.
Google is long-rumoured to be working on its own exclusive smartwatches. The company was first reported for its own smartwatch development in July last year. Jeff Chang who is the Product Manager of Android Wear had confirmed in an interaction with the Verge that the company will launch new smartwatches in the first quarter of 2017. He added that the smartwatches will run on Android Wear 2.0.
Google previously confirmed that some existing smartwatches will also get an upgrade to the Android Wear 2.0 platform. The smartwatches which are eligible for Android Wear 2.0 upgrade are as follows:
Moto 360 Gen 2, Moto 360 Sport, Nixon Mission, Casio Smart Outdoor Watch, Fossil Q, Fossil Q Marshal, Fossil Q Founder, , Huawei Watch, Huawei Watch Ladies LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE, LG Watch Urbane, LG G Watch R, Tag Heuer Connected, Polar M600, Asus ZenWatch 2, and Asus ZenWatch 3.
If Google launches its own smartwatches, then it won’t be that surprising as the tech giant has already released smartphones in its new Pixel line-up. However, it will be interesting to see if Google launches the smartwatches with Google-only branding or not.
