After a long stretch of slim pickings, the last couple of years have been . Now there are more good options than ever. But this is still a transitional era.
While we’re encouraged by the stronger third-party app options, the market is still fragmented. is here for Samsung’s Galaxy Watches and both versions of the Pixel Watch and now, the . However, the larger ecosystem is still catching up.
Some features, like Google Assistant, are not yet available on certain Wear OS 3 smartwatches, and Wear OS 4 still isn’t widely available. Even so, the Android wearable ecosystem is barreling ahead. Later this month, we’re expecting to see Samsung’s latest and greatest at its annual Unpacked event.
Rumor has it that on top of a refreshed Galaxy Watch 7, Samsung also has a beefier, sports-focused . Android smartwatches have long been foiled by outdated processors. Is the chip under the hood powerful enough to run Wear OS / proprietary RTOS smoothly? Does a watch work better within one company’s product ecosystem versus another? Will you have to buy a new watch if you switch phones? These days, most wearables are capable fitness trackers.
However, they’re not all capable of controlling your smart home, contactless payments, or interacting with digital assistants. Is this device likely to last you a while, or will you need to upgrade sooner than you’d like? How communicative is the OEM about forthcoming changes? Can you get through the day without reaching for a charger? If no.
