Google's Wear OS 3 Update Plans Will Leave Most Existing Devices Behind (arstechnica.com) 15
In a post titled "What Wear OS 3 means for you," Google provides a few more details about its upcoming Wear OS update plans, which will be the first major Wear OS update since Wear OS 2 in 2018. Unfortunately, as Ars Technica points out, the list of devices receiving the new update are limited to some of Mobvoi's TicWatch devices and Fossil Group's new generation of devices launching later this year. Older Wear OS devices featuring the Wear 3100 SoC, which makes up almost all the current Wear OS devices, will not support the new update. From the report: We still have next to no information about Wear OS 3, but there are a few tidbits in the upgrade announcement indicating that things will be very different. One line in the announcement lays out the requirement for a mandatory factory reset for any Wear 4100 devices upgrading from Wear OS 2 to version 3. Wear OS 3 is apparently so different that user data can't be ported over, and all local data will need to be wiped. We've certainly heard Google and Samsung talk about how Wear OS 3 will combine the "best of Wear OS and Tizen," indicating that even the base OS might be rebuilt.
Google also vaguely tells 4100 upgraders that "in some limited cases, the user experience will also be impacted." Is this a reference to the 4100 performance or the app selection and features compared to Wear OS 2? It's hard to say. Because Wear OS 3 will be so different, Google says it won't force the upgrade on 4100 users: "We expect that for these reasons, some of you will prefer to keep your current Wear OS experience. Therefore, we will offer the system upgrade on an opt-in basis for eligible devices. We will provide more details in advance of the update so you can make an informed decision. We expect our partners to be able to roll out the system update starting in mid to second half of 2022."
The Samsung Watch with Wear OS 3 is expected to ship sometime in August 2021, so the partner time of "2H 2022" -- potentially a year after Samsung's release -- is surprisingly late. Android has typically been very good at letting partners get early access to code, so (at least the ones that care) can be ready for launch, but this suggests Samsung is getting a huge head start. Google's message that upcoming Fossil watches, launching later this year, will be "eligible for upgrade" to Wear OS 3 also suggests that we might see Wear OS 2 devices launch from other companies after Samsung launches Wear OS 3 next month.
Google also vaguely tells 4100 upgraders that "in some limited cases, the user experience will also be impacted." Is this a reference to the 4100 performance or the app selection and features compared to Wear OS 2? It's hard to say. Because Wear OS 3 will be so different, Google says it won't force the upgrade on 4100 users: "We expect that for these reasons, some of you will prefer to keep your current Wear OS experience. Therefore, we will offer the system upgrade on an opt-in basis for eligible devices. We will provide more details in advance of the update so you can make an informed decision. We expect our partners to be able to roll out the system update starting in mid to second half of 2022."
The Samsung Watch with Wear OS 3 is expected to ship sometime in August 2021, so the partner time of "2H 2022" -- potentially a year after Samsung's release -- is surprisingly late. Android has typically been very good at letting partners get early access to code, so (at least the ones that care) can be ready for launch, but this suggests Samsung is getting a huge head start. Google's message that upcoming Fossil watches, launching later this year, will be "eligible for upgrade" to Wear OS 3 also suggests that we might see Wear OS 2 devices launch from other companies after Samsung launches Wear OS 3 next month.
Asteroid OS (Score:3)
https://asteroidos.org/ [asteroidos.org]
Is the smartwatch market viable outside of apple? (Score:2)
If the Combo Samsung+Google proves that the market is there, and Qualcomm still lags on the chip side, I gues that companies like mediaTek or Rockchip can step up to the plate and make a chip for that market.
After are all, a smartwatch chip does not need the fastest processos or the most powerfull graphics. What it needs is a low power processor and graphics that supports the latests ISA and API calls, and being fabbed in the smallest process node available...
Re: Is the smartwatch market viable outside of app (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It is interesting that different people want different things from smart watches.
I have ZERO interest in health applications. I don't want a heart rate sensor or step sensor or whatever. I just want effective notifications and search ability with an always-on screen. Google updated my Moto 360 and ruined it because they essentially removed searching and search results.
I later ended up with a Samsung Gear S3 classic, and it has no search capability either. Looks really nice, though. Recently, it stopped
FitBit seems to manage... (Score:1)
Is the smartwatch market viable outside of apple?
I would say that it is probably only for much more specialized devices that may just be on the edge of what a smart watch is, like a FtiBit...
Apple's usually slow but steady yearly grind of improvements has made other models with much less frequent advancement seem really far behind - this latest move is an attempt by Google to catch up to where the Apple Watch has ended up, maybe even surpassing in some areas?
So the answer to there being a viable SmartWatch
Re: (Score:2)
>"Is the smartwatch market viable outside of apple?"
Apple was late to the game to start. They have made a lot of progress, though. To the point that all non-Apple watches now seem very dated and behind. However, two huge factors are:
1) Apple watches only work with Apple phones. The majority of phones sold are not Apple.
2) Many people, including me, hate "square" watches. This is probably also why most WearOS and all Samsung watches are and have been round.
So the answer is "yes." The combined compet
Re: (Score:2)
Apple is normally late to the game in everything they do. They like to see how a market evolves first and see where they could fit in. They're rarely first with a technology, and usually by the time they come in, it's fairly mature. However, what Apple does like to do is figure out what the pain points are in a technology and fix it, which is why their product
In the land of truly smart people (Score:2)
Enough To Abandon The Platform (Score:2)
As someone who literally just bought a watch a couple of months ago; the news that I will be left behind in a massive upgrade is enough to make me say screw the platform. It is already basically entirely useless...but to find out my device will be completely obsolete is enough to make me question why the fuck I bought in to the platform in the first place...and that makes me not want to buy in to it. I think the number of pissed off users is going to be the downfall.
Re: (Score:2)
This is the life cycle for all Google products that don't directly affect their bottom line, namely search and stuff associated with it like Chrome.