Google Launches First Android Wear Devices, Featuring Always-On Displays and Card-Based Interface

[bigchrisfgb]

I've just went to watch their i/o event. Within the first few minutes they were saying how many selfies are taken, how many times a phone is checked.
I had to stop watching, either that information is a joke or if it isn't then that's me never going to Google. You don't need that level of information from me. Things like average doesn't in an App Store etc I get, but you don't need to know things like how many times I unlock my phone. Such an invasion of privacy.

 

[Ryth]

You do realize that under contract, iPhones for the most part cost the same as nost Android phones right (HTC One literally costs the same as the 5s)? But I mean, keep on keepin on with that tired comparison.

Sorry they don't.

My friend just got the S5 for free with a renewal on his contract. He wanted the iPhone 5S but it would cost him $200 on AT&T. He got the 4S for his wife for free also. He bought the 5s for his daughter for $200.

But hey, I mean keep on keepin with that wrong information.

 

[Armen]

There was, until Apple decided to implement all of them in iOS.

With iOS 8 Apple has pretty much leveled the playing field with Android OS. Sure, on Android you can still choose default apps and such but that particuliar feature isn't important enough for people to flock to Android.

Now with a larger screen iPhone coming that is yet another reason for people to stay with Apple.

What exactly makes iOS obsolete now?

 

[billystlyes]

Google adds the cool little features and stuff like Apple use to back in the day. Oh how I wish that Steve had been blessed with better health...


I mean, Tim is a loser bean counter. It's all about Xs and Os and money. There is no real innovation at Apple anymore. Christ they are still stuck on 4" phones for how many years now? Come on guys, stop cheerleading and start demanding more! The competition caught and passed us three years ago.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Sorry they don't.

My friend just got the S5 for free with a renewal on his contract. He wanted the iPhone 5S but it would cost him $200 on AT&T. He got the 4S for his wife for free also. He bought the 5s for his daughter for $200.

But hey, I mean keep on keepin with that wrong information.

They do, just that in a lot of countries the carrier refuses to subsidise the iPhone as well as Android devices because they know people will pay for the iPhone.

Here in the UK it's pretty much the same price plans for all the latest versions of Android devices and iPhones, unlocked they cost around about the same as well.

 

[Quu]

Comparing iOS 7 to Android L and conveniently sidestepping the Android 4.3-4.4 stall-releases is it?

Also running web apps on a browser...ok. I fail to see how that is 5 steps forwards. iCloud.com currently runs 9 iOS apps. Besides Apple to Oranges comparison again here. One is a full desktop OS company and the other isn't.

The last point is relatively moot. IOS does Car and TV (Apple TV runs iOS in case you didn't know) and Watch is apparently not far away.

When Apple iterates its catching up, and lack of innovation, and Steve Jobs wouldn't haves, when Google iterates (unless they announced something revolutionary today which i'm unaware of) its 6 steps forward.

Got it.

Thats enough MR for me today.

Carry on.

It's not about running Google created web apps in a browser. It's about giving developers who make websites a framework to build great web apps. Not exclusive to Android but to mobile in general. It's making the web focus development on the devices that are using it.

You completely did not get this idea at all. Comparing it to iCloud just shows how much you don't understand about the web and what Google unveiled. It was not a google owned platform for their Google apps. It's a programming framework any developer (even you and me) can use when writing our own websites to make sure they look and feel great on mobile.

And yes iOS does run in the car but it doesn't run on a watch and it doesn't run inside TV's - What Google announced was Android IN the TV. Not on a little box plugged in via HDMI. That is what the current Apple TV and Chromecast do. Having it embedded in the TV itself completely dissolves the clunky horribleness that TV's are.

Instead of having a TV that you turn on, set to a source input to get to your Apple TV/Chromecast that isn't aware of your game consoles or your cable or satellite box you can have it all built in to the TV itself. Overlayed content on the TV, truly smart TV's tangled with your electronic programming guide. The possibilities are endless.

And yes I am aware that the Apple TV runs iOS. And look at all the amazing things Apple haven't done with it. Where is the App Store? Where is Siri? Where is Continuity? The Apple TV wasn't even given a section at Apples own developer conference because it's going nowhere and they have done nothing with it.

Fact is Apple took some great steps at WWDC. Continuity is an amazing feature. The iOS 8 features like Keyboards and so on are great. I mean sure Android has had that for four years but it's nice to see Apple catching up.

But ya know that's just how it always seems to be. Apple catches up and Google pulling away. Apple's Continuity is going to be great but can you imagine how amazing it would be to run iOS apps on your Mac? Cause that is what Google just added to Android.

 

[Armen]

Agreed. The people I know with Android phones fall within the

-too cheap to buy an iPhone and just want the BOGO that comes with their contract

-tech nerd that thinks they can do wonders with some advanced jail-breaking of their Android device when most of the time it's modifying the UI and having some hook up to their home server (which I can do just fine my iPhone).

Here is your typical Android "hacker":


- Downloads a task killer even though it is not advised.

- Roots their phone using a simple method in which he/she just has to follow directions on a website.

- Loads MIUI Rom using Clockwork recovery and then brags to his/her friends how they "hacked" their Android phone to look like the iPhone instead of just buying an iPhone.

- Gets bored a month later and loads a ported Rom from another handset and then wonders why the camera doesn't work.

process repeats for a few more months until they get tired of tinkering with their phone all the time and just loads the factory Rom.

<few years later switches to iOS because they realize customizing really isn't all that after all>

 

[fortysomegeek]

I don't know, the size looks fine in this video.

46mm? That is epic huge and out of porportions.

Most high end dress watches are 38mm - Patek, Breguet, Blancpain.
Sport watches are often 40-42mm. - Omega, Rolex,etc...
Oversized fashion watches are 44-46 (Panerai)

Just for reference, Buzz Aldrin's Speedmaster. Your typical sportswatch is 40mm

 

[trunksu]

I agree that the Moto360 product shots look great, but the real-life shots I've seen look fairly lame + it's clear that the face of the watch is way too big to look natural.

The LG watch is still a dork-watch design.

Here's hoping Jony Ive can work his magic on the iWatch and make something people will actually want to wear.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/25/5843028/up-close-with-the-moto-360-the-best-looking-smartwatch-yet

there's a good hands on video at the verge. I thought it was a little big too but surprisingly it looks great. by far the best looking watch so far.

edit: sorry i just noticed someone posted the link already

 

[daneoni]

It's not about running Google created web apps in a browser. It's about giving developers who make websites a framework to build great web apps. Not exclusive to Android but to mobile in general. It's making the web focus development on the devices that are using it.

You completely did not get this idea at all. Comparing it to iCloud just shows how much you don't understand about the web and what Google unveiled. It was not a google owned platform for their Google apps. It's a programming framework any developer (even you and me) can use when writing our own websites to make sure they look and feel great on mobile.
.

Doesn't change the fact that you're still comparing completely unrelated things. They added a 3rd party accessible API to their 'desktop' OS. Great

And Apple didn't?

But please keep flogging away the convenient comparisons.

 

[Quu]

Doesn't change the fact that you're still comparing completely unrelated things. They added a 3rd party accessible API to their 'desktop' OS. Great

And Apple didn't?

But please keep flogging away the convenient comparisons.

As I said before. Google took the idea further by also allowing you to run Android apps on the desktop.

Again, you don't get it. Apple added continuity - an amazing feature. Then Google trumped them by adding that same functionality and then taking it a step further.

Are you getting it yet? Why people keep saying Google took more steps than Apple?

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

It will be more awkward now to see people talking to their watches in public.

Awkward?

It is flat out terrible that people think it is socially acceptable to yell into their phone in a public space. Not to mention the people who do that AND use speaker phone.

This is going to make assclowning 100x worse.

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lol then head out and buy a Patek Philippe.

You mean a watch that will last generations vs. a gimmick that you will be expected to upgrade every handful of years?

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I do have one...

Image

Exactly.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Interesting that Google are showing off Facebook integration with their devices in a big way.

I guess Google+ really is dead.

Or, unlike Apple they are realists...they showed a lot of use cases.

 

[kdarling]

The history is there already and proven that Google's hardware designs were obsolete when the first iPhone came out and they had to do a 180 just like Samsung and others did to copy Apple's look/hardware.

More like they had to accelerate what hardware they targeting, since Android was intended for both touch and touchless devices, just like Windows Mobile.

By 2006 everyone in the business knew what the next step was, so the iPhone was not the technical surprise that people make it out to be, but rather a surprise of earlier timing than expected.

Everyone was showing off or talking about capacitive screens; even multi-touch pinch zoom. From articles of the period:

"Capacitive sensors -- those that conduct electric currents and can be activated by the touch of a finger -- will, according the experts, be the dominant technology incorporated into the next generation of cell phones."

- Touch-screen tech coming to cellphones, PhysOrg, July 2006

"the mobile phone market is almost ripe for an explosion in touch sensitive user interfaces and, when it comes, it will be capacitive technology that dominates."

"We expect most demand to come from finger-sensitive technology built into high-end feature phones. This will be a significant shift from today's wireless PDA segment, where most stylus-driven touch screen devices can be found."

- Stephen Entwistle at Strategy Analytics, June 2006

SA went on to say that the big move to touch would require the cost to be right, for apps to be rewritten for touch, and for some kind of mass publicity catalyst... which they predicted would happen before the end of 2007.

 

[AustinIllini]

I've just went to watch their i/o event. Within the first few minutes they were saying how many selfies are taken, how many times a phone is checked.
I had to stop watching, either that information is a joke or if it isn't then that's me never going to Google. You don't need that level of information from me. Things like average doesn't in an App Store etc I get, but you don't need to know things like how many times I unlock my phone. Such an invasion of privacy.

Yes because the statistics are totally based on data Google stole and not on something more reasonable like a survey or other information.

Also Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft NEVER steal your information and use it for their data.

 

[Sylon]

I'm not a huge fan of smartwatches, mostly because the current offerings (cough Samsung) are terrible and bulky. I really like the Moto360 though. Mostly because it's round. I think it's elegant, and doesn't look that much different than the analog watch I wear today. I wasn't a fan of Apple iPod Nano watch idea back in the day. So I hope that if Apple does make a watch, which we all assume they are, that they don't go the easy route and make it square. Take a shot at different like Motorola did and make that bitch round.

 

[fermat-au]

Android One phones under $100 with a 4.5" screen ... iPhone 5S $650 4" screen

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Google = copycats

Samsung = thieves

 

[captain kaos]

A few years ago id be thinking it doesn't matter about these android watches, Apple will come along and blow them out of the water. These days im not so sure. Apple will make a better looking device, and it won't be released until they're happy with it, but i can't shake the feeling we're going to be disappointed.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Yes because the statistics are totally based on data Google stole and not on something more reasonable like a survey or other information.

Also Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft NEVER steal your information and use it for their data.

If it was survey data it would be percentages, not actual figures.

What information do Apple steal? Facebook, I never put up any personal information and rarely use it, Microsoft, I don't have a Microsoft device.

 

[AustinIllini]

Google Launches First Android Wear Devices, Featuring Always-On Displays and ...

If it was survey data it would be percentages, not actual figures.

What information do Apple steal? Facebook, I never put up any personal information and rarely use it, Microsoft, I don't have a Microsoft device.

Every word of your post says "i'm 15 years old". All these companies steal. Welcome to 2014

 

[brinary001]

I can't keep up with all of Samsung's watches now. Much like how I can't keep up with all their tablets.

 

[captain kaos]

The watch is a hell of a thing to design. Not even the stuff it can do inside, the sensors, the battery life etc. The main thing for me is the feel of it. Apple has probably spent years just coming up with a material that will feel right that can also work with the internals. I love watches, and have to many G-shocks, which is an easy and proven material to have as a strap. Also have a solar powered citizen divers watch with a nato strap. That felt nice on the wrist. My latest watch is a casio oceanus analog (japan only model) watch, all titanium, solar, world time, etc. Now i've worn titanium i can't put the heavy stainless steel citizen on anymore, which as well as the weight is quite deep and is big on the wrist. I think thats around 40mm diameter. Titanium is also good for people that may have allergic reactions to some watch material, such as the fitbix force issue last year.

Its a minefield for someone jumping straight into the watch/wearable tech game. Thats why you can see the samsung options with just a basic rubber strap, to get it out into the market quickly. Im hoping for something special from apple after all the R&D time they've had.


Note: What im hoping for is the something like the renders we've seen of the band. As i mention above, i have my watch i wear everyday and i don't need another one. What id like is a health band i can wear on my other wrist. I also think apple releasing a watch cuts out a lot of possible sales, as i guess theres lots of people like me that already have a watch they don't want to change. Perhaps this is the different models the rumours talk about. Some are watches, some are bands.

 

[sebastian...]

Wonder what its battery life is.
Hoping these kinds of devices get 24-48 hours.

24 - 48 hours ???? For a watch ?

This Casio watch works forever, without any battery at all. And it keeps going even in total darkness for another 28 months.
A smart watch, or any kind of watch should last at least a few months on a charge.

 

[827538]

Those watches look hideous. Like something from the 90's.

The iWatch intrigues me but I feel the best way to go about making something like that is almost a lack of features.

Focus it on A, displaying the time on a clear responsive display. B, monitoring health information, C, displaying notifications. Any attempt to respond to messages with more than a swipe or answer the phone is bound to fail.

Keep it simple, keep it looking like a good looking normal watch like that concept that keeps appearing on the site with the leather strap and circular face.

Problem with the direction they are all heading in is it's trying to be a mini-smartphone. It really shouldn't. It takes me no time at all to respond to a message via my iPhone or read an email, but if my watch wants to notify me of some sort of event while telling them time at a glance and monitoring health then great. Personally I'll be sticking with the Omega, makes those Google concepts look so cheap and trashy.

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24 - 48 hours ???? For a watch ?

This Casio watch works forever, without any battery at all. And it keeps going even in total darkness for another 28 months.
A smart watch, or any kind of watch should last at least a few months on a charge.

Image

That's why I would expect them to use an OLED display and a dark watch face. Anything else is simply too power hungry. I could see wireless charging being a big thing with these i.e. just throw the watch onto a mat before you go to sleep.

Anyone else wonder if they'll finally use LiquidMetal? I know Omega made a special edition watch out of it and was quite impressed when I tried it on.