Android Wear is a pretty special and unique was of connecting to our digital life. They give us quick glance looks at information, fun added features, fitness tracking abilities and customization by way of watch faces and straps. While they are pretty awesome, there are a limited number of them to choose from. The Motorola Moto 360, ASUS Zen Watch and LG G Watch R are the three that come to mind promptly with Sony an Samsung in the mix as well. When Google announced Android Wear they listed out a number of partners that were on board. HTC was in the list, but we still have yet to see anything from them in the way of a physical device. However, there have been a number of rumors that HTC squashed over the year. Until now, as far as I know, all Android Wear devices have been using a Qualcomm processor. Intel was also listed as one of the partners for Android Wear and now it sounds like we might finally be seeing some fruits of that labor with a TAGÂ Heuer and Fossil set of Android Wear toting watches.
TAGÂ Heuer
On the TAGÂ Heuer front I am hearing that they plan to bring an Android Wear device to market by the end of the year. Seems Google’s AW platform makes perfect sense for the Swiss company as apposed to trying to work with Apple. TAGÂ Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver made the following statement to the BBC about the whole thing.
It would be absurd, it would be arrogant to believe that we could develop our own [operating system]. It would be a catastrophe to believe such a stupid thing.
There is no doubt that we could eventually go to Apple, but why should we do a partnership with Apple, who is producing watches? On the one side they would be partners, on the other a competitor.
Google is not producing watches, so the relationship is perfect.
If you are a watch connoisseur, then this is pretty outstanding news. Now, will the Android Wear watch bring in the more traditional pricing that Samsung, LG, Sony and Moto have or will we be seeing the price tags that are associated to the high-end watch makers current offerings? I know they make outstanding traditional watches and are worth every penny, but I think a $3,000+ Android Wear watch will be a hard sell, even if it is gold.
One of my favorite statements that Mr. Biver put out there was that “It will be a traditional look. It will not look like an Apple Watch. An Apple Watch looks like a miniaturised copy of its phone. Our watch will never look like a phone.” Cause, well, it is a watch. The header image isn’t what the Android Wear watch looks like, as it isn’t around yet, but it was said that the TAG Heuer Carrera original Black model would be the basic idea with a digital replacement. I know nothing about high-end watches or which one he was talking about. It is just an image with the name in it.
Fossil
In the same BBC report they made mention that Fossil would be making the move into the Android Wear arena as well.
“That is what we see as the big opportunity – merging the fusion of technology that users need and want… with our incredible ingenuity and design innovation.”
Current talks point to the watch manufacturer to offer a variety of models with different aesthetic design, colors and sizes.
With mainstream watch makers coming on board to bring Android Wear devices to consumers we should start to see a lot of choices to make. Personally I am all for it. Who can make a watch better than a watch maker? Certainly not TV, tablet and phone manufacturers. Now we just need Rolex and Gucci to step in. Oh wait, Gucci is in cahoots with Will.I.Am for a smartwatch already.
Source: BBC | Business Wire Via Techaeris | AndroidAuthority
