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logikv9
Mar 5, 2009


Ham Wrangler

Android Wear is Google's foray into the wearable marketplace OS field, as long as you ignore the Motoactv. As of this OP, it's still roughly in the first generation slowly moving onto the second generation and is definitely not for everyone. AW (android wear) differentiates itself from every other smartwatch company/series out there (Pebble, Gear, Fitbit, Jawbone, Apple) by having a ton of companies design and build watches for them, a la Android. This method gives you a wide variety of prices, quality, features, and design. Also if you want a smartwatch that is actually circular, AW is your only choice unless you want to go with trash. As of August, Android Wear is now largely compatible on iOS devices. More on that below.

Current Version: 5.0 Lollipop (as of Sept 2015)


What The gently caress is an Android Wear :downs:
Android Wear is an operating system for wearables, the same way that Android is the operating system for phones. Android Wear's functionality can be summed up with this good post:

Vagrancy posted:

It probably makes more sense in the context of the UI. Android Wear is divided into two parts, Suggest (cards):



and Demand (Commands):




Using that as a frame you could (arbitrarily) define three levels of support for Android Wear:

Level 0: All notifications on the phone automatically get turned into cards on the watch.

Level 1: The developer of the phone app creates a Wear-optimized alternate version of the notification which gets cardified on the watch instead of the phone version e.g. A x messages Gmail/Inbox summary notification on the phone turns into a card stack where each individual message is readable/dismissable on the watch.

Level 2: The developer of creates an actual Watch APK to run on the watch (which is embedded in the phone app and silently installed). Native apps running on the watch can add watchfaces, post notification cards directly and hook up to the voice/command screen.

Cool Things You Can Do With Your Wrist
See/swipe between notifications. You can also dismiss, reply/respond, open on phone, or block notifications.
Fitness tracking, including steps and heartrate tracking (some watches will keep an average measurement of your HR while others will only take it when you ask it)
Swap between watchfaces (decently large selection of clockfaces on the Play Store)
Not have to deal with OEM skins or other nonsense (if you want ClockWiz, check out Samsung's comedy Tizen offerings)
Standardized watch band sizes, so you can replace you hot pink plastic band with genuine hot pink leather
Google Now on your wrist
Do Not Disturb functionality and vibrate
Kill your erection

Sad Things You Can't Do With Your Wrist
The functionality is somewhat limited to notifications and fitness tracking. The app market is somewhat lacking.
Battery life ranges from suck to somewhat suck, depending on the watch and who you ask. Expect to either charge it after 8-12 hours or 2-3 days. Don't expect Pebble-esque longevity.
First generation functionality until Google releases the next major update

I am really indecisive and can't choose shapes help
Ultimately it comes down to form over function. Information as we currently obtain it is best viewed on a square screen, while watches have been traditionally circular for centuries. Judging from the Wearable thread, I would say that circular is currently the predominantly popular choice, since it adds an acceptable amount of good-looking design at the expense of slightly easier functionality. However, the square watches are currently the cheaper purchase.

All of the current watches on the line-up require the Android Wear app to connect to your phone. This is the only way to get notifications, use Google Now, etc. AW does not yet support LTE or mobile data (a la Gear S). Recent updates now allow WiFi-capable AW watches to connect to your phone via WiFi. This means that you can theoretically stay "connected" to your phone despite being out of Bluetooth range. Not all watches have this capability.



LG G Watch not to be confused with the G Watch R
One of the cheaper, debut versions of Android Wear, the G Watch is a basic entry-level watch for those who have commitment issues, like squares, or are poor. Charges with a cradle.


LG G Watch R, the better looking one of the two.
It looks like an actual traditional watch (complete with time markings which are useless if you run some other watchface), has a ~~~*full circle display*~~~~, and is also the most expensive. It also is the largest, for those with massive wrists. It has speedy internals, an OLED screen, but massive bezels if you're the type of sperg that gets upset about those things. Charges with a cradle.


LG G Watch Urbane (non LTE)
The higher class version of the G Watch R, it ditches the sporty-watch look for a more dress-watch look. The LTE version will not be running AW since the software currently doesn't support it.
Update: On sale for $350 :siren: Go hog wild.



Samsung Gear Live
Did you like the Samsung Gear series? Did you wish you could have an Android version that totally wasn't an afterthought? Well, Samsung will be happy to take your money with this other debut version for poors. Charges with a cradle.

Discontinued on the Play Store. Apparently even Google didn't give a gently caress about it.


Motorola Moto 360, the other circular watch.
In 2014 Motorola made the nerd world cum by announcing and releasing a smartwatch that was circular*. The hypetrain followed but unfortunately the 360 couldn't really live up to it. Nevertheless, it's a solid watch with questionable internals, modern design, and now pretty drat cheap. *Also screen isn't actually fully circular, with a small black bezel on the bottom for drivers and a light sensor. Charges using a QI dock, also compatible with any other QI chargers.


Motorola Moto 360 (2015)
The updated version of the classic 360. Comes in two sizes (men's and women's), has lugs, comes with a bigger battery and not-lovely internals. Still has the FLAT TIRE :argh: for spergs everywhere.


Motorola Moto 360 Sport
It's the same thing as the Moto 360 (2015) but with a silicon strap/case-type thing and built in GPS. As the name implies, it's designed for more fitness tasks.


Sony SmartWatch 3
The understated one with quite a bit of functionality, the SW3 is not an awful choice as it comes with GPS and microusb charging. Design-wise it's a bit bland, but there a metal version if you can find it.


Asus ZenWatch
ASUS's offering is an elegant smartwatch that ultimately does nothing new. Also, if you squint hard enough and drink enough you could probably get people to think it's the Apple Watch. Charges with a cradle.


Asus ZenWatch 2
Comes in two sizes and a new Moto 360-style button. Still will be confused for an Apple Watch.


Huawei Watch, the telecommunications company making a watch that looks pretty loving spiffy. It's also probably going to be amazingly expensive, have awful battery, or both. However, it has a ~~~*full circle display*~~~, and is smaller than other offerings on the market right now.
:siren: Pre-ordering up / Available Now :siren:

Rastor posted:

Surprise! The Huawei Watch can now be preordered on Amazon for release on September 2.

Color choices:
Stainless Steel with Black Suture Leather Strap, $349
Black Stainless Steel with Black Stainless Steel Link Band, $449
Gold Plated Stainless Steel with Brown Suture Leather Strap, $699
Gold Plated Stainless Steel with Gold Plated Stainless Steel, $799


Tag Heuer Connected
It look nice, built well with a ~sapphire screen~ but wait, it's $1,500. People will still buy it(?)


Fossil Q
:siren: flat tire screen :siren: for spergs, costs around $275.
UNRELEASED/NOT APPLICABLE


LG Watch Urbane Second Edition
It has 4G and apparently runs AW. It's also thick as gently caress.

Samsung S-Watch
It's not Android Wear, but it will work with most/all Android phones. Check out the S2 Gear chat over at the Wearables Thread.

Bitchin other things

Rastor posted:

Android Wear protips:

Tired of seeing the persistent Android Wear notification on your phone? Upgrade your Google Play Services to 7.3.

Tired of seeing an app's notifications on your Wear device? you can block that app from sending notifications to Wear.

:siren:iOS Compatibility:siren:
Yes, your favorite useless accessory is now available on iOS devices, saving millions across the world from having to buy a very expensive square wrist-screen.
What you can do on iOS: Text, Google Now/Voice Commands, Notifications, tell the time
What you can't do on iOS: 3rd party watchfaces / 3rd party apps. ONLY COMPATIBLE WITH NEWER WATCHES (Urbane and newer)

logikv9 fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Dec 23, 2015

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Last Chance
Dec 31, 2004

So is Android Wear kind of like the iWatch? Where can I look at the specs for Android Wear?

Edit: To clarify, I see a bunch of links to watches, but none of them look like the official "Android Wear." How do I find that one

UnfortunateSexFart
May 18, 2008

𒃻 𒌓𒁉𒋫 𒆷𒁀𒅅𒆷
𒆠𒂖 𒌉 𒌫 𒁮𒈠𒈾𒅗 𒂉 𒉡𒌒𒂉𒊑


Android Wear is an operating system, not a watch. It's not customizable by companies like Android for phones is, though, so it's the same on everything minus a few watch faces.

This video explains the latest software version and shows how the two best watches work pretty well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RDd2TIKdiw

As for specs, google it beatch

SpelledBackwards
Jan 7, 2001

I found this image on the Internet, perhaps you've heard of it? It's been around for a while I hear.

None of those rectangular screens look like squares to me except for possibly the Asus. Get your geometry right. :colbert:

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...
The pebble supports android wear now, too.

logikv9
Mar 5, 2009


Ham Wrangler

torgeaux posted:

The pebble supports android wear now, too.

It only supports Android Wear in terms of replies right? The watch still uses Pebble's own OS and just uses the AW app.

SpelledBackwards posted:

None of those rectangular screens look like squares to me except for possibly the Asus. Get your geometry right. :colbert:

They are squares to me and will always be squares. If you want a rectangle, look at the Gear S :colbert:

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...

Logikv9 posted:

It only supports Android Wear in terms of replies right? The watch still uses Pebble's own OS and just uses the AW app.


They are squares to me and will always be squares. If you want a rectangle, look at the Gear S :colbert:

Per this article, it now officially supports AW apps.
https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/16/pebble-android-wear/

UnfortunateSexFart
May 18, 2008

𒃻 𒌓𒁉𒋫 𒆷𒁀𒅅𒆷
𒆠𒂖 𒌉 𒌫 𒁮𒈠𒈾𒅗 𒂉 𒉡𒌒𒂉𒊑


Supporting android wear apps and being an android wear device are totally different things. Pebble is not android wear any more than a Mac with Office is a PC.

Magog
Jan 9, 2010
Mini-review on that Minimal & Elegant watch face that was mentioned in the wearables thread.
(Play Store Link)

Quite a good selection of customisation options, it's nice how it handles gradient backgrounds and you can also schedule colour selections so it changes with the time of day. It would be nice to have more than 5 font choices but they're okay for now. Now one of the interesting things with this watch face is the 'Little Worlds' option. Flat tyre be mitigated! I was pleasantly surprised to see over 40 different cities and other designs available currently and you can set your own custom made images as well, with a g+ community for people to share. I think right now this is one of my favourite watch faces on the play store.

Here's mine after a little fiddling today:

Magog fucked around with this message at 11:45 on Apr 18, 2015

booshi
Aug 14, 2004

:tastykake:||||||||||:tastykake:

Logikv9 posted:


Asus ZenWatch
ASUS's offering is an elegant smartwatch that ultimately does nothing new. Also, if you squint hard enough and drink enough you could probably get people to think it's the Apple Watch. Charges with a cradle.

I think I'm one of the few that has the ZenWatch (and I love it), but you're dead on. For weeks now I've been asked if it's an Apple Watch. I have it on a NATO strap and just, no, it's not Apple.

MC Hawking
Apr 27, 2004

by VideoGames
Fun Shoe
.

MC Hawking fucked around with this message at 04:37 on Jul 20, 2018

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...

Reverse Centaur posted:

Supporting android wear apps and being an android wear device are totally different things. Pebble is not android wear any more than a Mac with Office is a PC.

I'm not familiar enough with AW devices to get the distinction. Given the nature of the thread, can you explain?

hooah
Feb 6, 2006
WTF?
Android Wear is the operating system. Android Wear apps are the programs. Pebble has made their watches able to run AW apps, even though the watches themselves don't run AW.

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...

hooah posted:

Android Wear is the operating system. Android Wear apps are the programs. Pebble has made their watches able to run AW apps, even though the watches themselves don't run AW.

yeah, I figured that much. What I'm asking is, what does the base OS do if you don't run an app? What is the AW watch going to do that the Pebble can't? I don't mean where the Pebble could run a similar app, but where the AW OS does something that isn't an app.

Cithen
Mar 6, 2002


Pillbug
Is there any anticipation as to when Android Wear will roll out its second generation? I am excited about wearables, but not sold on the functionality quite yet for either Apple or Android devices. Plus I would really like to get away from Apple stuff.

Super Dude
Jan 23, 2005
Do the Jew

Cithen posted:

Is there any anticipation as to when Android Wear will roll out its second generation? I am excited about wearables, but not sold on the functionality quite yet for either Apple or Android devices. Plus I would really like to get away from Apple stuff.

Second generation of which model?

Rastor
Jun 2, 2001

Cithen posted:

Is there any anticipation as to when Android Wear will roll out its second generation? I am excited about wearables, but not sold on the functionality quite yet for either Apple or Android devices. Plus I would really like to get away from Apple stuff.
Google IO will be May 28-29. If there is going to be an Android Wear announcement of any significance, chances are it will be then.

With that said, I expect Android Wear changes to be incremental, not revolutionary, and for existing models to get new features (unless they require different hardware).

Cithen
Mar 6, 2002


Pillbug
Yeah, I was referring to the AW OS itself.

Dr. Video Games 0050
Nov 28, 2007

Cithen posted:

Yeah, I was referring to the AW OS itself.

What doesn't the OS have that you're looking for?

Cithen
Mar 6, 2002


Pillbug
It seems clunky to me. The prettiest princess seems to be the Moto360, but when it comes down to it it is just a small extension of my phone. Being able to use Google Wallet through the watch, especially without pairing it with a phone would be nice. From what I understand it also doesn't have the ability to easily hop from my phone to my tablet. More so than anything, I would want it to be more of an independent device. I realize this may be a pipe dream though.

Rastor
Jun 2, 2001

Unfortunately (for your use case) "a small extension of my phone" is where Google seems to be going with Android Wear. If you want more of an independent device there's the Samsung Gear S and the LG Watch Urbane LTE.

UnfortunateSexFart
May 18, 2008

𒃻 𒌓𒁉𒋫 𒆷𒁀𒅅𒆷
𒆠𒂖 𒌉 𒌫 𒁮𒈠𒈾𒅗 𒂉 𒉡𒌒𒂉𒊑


torgeaux posted:

yeah, I figured that much. What I'm asking is, what does the base OS do if you don't run an app? What is the AW watch going to do that the Pebble can't? I don't mean where the Pebble could run a similar app, but where the AW OS does something that isn't an app.

I'm not very familiar with Pebble but I don't install any apps on my watch. That's not what it's about, it's not just another phone/tablet. Its base features are what I use it for - quick view of notifications, time, voice control, media control, etc.

For me personally there isn't a huge difference on a checklist of features - the real difference is the execution. I find Pebble watches to be ugly and clunky looking. AW has a lot of room to improve itself but the hardware and software looks a lot better.

UnfortunateSexFart fucked around with this message at 07:59 on Apr 19, 2015

Rastor
Jun 2, 2001

Android Wear protips:

Tired of seeing the persistent Android Wear notification on your phone? Upgrade your Google Play Services to 7.3.

Tired of seeing an app's notifications on your Wear device? you can block that app from sending notifications to Wear.

MC Hawking
Apr 27, 2004

by VideoGames
Fun Shoe
.

MC Hawking fucked around with this message at 04:37 on Jul 20, 2018

Vagrancy
Oct 15, 2005
Master of procrastination

torgeaux posted:

I'm not familiar enough with AW devices to get the distinction. Given the nature of the thread, can you explain?


It probably makes more sense in the context of the UI. Android Wear is divided into two parts, Suggest (cards):



and Demand (Commands):




Using that as a frame you could (arbitrarily) define three levels of support for Android Wear:

Level 0: All notifications on the phone automatically get turned into cards on the watch.

Level 1: The developer of the phone app creates a Wear-optimized alternate version of the notification which gets cardified on the watch instead of the phone version e.g. A x messages Gmail/Inbox summary notification on the phone turns into a card stack where each individual message is readable/dismissable on the watch.

Level 2: The developer of creates an actual Watch APK to run on the watch (which is embedded in the phone app and silently installed). Native apps running on the watch can add watchfaces, post notification cards directly and hook up to the voice/command screen.

The Pebble AW support the article refers to is Level 1 i.e. Pebble can display Wear formatted notifications. It can't (and unless Pebble actually creates an AW device, never will) support Level 2 since it doesn't run Android.

What that actually means in practice is that there are some cards which won't show up in an equivalent form on Pebble. Biggest example would be the Google Now cards, which are generated by an app running directly on the Watch. Naturally everything else in Level 2 won't work either. This also means that any hybrids Pebble intercepts have the potential to show up but be broken i.e. A Watch formatted notification (Level 1), which deeplinks into a native Wear app running on the watch (Level 2) for more in-depth stuff. It will show up on Pebble, but the native parts won't work.

So there's quite a bit of difference, but its a obfuscated since the UI model papers over the implementation.

Cithen posted:

It seems clunky to me. The prettiest princess seems to be the Moto360, but when it comes down to it it is just a small extension of my phone. Being able to use Google Wallet through the watch, especially without pairing it with a phone would be nice. From what I understand it also doesn't have the ability to easily hop from my phone to my tablet. More so than anything, I would want it to be more of an independent device. I realize this may be a pipe dream though.

Well, aside from philosophical there are technical constraints preventing watches from becoming phone replacements i.e. battery capacity. Stuff like the new IP6 over BTLE in the Bluetooth 4.1 spec will help things along quite a bit, but even that will take quite a while to propagate. Routers with BTLE support won't become mainstream overnight.


MC Hawking posted:

So here's a pretty stupid question:

What exactly can Wear do if you have Google Now turned off? What function does it lose if Google Now is turned off? Push notifications? Weather updates?

I know it'd be kinda silly to have a wearable without it enabled, but humor me here.

Only thing you'd lose is Now cards in the card stream.

logikv9
Mar 5, 2009


Ham Wrangler

Vagrancy posted:

It probably makes more sense in the context of the UI. Android Wear is divided into two parts, Suggest (cards):



and Demand (Commands):




Using that as a frame you could (arbitrarily) define three levels of support for Android Wear:

Level 0: All notifications on the phone automatically get turned into cards on the watch.

Level 1: The developer of the phone app creates a Wear-optimized alternate version of the notification which gets cardified on the watch instead of the phone version e.g. A x messages Gmail/Inbox summary notification on the phone turns into a card stack where each individual message is readable/dismissable on the watch.

Level 2: The developer of creates an actual Watch APK to run on the watch (which is embedded in the phone app and silently installed). Native apps running on the watch can add watchfaces, post notification cards directly and hook up to the voice/command screen.

The Pebble AW support the article refers to is Level 1 i.e. Pebble can display Wear formatted notifications. It can't (and unless Pebble actually creates an AW device, never will) support Level 2 since it doesn't run Android.

What that actually means in practice is that there are some cards which won't show up in an equivalent form on Pebble. Biggest example would be the Google Now cards, which are generated by an app running directly on the Watch. Naturally everything else in Level 2 won't work either. This also means that any hybrids Pebble intercepts have the potential to show up but be broken i.e. A Watch formatted notification (Level 1), which deeplinks into a native Wear app running on the watch (Level 2) for more in-depth stuff. It will show up on Pebble, but the native parts won't work.

So there's quite a bit of difference, but its a obfuscated since the UI model papers over the implementation.


Well, aside from philosophical there are technical constraints preventing watches from becoming phone replacements i.e. battery capacity. Stuff like the new IP6 over BTLE in the Bluetooth 4.1 spec will help things along quite a bit, but even that will take quite a while to propagate. Routers with BTLE support won't become mainstream overnight.


Only thing you'd lose is Now cards in the card stream.


Rastor posted:

Android Wear protips:

Tired of seeing the persistent Android Wear notification on your phone? Upgrade your Google Play Services to 7.3.

Tired of seeing an app's notifications on your Wear device? you can block that app from sending notifications to Wear.

These are both good posts and added to the op.

torgeaux
Dec 31, 2004
I serve...

Logikv9 posted:

These are both good posts and added to the op.

Yeah, nailed it. I've got a better understanding now.

Hughmoris
Apr 21, 2007
Let's go to the abyss!
Looks like the LG G Watch can be had for $80 at Target with coupon. Worth it?

Wee Bairns
Feb 10, 2004

Jack Tripper's wingman.

Hughmoris posted:

Looks like the LG G Watch can be had for $80 at Target with coupon. Worth it?

Yes, its a very decent introduction to Android Wear at that good of a price.

Rastor
Jun 2, 2001

Wee Bairns posted:

Yes, its a very decent introduction to Android Wear at that good of a price.
Only bad thing about the LG G watch is that it's so dedicated to the simplicity philosophy of Android Wear that it 100% lacks any physical buttons on its face or body.

It does have a reset button hole you can push with a paperclip however. Also it can take a standard watch strap.

Shai-Hulud
Jul 10, 2008

But it feels so right!
Lipstick Apathy
So what's sending weather notifications to my Moto 360? I'm using weather timeline and it works fine, but there's always a second notification with weather info on the watch. The only thing I can do with it is swipe right to open weather.com.
There's no option to block like on other notifications.
I've tried blocking pretty much everything with weather in its name from sending notifications to the watch but it keeps happening.
It's really annoying to have two weather cards

hooah
Feb 6, 2006
WTF?
Google Now?

Shai-Hulud
Jul 10, 2008

But it feels so right!
Lipstick Apathy
Huh. Yeah that makes sense. I'd probably have to disable weather in Google Now completely to get rid of it right?

AnimalChin
Feb 1, 2006
What's up with the extra chronograph(?) dial on some of the watch faces? I don't get it.

It's always stuck at 4 and doesn't seem to do anything.

Vagrancy
Oct 15, 2005
Master of procrastination


Lollipop 5.1 for Wear announced/rolling out

kitten smoothie
Dec 29, 2001

What a future we live in. One watch platform lets you send your loved one a heartbeat. Another lets you draw a picture of a turd on your watch, and it will automatically convert it to a turd emoji to send your loved one.

Len
Jan 21, 2008

Pouches, bandages, shoulderpad, cyber-eye...

Bitchin'!


kitten smoothie posted:

What a future we live in. One watch platform lets you send your loved one a heartbeat. Another lets you draw a picture of a turd on your watch, and it will automatically convert it to a turd emoji to send your loved one.

The second one is much more useful

Rastor
Jun 2, 2001

To explain what is happening in this animated screenshot: Now if you tap the watch face, you will get the option to launch apps, scroll right to message most frequent contacts and scroll right again to perform voice commands.

This is actually a pretty significant change, and should address all the complaints that "Android Wear sucks because it's hard to launch apps".

kitten smoothie
Dec 29, 2001

Yeah, this is actually pretty nice and eliminates the need for that janky third party launcher.

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sourdough
Apr 30, 2012
"With GPS and offline music support, you can already leave your phone at home, then go jogging and jamming like normal. Now Android Wear supports watches with built-in Wi-Fi. As long as your watch is connected to a Wi-Fi network, and your phone has a data connection (wherever it is), youll be able to get notifications, send messages, and use all your favorite apps."

Cool

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