Android Wear Watches Now Work On iOS

More than a year after the launch of the first Android Wear watches, Google is now finally bringing iOS support to its smartwatch platform with the launch of its Android Wear mobile app in Apple’s App Store today.

This probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise, given that Huawei spoiled this launch by announcing iOS support for its upcoming Android Wear watch last week, but it’s a long-overdue step for Google.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Android Wear for iOS will only officially support theLG Watch Urbane and all future Android Wear watches (including upcoming watches from Huawei, Asus and Motorola). (Update: it looks like you may be able to pair the Moto 360 andother older Android Wear watches with an iPhone, assuming the watch already runs Android Wear 1.3. Older watches won’t come with version1.3 pre-loaded, so they won’t connect to the iPhone and hence can’t get the update. It’s unclear for how long Google will unofficially support these older watches, though).

Given that all of these older watches work just fine with Android, it’s a bit of a puzzle why Google made this decision. When we asked the company about this, a spokesperson told us the following:

“We wanted to make sure that iOS users would have a great experience with Android Wear out of the box. We’ve worked with manufacturers to ensure that the newest watches work really well with modern iPhones, but last year’s watches aren’t technically supported.”

The company also argues that in order to have a “streamlined setup pairing an iOS phone and Android watch, the watch needs to be running the latest Android Wear release out of the box.”

That’s probably a disappointment for some, but there are probably not all that many iOS users out there who have an older Android Wear watch, so this may not be as big of a deal as it seems.

Once you’ve paired your watch with your iPhone (the app is compatible with the iPhone 5 and all newer iPhones as long as they run iOS 8.2 and up), the actual on-watch experience is pretty much the same as always. The app supports rich notifications from Gmail, Google Calendar and Apple Calendar, Google Now Cards, voice queries, Google Fit support, alarms, and everything else you’d expect.

The app, of course, will also display notifications from all third-party iPhone apps. For now, however, users won’t be able to install any third-party watch apps from Google Play. This means you will see notifications from those apps but won’t be able to directly interact with your fitness tracker on the watch, for example. Google says it’s working on bringing third-party app support to iOS users, too, but it’s unclear when this will happen. WiFi support is also currently absent.

“Not everyone wants the same kind of smartwatch, so offering people choice is important,” Google says. That comment is clearly aimed at the Apple Watch and there is probably some truth in that. Smartwatches are, after all, at least partly fashion accessories and even though Apple offers a number of different variations of its smartwatch, they all look pretty similar in the end.

Google also notes that Android Wear supports always-on watch faces, “so you’ll never have to move your wrist to wake up your watch.” Another thinly veiled swipe at the Apple Watch.

The new app is now making its way into the App Store, so if you can’t find it just yet, give it another try in an hour or so.

Samsung Gear S2 Watch

Samsung Announces The Samsung Gear S2, Now More Round

Samsung has just announced their new smartwatch, the Samsung Gear S2. The watch is unique in that it has a round rotating bezel – the thing on the edge of the crystal – in addition to two buttons on the side for home and back. It runs Samsung’s Tizen OS, a system used by Samsung in their original Gear models. Samsung, however, isn’t announcing compatibility today which suggests some changes in the Gear lineup. The new watch includes NFC for payments and other wireless connectivity and it even includes an e-SIM – a method to make calls and perform some tasks without a phone nearby.

Speeds and feeds are fairly standard – 360 x 360 resolution, a nice dual core 1.0 GHz processor, 4GB internal memory – but the styling is nice and at 11.4mm thin it’s quite svelte. No pricing or shipping info right now but we’ll update this post as we hear more.

LG Gold Plated Smart Watch

LG Is Selling A Gold-Plated Version Of Its Watch Urbane Smartwatch For $1,200

Android fans wanting a touch of gold with their smartwatch — a la the Apple Watch — may be interested to learn of a fancy pants version of LG’s Watch Urbane.

Priced at just $1,200, the LG Watch Urbane Luxe is a limited edition timepiece produced by LG and jeweler Reeds. It will be showcased at the IFA electronics show in Berlin this week and isavailable for pre-order on Reeds’ site now, though the actual product — the 500 of them being made — won’t ship until October.

Beyond the standard LG Urbane, which is probably one of the nicest looking Android smartwatches to date, Reeds has added 23-karat gold plating and an alligator leather strap. If that didn’t get your fancy, there’s a bespoke deployment clasp and “each LG Watch Urbane Luxe is individually numbered and presented in a piano gloss lacquered case with a signed certificate of authenticity.”


We can think of plenty of things more deserving of our $1,200, but maybe there are 500 people who will go for this. I’m personally a much bigger fan of LG’s new rollable keyboard, which is also being unveiled this week in Germany this week and will be a lot, lot cheaper.

Apple Watch Is No. 2 Wearable

According to a new report out this morning from IDC, Apple is now the number two wearable maker, thanks to its Apple Watch, coming in just behind market leader Fitbit during the second quarter of 2015. And it’s a close race, the analyst firm found. Apple shipped 3.6 million units in Q2 2015, just 0.8 million units shy of Fitbit’s total 4.4 million units, the report states. Those figures mean that Apple now has nearly 20 percent of the wearables market, while Fitbit has just over 24 percent.

Across the industry, 18.1 million wearables shipped in the quarter, a huge 223.2 percent increase from the 5.6 million units shipped during the same quarter last year.

Even though Apple could be benefitting from early buzz around the Apple Watch, IDC still sees strong potential for the device to continue to increase its marketshare in the months ahead. The firm noted that Apple is just getting started with the Watch, having only reached 16 geographic markets to date with, and only now beginning to forge agreements with third-party retailers.

Those retailers have also benefited from Apple Watch sales, as it turns out. News from earlier this week indicated that Apple’s wearable has been a “smash hit” at Best Buy, for example. The retailer, which was the first in the U.S. to carry the device outside Apple Stores, started selling Apple Watch in 100 locations in August. But demand turned out to be so high that Best Buy says it will roll out Apple Watch to all 1,050 locations by the end of September, while also deepening its relationship with Apple to expand and improve its in-store Apple displays, begin selling AppleCare, and it will begin testing as an authorized service provider in 50 stores.

This announcement was made following the release of the company’s better-than-expected earnings which included a 3.8 percent rise in same-store sales and a 12 percent increase in profits. Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly credited Apple Watch as contributing to those numbers, saying “Demand for Apple Watch has been so strong in the stores and online.”

In addition, IDC’s new report noted that the Apple is continuing to develop its watchOS platform, which could also play a role in increasing the device’s market share in the months ahead. The next version of watchOS will allow for native applications, Apple announced at WWDC in June, and that could have a similar effect that iPhones enjoyed when native apps became available, IDC believes.

Despite being early days for the device, Apple Watch has proven to be a worthy competitor to Fitbit and other established wearables, as it accounted for about two out of every three smart wearables shipped in the quarter.


“Apple has clearly garnered an impressive lead in this space and its dominance is expected to continue,” said Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. “And, although Fitbit outshipped Apple, it’s worth noting that Fitbit only sells basic wearables – a category that is expected to lose share over the next few years, leaving Apple poised to become the next market leader for all wearables.”

The report also noted that with Apple’s entry into the wearables market, the gap between smart wearables and basic wearables (e.g. basic fitness trackers) will begin to widen. Fitbit is clearly leading in that latter category today, however, with triple-digit year-over-year worldwide volume growth and double-digit year-over-year worldwide revenue and profit growth, says IDC.

Rather than trying to compete with smart watches and their many applications, the Fitbit resonates with its customers because of its simple value proposition around health tracking.

LG Portable keyboard for Mobiles

Mobiles That Folds Into A Stick To Fit In Your Bag

If you ever wanted to stuff a full-size keyboard inside your (big) pockets or bag, then LG’s got your back with its newest product.

That’s right, the Korean company has just unveiled a full-sized QWERTY keyboard for smartphones and tablets that rolls up into a stick for storage and portability.

‘Rolly Keyboard’ — yup, that’s the name LG that has given it — is a little smaller than a regular size keyboard; each key is 17mm, as opposed to the standard 18mm. Powered by a single AAA battery, it uses Bluetooth to connect with a device. LG claims it can last for around three months before running out of juice.

The keyboard, which is made from “durable” polycarbonate and ABS plastic, will be unveiled at the IFA Electronics event in Berlin next week, alongside the G Pad II tablet. LG isn’t revealing the cost for now, but it said that the gizmo will go on sale in the U.S. in September, before making its way to other parts of the world during the final quarter of this year.

LG Portable keyboard for Mobiles