Android Wear has something of a problem — A lot of its partner manufacturers have hinted, some less subtly than others, that they’re not satisfied with the limitations placed on their ability to customize the software. Huawei is the latest company to complain about the rigidity of Android Wear.
Now that it’s shown off the Huawei Watch, the Chinese company is bargaining with Google to customize Android Wear to suit its needs. Huawei is known for the heavily customized skin it places over Android on its phones, which essentially makes them look like they’re running iOS. As such, it’s hardly surprising that Huawei wants to tweak Android Wear for its lovely new Watch.
“We wish [we had more freedom to customize the Android Wear platform],” Yang Yong, Huawei’s Vice President of Product Management told TrustedReviews, adding that, “We need to communicate with Google how we can do that. … Android Wear is not as open as Android. For the watch it cannot be a standard.”
Yong argues that customers want to have smartwatches that are more personal and representative of their own style. He seems to think that one of the biggest issues for Android Wear watch makers is that it’s hard to differentiate their smartwatches from everyone else’s. While Huawei has certainly forged its own path with a slightly smaller, round watch face and customizable straps, it’s still not too different from the Moto 360 or LG’s Watch Urbane.
“People have different appetites for the watch,” Yong said. “What we are doing is trying to make from the hardware view, in the design view, in the software view, in the surface view, we are trying to differentiate our watch to appeal to the consumers who will use it.”
Huawei is not the only company who thinks Android Wear could use more features. LG launched a WebOS version of its Urbane smartwatch, which adds a few new features, including its own LTE, and a totally different interface for accessing apps. Samsung has long been making Tizen smartwatches to add its own features, too. Recently, Asus’ CEO hinted that the next ZenWatch may not even run Android Wear, so as to extend battery life.
Only time (sorry) will tell if Google decides to open up Android Wear to customization, or opts to add new features and a redesign of its own making in the future. In the meantime, it seems manufacturers will continue to push the envelope with their own smartwatch operating systems.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.