Google just made its\u00a0expected Android Wear rebranding\u00a0official, changing the name of the platform to be more neutral.<\/p>\n
The new name for Android on smartwatches is \u2018Wear OS by Google\u2019 and includes a new logo and app. Since the platform works with both Android and iOS devices, the company didn\u2019t want to limit itself and mislead consumers. Wear OS obviously sounds friendlier across both Google and Apple\u2019s respective mobile operating systems.<\/p>\n
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Rebranding the platform comes as year-over-year activations improved by more than 60 percent during the holidays. Despite what many of us\u00a0thought about Android Wear, smartwatches with Android at their core are selling on an okay level.<\/p>\n
Another surprising statistic from Google is that one out of three new Android Wear device owners in 2017 also used an iPhone. So maybe the platform isn\u2019t as dead as we believed.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s part of what Google\u2019s Dennis Troper, Director of Product Management for Wear OS, had to say about the decision:<\/p>\n
\u201cAndroid Wear was founded on the belief that wearable technology should be for everyone, no matter what style you wear on your wrist or what phone you have in your pocket.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re introducing a new name that reflects our technology, vision, and most important of all\u2013the people who wear our watches.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
More smartwatches are on the way, too. Google plans on attending Baselworld next week where new watches and jewelry debut every year. Last year the company and its partners had a solid presence at the trade show, and 2018 will be no different. Any new hardware will be pushing Wear OS.<\/p>\n
On top of it all, it\u2019s likely Wear OS undergoes a reboot on the software side at\u00a0I\/O 2018\u00a0in May.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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