Last year was a pretty quiet stretch for Google's smartwatch operating system. Android Wear wasn't entirely ignored, but it wasn't really given any major new features, either. I saw quite a few people wondering if Google was done with Android Wear after Google I/O last year, and while I don't think that's the case (yet), I can understand the sentiment.
Apple found a successful launch with the Apple Watch, and the smartwatch market as a whole has apparently fallen in line with the company. Apple leads that market, and a lot of companies have apparently decided it's not worth going up against watchOS at this point in time. It's not just Google going quiet on the Android Wear front, manufacturers need to be leading the charge, too, and it's a silent effort for the most part.
A friend of mine recently picked up a Fossil-branded Q series smartwatch, which features Android Wear on board. We had a quick conversation about the platform in general, and, after he did some looking around for the best possible option right now, he landed on the Q series.
I have to agree with him on this one. I've tried a lot of Android Wear smartwatches over the years, and Fossil has made my favorites to date.
I couldn't help but start wondering if I had ever seen an Android Wear smartwatch out in public. I don't know about you, but I've always found this a pretty fun game. Seeing what's out there in the wild in your neck of the woods, while not demonstrative of anything really, can always be interesting to see what's cropping up the most. Especially to see it change if you live in a somewhat small place and travel to a big city.
I can think of a couple times where I've seen a Moto 360 out in the wild. But that's the only model that really stands out to me. To be fair, one of the benefits of the Android Wear platform is that it works so well on watches that look like, well, watches. The Apple Watch has a definitive design, sure, but I'll admit I like the circular design more in general.
So, while the Moto 360 might stand out to me, there is a chance that I saw other Android Wear smartwatches out in the wild, but didn't immediately recognize them as such because they looked like what Fossil (not a smartwatch version), Citizen, or other companies might release.
So I figured I'd reach out to you, as I know there are a lot of Android users out there. Have you picked up an Android Wear smartwatch, and, if so, which model? Did you pick one up awhile back and then ultimately decide against it? Let me know!