Today we’re launching the third developer preview of Android Wear 2.0 with a big new addition: Google Play on Android Wear. The Play Store app makes it easy for users to find and install apps directly on the watch, helping developers like you reach more users.
Okay that’s great and all, but where’s the release and where are the new watches?
We’ve gotten tons of great feedback from the developer community about Android Wear 2.0 – thank you! We’ve decided to continue the preview program into early 2017, at which point the first watches will receive Android Wear 2.0. Please keep the feedback coming by filing bugs or posting in our Android Wear Developers community, and stay tuned for Android Wear Developer Preview 4.
Oh okay. Well, not that it matters for me personally anyway – I’m an early adopter and one of those idiots who bought the first generation Moto 360.
It is open-source advocates like you Thom who wished that OSes were open-source, not realising that when someone gives you the software source code for free, they have little incentive to make sure your old existing hardware is upgradeable to the new OS version, because there is no money in selling OS upgrades. The reason my old Aspire One first-gen Atom netbook (which shipped with XP) runs Windows 7 perfectly is because Microsoft had a financial interest in selling an upgrade copy of Windows 7.
Google should spend developer time and money to make sure Android Wear 2.0 runs on your Moto 360 for… what financial reason exactly? Especially considering that old Android OS versions can run new Gapps?
Be careful what you wish for and for which OSes you become early adopters of folks… If you think something a for-profit company makes is expensive because it has a price attached to it, just wait to see how expensive it will be if it ever becomes “free” (as is the case with Android OS)
Edited 2016-09-29 21:00 UTC
Android Wear isn’t open source.
Operating system upgrades are free even for closed-source operating systems.
Your comment makes no sense.
Edited 2016-09-29 22:45 UTC
You mean iOS? Which suffers from the same problems with existing hardware not getting new versions for as long as it is really capable.
If you think paid OS upgrades are expensive, the “free” ones are even more expensive when the cost of replacing hardware is factored in. And open-source is basically a guarantee that the software will be free, as anyone can recompile it.
Google has no interest to upgrade Thom’s Moto 360 because their OS is supposed to be free.
Closed Source:
My Lumia 1020 agrees with him.
but
My families Lumia’s 1520 disagree with him.
All my pc’s that got a free upgrade to Windows 10 and the latest MacOS disagree with him.
My iPad disagrees with him.
Open Source:
My OPO and Tab Android devices received a whole bunch of updates and are still planned to receive more
Even my Lego Mindstorms set that gets new firmware (and developer software) disagrees with him
Conclusion: His comment indeed makes no sense.
Sorry to hear you are one of those people that were fooled into buying an Android/iOS wearable instead of a simple sportswatch
Edited 2016-09-30 13:31 UTC
I paid $200 for an Asus ZenWatch about a year ago thinking I’d keep it a week to see how terrible an idea it was and pay the restocking fee.
It turns out that I loved it, will consider it a bargain if I get another year or two out of it and will likely buy another when it’s end of life arrives. I hope I get the upgrade, but the functionality I have is already worth the price I paid.
I’m not saying that everyone needs one of these watches, but for how I use my watch / phone it’s been brilliant.
Ianm, you’re beyond any help. Do you sleep with that thing attached?
Nope, I take it off and charge it every night.
I am in court and in meetings all the time. I get notifications that are really important throughout the day, and i can just glance down and see what’s coming in and decide whether I need to deal with it now or later. I rarely touch my phone any more other than to make calls or write lengthy responses.
I was a real doubter until I had the watch on my arm, but it’s been the perfect device for me. I would never advocate that everyone needs a smart watch, but I do.
ianm,
I wonder how many have considered the potential for smartwatches to covertly violate these rules, especially as they become more sophisticated.
Edited 2016-10-02 23:42 UTC
“…because there is no money in selling OS upgrades…”
You don’t sell an OS upgrade. You keep to your word by streaming an OS upgrade.
When Microsoft says there will be just a single Windows after 10, They’re boldly saying that every mayor streaming is going to be a new OS.
That’s still to be seen. Some form of OS ‘in-the-middle’ image distribution, I presume. To get there Microsoft should forbid -once and forever- any DIRECT access to the core of the OS from the rest of the ecosystem.
You said it. Market ‘wizards’ has been using -along many decades- the word ‘targeting’ as an insuperable allegory. You where ‘targeted’.