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Android Wear 2.0 could be enhanced after Google's acquisition of smartwatch startup Cronologics

posted by Plamen D. / Dec 13, 2016, 7:49 AM

The CoWatch variants developed by Cronologic

The innovation battle for the smartwatch market is getting more and more intense. After Fitbit's acquisition of Pebble, Google has now made a similar move with Cronologics – the startup company that came up with it's own wearable device called CoWatch and the OS behind it.

Cronologics will be joining the Android Wear division of Google, which won't be an unfamiliar experience for the team, as all of the founding members of the startup are former Google employees.

The CoWatch sports high-end specifications at an affordable price but perhaps the biggest contributing factor to the buyout is the software that Cronologics developed for their smartwatch – the OS is compatible with Amazon's voice assistant Alexa, which allows CoWatch users to operate the device by using their voice. It is not difficult to imagine how future Android Wear products could benefit from such a feature, as voice control brings convenience and this would also allow interaction with other gadgets such as Google Home. Speaking of interaction, the watch itself also features Bluetooth 4.1 and cloud connectivity, which enables customers to link up with any smart home sensors they might possess, such as lighting, thermostats, door controls and more.

Furthermore, Cronologics could potentially apply their know-how pretty early on, as the team can now help with the development of Android Wear 2.0, a fact that was also mentioned when the company announced the acquisition:

We see strong alignment with Android Wear’s mission and look forward to working with our new colleagues at Google to continue pushing the frontier of wearable technology and smartwatches with Android Wear 2.0 and beyond.

source: Cronologics via Venture Beat

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6 Comments

1. Scott93274

Posts: 6025; Member since: Aug 06, 2013

I think in another 5 to 10 years, there might be a smartwatch with features relevant enough for me to warrant actually spending money on... as for now, I see them as nothing more than a waste of money.

posted on Dec 13, 2016, 8:09 AM 1

2. Feanor

Posts: 1292; Member since: Jun 20, 2012

Well... yes and no. Maybe smartwatches are not an absolute must have thing but it can also go the other way around; after having used exclusively smartwatches for the last 4.5 years, I bought recently a handsome analogue watch. Alas it is gathering dust in my drawer because I went back to my smartwatch; I just got too used to being able to check my notifications in the same way that before I used to check the time on my wrist and also I got used to getting a rough idea of my calorie intake and time I remain active per day. Maybe not a big deal but once you get used to these things you don't feel like going back.

posted on Dec 13, 2016, 9:10 AM 2

7. Scott93274

Don't get me wrong, there is some value to the current lineup of smartwatches, but for me, I have yet to see any critical, must have features that really draws me in. Granted, this is all subjective to the individual. One thing that is really important to me is battery life, and until there's a breakthrough that allows a smartwatch to last a week on a single charge without sacrificing other features, then I think I'm better off waiting for one of the countless battery tech breakthrus to actually make it to market and into consumer grade products.

posted on Dec 13, 2016, 11:22 AM 2

3. Feanor

Weird; the article makes it look like Android Wear currently doesn't support voice controls at all and that Google buys this startup in order to finally being voice controls to Wear. Which of course isn't the case at all.

posted on Dec 13, 2016, 9:13 AM 1

4. Feanor

posted on Dec 13, 2016, 9:13 AM 3

6. surethom

Posts: 1582; Member since: Mar 04, 2009

Roll on Slimmer Android wear smartwartches that are much smaller than the Gear 3 which is massive. Roll on quarter 1 2017 for Nexus/Pixel watches with Heart rate monitors on BOTH hopefully.