Google made an important announcement for the wearable industry

Mar 22, 2014 13:15 GMT  ·  By

We hear a lot of talk about wearable tech being the future and there’s a lot of evidence to support that. For example, lots of companies are willing to take the plunge, as his week it was announced two new smartwatches are coming, in the form of the Moto 360 and LG G Watch.

But the most important announcement came from Google. The tech giant officially introduced its own dedicated OS called Android Wear, especially designed for wearables. This is a very important step in wearable history, because even with the advances being made, smartwatches are still in their infancy.

Currently the Pebble smartwatch appears to be the most valuable piece of wearable tech on the market. Other products have failed to leave a mark, like the original Samsung Galaxy Gear, but the Korean tech giant has just pulled off the veil the next-generation smartwatches and fitness band. Still we are yet to discover, how these new products will be received by customers.

The advent of Android Wear opens the gate to a whole set of new possibilities for improvement, because let’s face it, smartwatches aren’t currently being hailed by a lot of people. But they could be in the future, with the condition Android Wear really improves on what’s currently the norm. And here's a few suggestions on what could make Android Wear devices better.

Android Wear smartwatches have to last a lot

One of the complaints Galaxy Gear adopters had, was the insufficient battery life. Granted, in terms of functionalities and hardware, the Samsung wearable offered much more than Pebble, but one could only use the smartwatch for 24 hours, before having to go back for a re-fill.

Battery life is a very important factor to take into consideration. If you’re one of those people who receives lots of messages and emails, your smartwatch will need to be juiced up in order to keep you up to date.

So Android Wear needs to raise the bar, by providing the necessary tools for delivering a longer battery life. For some users, having to recharge the smartwatch every single day might prove too much of hassle and Google and its partners need to take that aspect into consideration.

Android Wear will need to come up with several improvements
Android Wear will need to come up with several improvements

The Android Ware smartwatch must look incredible

The early smartwatch entailed a bulky, plastic design with a square screen, but today this isn’t acceptable anymore. The Samsung Galaxy Gear received complaints of being too chunky and frankly people tend to complain about the overall size of the smartwatch.

So Android Wear devices must focus on making the exterior fashionable, just like a piece of jewelry. Would you wear your Pebble watch or Galaxy Gear at a wedding or fancy dinner? You could go ahead and do it, but the whole assembly would look pretty dissonant.

Google will have to open up Google Now, for smoother app flow

Smartwatches without apps are a wasted potential. Pebble launched its Android and iOS app store and now has a lot to offer to users. But this was possible after a year of development, which made it possible to by-pass the complicated process of downloading and installing apps.

Having just a few months ahead of the first official launch of Android Wear watches, Google needs to have prepared a whole plethora of apps, in order to be able to compete with the likes of Pebble.

But since Android Wear is centered around Google Now, a great tool for receiving news update about traffic, weather and more, Google will have to provide open access to it (currently it's not).

If Android Wear is going to be using the card-based method of relaying notifications to users, Google should consider offering developers plenty of freedom to develop apps in every category.

Smartwatches that look like jewelry might convience a lot of users
Smartwatches that look like jewelry might convience a lot of users
Customization Customization Customization

Devices like Galaxy Gear usually pack on board a lot of stuffs and features, in an attempt to appeal to just about anybody. But that shouldn’t be the case.

Depending on life-style and budget, users should be able to opt for the features they want onboard. For example, active users will probably want fitness-oriented apps to be pre-installed and IP67 resistance to dust, dirt or water.

Those looking to use the smartwatch to place phone calls, might want to have a microphone embedded and so on. The possibilities are endless.

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Smartwatches need to improve to become mainstream
Android Wear will need to come up with several improvementsSmartwatches that look like jewelry might convience a lot of users
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