That’s right Wear OS Smartphone fans, we’ve got concrete details from Google around which devices will be eligible to upgrade to the new Wear OS 3. So who makes the cut? The latest 3 devices from Mobvoi.
In what has to be acknowledged as a bit of a coup for Mobvoi the latest 3 smartwatches form the OEM are the only currently released devises that can even make the upgrade journey. The TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, TicWatch Pro 3 Cellular/LTE and the TicWatch E3 will all be able to be updated by mid to late 2022.
These watches all share one important feature, a Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform SOC, making this almost certainty a minimum spec going forward. the insanely long timeframe is perplexing as is the statement from Google that ” Wear OS 3 will bring the benefit of many of the new experiences, and in some limited cases, the user experience will also be impacted”.
We’re reading this that updating to Wear OS 3 for these devices could affect battery life, performance or worse both. In order to ameliorate these concerns the update will be via opt in only.
This announcement effectively kills every other Wear OS device on the market for those who are even remotely in the know, it is strange to have Google effetely killed all but 3 wear OS devices without proving replacement hardware, perhaps Samsung will be the only viable Android wearable for the foreseeable future?
I have a TicWatch Pro 3 GPS and was looking forward to Wear OS 3. But after reading this, I am not so sure anymore. Unless Google tweak the software between now and release.
Was about to buy ticwatch pro 3 lte, changed my mind to go for galaxy watch 4 classic. Wear os on samsung watch with rotating bezel is a good combo. Just hope they have enough sensors to compete with Apple
Not sure about “killed”…they’ll be supporting these devices with security updates (2 years from purchase), and it’s not like these devices are currently completely unusable (unless you try using Assistant). I guess Google could try supporting devices that are 5+ years old by porting them to Wear OS 3 as well and absolutely slaughter the software experience.