As the Android Wear bandwagon rolls ever onward, we’re starting to see a number of new manufacturers jump on board alongside those who’ve been with the platform from the beginning. In an interview with Engadget, Huawei CEO Richard Yu has indicated that his company also intends to bring a watch to market.
The Chinese OEM recently launched its first wearable device – the Talkband – but it seems they’ll be taking their time with Android Wear, with an expected release sometime in 2015. Of course, that could mean we’ll see something at CES.
Yu also commented that Huawei’s device will be “innovative and beautiful” — “more beautiful” than Samsung’s current darling, the Gear S (an phone-independent device running Tizen, with its own 3G connectivity). The Gear S has been turning heads at IFA despite its size, so Huawei’s setting itself a reasonably high bar there.
This week we’ve seen Asus and Sony join the ranks of manufacturers with Android Wear devices in the market, alongside Motorola‘s high-profile release of the Moto 360.
Android Wear is a good fit for manufacturers that already make Android devices, so it’s not surprising to see Huawei making this move. If anything, it’s surprising they didn’t announce something sooner.
You could argue that Huawei’s Talkband – which also doubles as a Bluetooth earpiece – is a little ahead of its time given recent Android Wear developments around the addition of Bluetooth audio support. It’ll be interesting to see the features – and design – that Huawei brings to the table. If it’s cut from the same cloth as the company’s recent phones, we could be in for something good.
As long as they understand that it can’t just be an LCD screen in a plastic rectangle.