Google is rolling out an update to its Android Wear operating system for smartwatches that brings new features including new gestures, support for drawing emojis on the screen, and support for “always-on” apps which don’t disappear when you drop your wist.
One of the biggest changes though, is support for connecting to the internet over WiFi. Google says most existing Android Wear watches already have the hardware to support that feature. But most isn’t all: The LG G Watch doesn’t support WiFi.
Update: Neither does the Asus ZenWatch or LG G Watch R.
LG’s G Watch was one of the first smartwatches to ship with Google’s wearable operating system when it launched about a year ago. It has a 1.65 inch square display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM, and Bluetooth 4.0.
LG’s newer G Watch R with a round display supports WiFi. So do the Motorola Moto 360 and Sony Smartwatch 3. And Phandroid reports that it’s likely the Asus Zenwatch and Samsung Gear Live also have the hardware to support WiFi.
So what good is WiFi on a smartwatch anyway? You can use it to connect to the internet to get app notifications even when your smartphone’s not around. You can send messages without a phone. And you can use Google Now and other apps that require an internet connection.
You just can’t do those things without a phone if you were an early adopter who bought LG’s first smartwatch.
via Phandroid
Was this close to getting a zenwatch. I guess the 360 it is
Phandroid update :
Update: A previous version of this article stated that the G Watch R and ZenWatch would in fact get WiFi support with the upcoming Android Wear OTA update. Since then, we’ve received confirmation from both LG and ASUS that those devices would not get WiFi support as originally published. We apologize.
Thanks, I’ve updated the post!
Confirmation from whom? So far Phandroid is the only source saying the GWR doesn’t have WiFi (including LG who has yet to comment). In LG’s initial press conference they said it did have WiFi and the FCC give accreditation that it has wireless. Either Phandroid is wrong or LG lied and the FCC gave out bogus accreditation.
https://fccid.net/number.php?fcc=ZNFW110&id=177629#axzz3Y3BRt14L
So now some reports say the LG G Watch R is going to support WiFi but some other websites have supposedly reached out to LG and got confirmation that it is in fact NOT going to support WiFi, not sure who is right this time…
+Liliputing​ how about NFC? Possible to activate too?
Well I got mine in December for $80 on Groupon….
Guess I will wait for the moto 360 to get under $100
moto 360 to get under $100 🙂
Rewarded again for jumping on early…
The “reward” for early adopting, is owning the device before anyone else. If you don’t care about having the device before everyone else, then there really isn’t a reason to buy it so early.
Most of us wait until 1. it’s been reviewed at least a few hundred times or 2. it gets a drop in price.
The only time I think I was ever an early adopter was when the first Android Tablets hit the market. I wanted one right away so I got an Archos tablet, which came DoA. I then got a GTablet and was burned ever so painfully by that tablet (in terms of it not being able to update to anything but ICS) that I decided I was going to wait when it came to buying certain electronics.
When wearables hit the market I had my eye on the Samsung series but really got pulled in the Motorola direction, despite that little bar people complain about. I did my research, I went looking at the watch in stores and I got my moto 360 the second it got the update that made it truly functional and I’ve been a very happy camper ever since.
TLDR? Early adopters don’t get to have buyer’s remorse. 🙂
It’s called supporting the concept.
How terrible of Google that they can’t change physical hardware with their software updates.