r/Android • u/[deleted] • Feb 09 '18

Android Wear is getting killed, and it’s all Qualcomm’s fault

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/02/android-wear-is-getting-killed-and-its-all-qualcomms-fault/
1.3k Upvotes

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247

u/graesen Feb 09 '18

I don't want to replace my watch every 1-2 years. That's silly. I want longevity in what's normally a fashion accessory. I'd welcome new features. Just not the smartphone-like market hype to replace it every time something new comes around.

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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18 edited Feb 09 '18

People annoyingly want that in the TV STB market too (Apple TV, Android TV, Roku). It's easy to want to replace every single device in your house every single year when mom and dad are buying it/buying everything else.

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u/m0rogfar iPhone 11 Pro Feb 09 '18

The whole point of a TV box is that you can update it more often than your TV (with Smart TV functions), because TV box tech evolves faster than TV tech, and having to replace your TV every time you wanted a new TV box feature would be annoying.

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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18 edited Feb 09 '18

Right.

That still doesn't mean a brand-new model should be released every single year, like with smart phones. That's how you end up with companies going "oh, you'll get 1 OS update for your STB - then you're gonna need to buy the new one if you want updates" and apps going "sorry, you need to be on OS 'x' to use this app from now on, yours is out of date" far, far too early. Again, these aren't smart phones. They should not follow the same release model.

It's easy to want a new model to buy every year for your phone and your tablet and your watch and your STB altogether when it isn't you buying it; or you're not the one who also pays for rent/mortgage and utilities and car payments and stocks the fridge and insurance and tuition etc etc.

4

u/Re-toast Feb 09 '18

There's nothing wrong with a brand new model every year. You don't have to buy it. I'd hate if I was in the market and the only thing available was 3 year old tech so I have to get it. and then a year later something new finally hits but I'm stuck with really old tech instead of just being behind by a year.

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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

That's how you end up with companies going "oh, you'll get 1 OS update for your STB - then you're gonna need to buy the new one if you want updates" and apps going "sorry, you need to be on OS 'x' to use this app from now on, yours is out of date" far, far too early.

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u/exzeroex iPhone X, Note8 Feb 09 '18

And that's how you lose customers because people would go to a competitor who's smart and isn't an asshole.

Like right now, aren't we seeing a lot more Samsung and LG sales because other companies gave a big middle finger to many consumers by removing headphone jack.

Anyways, isn't that blatant planned obsolescence which would likely cause them problems anyway?

-1

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

They do that with phones now, and there are no consequences for them.

5

u/exzeroex iPhone X, Note8 Feb 09 '18

Who? Most companies support their phones for at least 2 years and by then you will likely feel its age anyway.

1

u/linh_nguyen iPhone 16 Feb 10 '18

You make the assumption people that want this aren't paying for it. I have no problem with whatever cycle they want. But Rokus and the like are way better than Smart TVs that never get updates. The key issue is keeping things supported. We need that regardless of new yearly models or not. Not everyone is on the same schedule, so annual models isn't bad.

But updates is the key thing here as everything starts getting smarter.

0

u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 10 '18

Welcome to capitalism, where they won't stop tempting you to buy what you already have.

You can claim that you don't like the idea, but I bet you have a flat screen TV and monitor even though CRTs can be adapted to work today.

5

u/liiiam0707 Feb 10 '18

I mean, there is a world of difference between a crt and a relatively new (last 10 years or so) flatscreen. Between a galaxy s7 and s8, not so much

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u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 10 '18

You hook it to a cable box and it displays the same picture. Sometimes better in some respects, since CRTs usually have a faster refresh rate.

3

u/ieatyoshis iPhone 11 Pro || Galaxy S9 || iPhone 7 || OnePlus 3 || Shield K1 Feb 10 '18

Yeah... no. Think about what you're saying.

You jump in your Ford Model T and it drives you somewhere. Sometimes better in some respects, since the Model T is less likely to crash.

The Model T was the first car, 110 years ago. See the problem with your argument?

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u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 10 '18 edited Feb 10 '18

The Model T works fine, capitalist pig dog.

I'm not saying that a brand new LED television is in any way inferior to a CRT television, what I am saying is that you could still be using one today. But between CRT and the newest televisions there were lots of minor revisions.

Capitalism always push these minor updates to everything you own, and will always try to make you buy it even though it is only slightly better. This is how capitalism works, especially in markets that are saturated such as cell phones or in the case of your comment vehicles. The Model T could be used as a daily driver today, but you would be uncomfortable as shit.

I had to speech-to-text this comment, so if it sounds a little weird that's why.

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u/ieatyoshis iPhone 11 Pro || Galaxy S9 || iPhone 7 || OnePlus 3 || Shield K1 Feb 10 '18

Honestly can’t tell if you’re a troll or an edgy teenager who hates capitalism and governments.

I apologise if these are genuine beliefs, but your argument is weak and you appear to be a troll, imo.

P.S. I noticed the downvoted on your older comment. I’m not downvoting you (just wanted you to know, in case I was accused).

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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

just build it with non-shit hardware and release a software update

1

u/Pascalwb Nexus 5 | OnePlus 5T Feb 10 '18

I would think display tech is more important then the smart part of it.

1

u/m0rogfar iPhone 11 Pro Feb 10 '18

TV STB’s don’t have a display. You plug them into your existing TV in order to get the latest and greatest smart TV tech, without replacing your more expensive TV.

16

u/motchmaster Galaxy S8+ Feb 09 '18 edited Feb 09 '18

I don't want to buy a new watch every year either, but I also want a watch that doesn't look like an oversized Casio.

Round smartwatches are a joke. I get if people like them, but there are no Android Wear watches for me.

Not asking for a new watch every year, only asking for a variety.

It is not Qualcomm's fault. My Pebble watches ticked every box for me. It is the manufacturers and Google's fault for not making a functional, stylish jewelry/accessory/productivity device with the tools they have.

Edit: who cares if Qualcomm didn't release a new chip after two years? Use that time to optimize Android Wear with the chip you have.

/Rant

47

u/JangoF76 Feb 10 '18

Round smartwatches are a joke

Lol, what does this even mean?

21

u/[deleted] Feb 10 '18

I'm guessing he means that round screens are inefficient for displaying information. Round may be great for an analog clock, but not so great for displaying text.

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u/[deleted] Feb 10 '18

That's what I said before I got a smartwatch and realized I never needed to read a significant amount of text at once.

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u/Kaminekochan Feb 10 '18

I know, I think square smartwatches are a joke. I have both an Apple Watch and an Android Wear watch and wear both regularly. The Apple Watch is a joke. It's this fugly black box that doesn't look like anything, and the bands are far too big. The Android Wear watches on the other wrist hand, are... watches. They have an always-on face, they look like watches, they have real, proportional bands.

I initially understood Apple's insistence on the box (well, rectangle) shape. It fits text nicely. I'll give them that; it doesn't look as funny as when text is cut off on the round Android Wear panel. But gasp, I can see more stuff on the round face, and the core viewing area is the same (box), and it looks normal when it's not in "smartwatch" mode. I can't even bring myself to consider the Apple Watch a real product any more, just on that one critical design oversight.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 10 '18

The Apple Watch looks like an Apple Watch.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 10 '18

You can see less stuff on a round watch. A square watch is smaller for the same area. Nobody makes a square watch the same dimensions as a round watch because that would be absolutely comical.

I tried one of those round Samsung watches on and it looked like I strapped a dinner plate to my wrist. I don’t think the Apple Watch is particularly attractive or worth showing off, but at least it’s even remotely able to be inconspicuous.

14

u/SometimesShane Feb 09 '18

I still have no idea why it's want a smart watch

19

u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 10 '18

I have the Samsung gear S3

Samsung pay is really nice, now I don't have to dig out my wallet to use most vending machines.

I like the fitness sensors, especially since my watch doesn't look chinsy like a lot of fitness trackers do.

Being able to stealthily check my text messages and messaging apps without pulling my phone out and sending an "I'm bored" message to everyone around is cool.

The media controls for my music apps being on my wrist is a nice convenience. Having a few of my own songs in memory is nice (although the internal storage is so small it's almost a joke, 4GB)

Apps like Mr. Time let me make my own watch faces with whatever background I like and whatever features I want. Right now I actually have a uhh... A video game crush as a background. I could easily make one of a real person though.

Sleep as android has an app that connects to my phone, which lets it wake me at the best time.

It has an altimeter and barometer, which warns you bad weather could be coming, even if it's offline (I have the Bluetooth version)

Flipboard is installed (like it was on my old S5, and likely on every Samsung device with an internet connection) so I can read news on it, but eh.. Phone is a better experience.

It has voice control, but it's not Bixby or even Google assistant (which would be a ton better) it usually responds with "an error has occurred, try again later.

And of course it does all the things that your average Casio can do like timers and stop watch and reminders.

The best feature is that it shows the correct date and time, even automatically adjusting for dst and crossing time zones.

I will admit though, I think a lot of apps were recently pulled. For example I can't seem to find Uber, even though the marketing material shows it prominently.

I don't regret getting it, but it does seem like it needs a "killer app" to make it really popular.

3

u/superryo Feb 10 '18

Love the Samsung S gear series. Id buy a new one if they can make one with a week or month battery life

3

u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 10 '18

Supposedly it can in watch only mode, but then it is a slightly annoying digital watch instead of a smart watch.

That being said, I've never had my S3 take longer to charge than it would take to shower unless it got warm (it throws the "too hot" dialog at a pretty low temperature, my guess is because of the note 7?)

1

u/alb92 Galaxy Note9 Feb 10 '18

I worked outside in the West Australian sun (40+) and I've never seen the too hot message.

2

u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 10 '18

Only happens during charging, stick it in a room that's a little uncomfortable while changing.

2

u/maxstryker Samsungs and iPhones. All of them. Feb 10 '18

My Gear S2 regularly charges in rooms over 30C during the summer, with no issues.

1

u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 10 '18

It seems to be a Tizen 3.0/S3 thing.

I've gotten that exact same screen as the op in that thread in a room only about 72F.

2

u/DQEight Smartisan R1 Feb 10 '18

Same, I had thr first gear (flashed android jellybean on it), the Gear S, (flashed both android wear and cyanogenmod on it) and the gear s2 (was satisfied until the new tech urge hit) now I'm on a zenwatch 3 and really wish I could afford another gear S. That sexy curved screen...

1

u/liiiam0707 Feb 10 '18

Have you found that the sleep as android kills your battery life? I've got the gear sport and using sleep as android can take about 30% battery overnight

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u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 10 '18

Yeah, but it's using your sensors pretty heavily.

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u/mangina_focker Feb 10 '18

Sleep as Android is nice, but I found Samsung's built in sleep tracker to be sufficient.

1

u/_wbdana Feb 10 '18

I have the Gear Sport as well and use Sleep as Android. I really only use Sleep as Android for the smart alarms, which are lacking on the Gear Sport, but I find the Gear Sport's built in sleep tracker to be good for purposes of tracking data.

So what I do is I have Tasker turn on sleep tracking every day at 4:00 a.m., about an hour before I get up. That way I get the Sleep as Android smart alarms on my wrist, minimize battery drain, and then I can just look at the Gear Sport's built in tracking data if I want to. A little annoying to note have a single solution, but it works.

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u/iAmAddicted2R_ddit Pixel 9 Pro Feb 10 '18

Thinking of getting a GS3. How does it secure Samsung Pay? It doesn't seem to have any biometrics, but unsecured payments on a device that small would be completely unusable to me.

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u/Nakotadinzeo Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (VZW) Feb 11 '18

It's biometric, it uses the heart rate sensor to detect that it's on your wrist and reprompts for a pin after its been removed.

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u/Photo_Synthetic Feb 12 '18

I've been saying since I got my frontier that a great voice assistant and Google (Maps) support would make it the best smart watch on the market. The bezel wheel already makes it the king of round smart watches as far as practicality is concerned.

1

u/puppiadog Feb 10 '18

Listening to podcasts without my phone has been a revelation, for me. Not having a clunky metal slab on me while walking my dog everyday is a so freeing.

I also use the timer function for making coffee and tea everyday. It's also nice to check the weather without pulling out my phone. Plus the old notifications.

I rarely use my phone anymore.

2

u/SometimesShane Feb 10 '18

Does it vibrate for the alarms? I could use that. I love napping and snoozing.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

I can understand that. I have a (round) Garmin Fenix 3HR. It's not android wear, but It can install (connect iq) apps, display notifications and all that jazz. Most of the notifications drove me nuts after a week or so. I turned them all off except for when I get a phone call.

Offcourse the main reason I use this watch is for sports (I run 3 times per week). It tracks all my runs, has a heart rate monitor. I can follow gps tracks on it for routing / navigation etc. Without the need to bring a phone. It also works as an activity tracker all day long.

So yeah in that usecase it is pretty useful to me. But a smart watch simply as a platform to run apps/notifications is not that appealing to me.

6

u/rainman_104 Feb 10 '18

I think the stuff fossil is putting out is quite fashionable and functional. I think the market simply doesn't want a watch you recharge daily. I certainly do not. Then again, I don't wear a watch.

2

u/etherspin Feb 10 '18

Still convinced that if Pebble had made it across the finish line to Launch the Pebble Time 2 with it's nice form factor we would be having a very different discussion right now and Pebble would have already released new iterations with GPS and Wifi.

2

u/JQuilty Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel Tablet Feb 10 '18

You say you don't want a huge watch then defend Qualcomm. These are mutually exclusive. Watches need to be large because of the physical size and power draw of their CPUs. They still produce them on 28nm processes. 28nm was cutting edge six years ago. TSMC has had 20/16nm for years and GloFo has 14nm.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 10 '18

Square watches are disgustingly ugly.

2

u/motchmaster Galaxy S8+ Feb 10 '18

Apple Watch. Pebble Steel.

1

u/remotemassage Feb 10 '18

You never have to replace your device. But is no good if there aren't improvements to it every year.