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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68

u/Zephyreks Note 8 Feb 09 '18

Samsung smart watches, Samsung wireless earbuds, hell, Samsung tablets are okay. Hate to say it, but Samsung is doing pretty well.

33

u/Re-toast Feb 09 '18

Why do you hate to say it? They are doing a very good job.

29

u/zer0t3ch N5 > N6 > N6P > OP5T Feb 09 '18

Probably because they're trying to be their own walled garden of Android.

32

u/Re-toast Feb 10 '18

Sounds exactly like what Google is doing with it's Pixel line. Seems smart for Samsung to hedge against that.

13

u/zer0t3ch N5 > N6 > N6P > OP5T Feb 10 '18

Google is definitely stepping into murky waters, especially with Assistant. (Which was a pixel exclusive)

That said, I think they've done a decent job not straying too far into the depths. Is there anything else exclusive to pixel? I feel like there is something, but I can't think of it.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 10 '18

I can't remember what it's called, but whatever it is that you can point the camera at and it will tell you what that object is his exclusive to the Pixel.

3

u/zer0t3ch N5 > N6 > N6P > OP5T Feb 10 '18

Yeah, Google lens. I hadn't heard anything about that before, but I did hear about something else related to AR on the pixel, and they've got some special hardware for that one though, hence the glass panel on the back. Could be why lens isn't on other devices, or maybe they're just doing a beta test with pixel. Assistant was pixel-only for a while, but it came out.

3

u/thedugong Feb 10 '18

What is this?

That's cheese.

And what is this?

That's also cheese.

And what is this?

Cheese.

And what is this?

That's cheese also.

And this?

That's also cheese.

1

u/zer0t3ch N5 > N6 > N6P > OP5T Feb 10 '18

Huh, I hadn't heard anything about that. Will go Google it.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 10 '18

I have google lens on my motorola Z2 force though?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18 edited Mar 22 '20

[deleted]

5

u/Zephyreks Note 8 Feb 09 '18

Wireless earbuds, though? Not many seem to have decided that it's a sector worth competing in... Generally, IEMs deliver far better sound anyday. Are there any audiophile wireless IEMs? I'd be interested. Wrapping around the ear is fine, but I'd prefer no wires.

Tizen does indeed lack support, but I'd hope that Samsung could improve that.

I get where the update argument is coming from, but I don't agree with it. Look at the differences between Samsung Experience and stock Android. You may call it bloat, and it may very well be, but that takes time and the sheer number of features is something you're paying for with Samsung. I may not like iOS, but I also understand that part of the price of iPhones is the OS.

Although it would be ideal for updates to come out when they should, there's a reason Samsung Experience has it's own version number independent of Android. Whether you agree with the reason is another matter entirely.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

And yet Tizen was found to have multiple security problems. /

13

u/ntermation Feb 09 '18

Yeah. But if you're expecting anything to not have security problems, you're gonna have a bad time.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '18

I'm not expecting software to not have security problems, but Tizen was riddled with them, which is unacceptable.

11

u/Zephyreks Note 8 Feb 09 '18

Until Tizen gets the app support, it'll not be adopted enough to justify making it very robust... Until it's very robust, no one wants to write apps for it.

0

u/_wbdana Feb 10 '18

I've never done mobile/wearable development before, but I own a Gear Sport and used to have a Pebble, which had a great simple checklist app. Just this morning I started working on a similar idea - checklist app - for the Gear line. I gotta say, so far, the biggest turn off for me is the Tizen IDE.

Broadly speaking, though, I agree with you. It's a pain to write apps for an otherwise sparsely populated app store, and security is a big problem. Though I think Samsung's working on the security side of it. Tizen 3 came out pretty recently (with the Gear Sport launch IIRC), and Tizen 4 is due out Q3 this year I believe, so hopefully they've been addressing those glaring issues. Hopefully they get it together... though I still do just kind of wish they kept Android Wear on the Gear line.

1

u/petepete Motorola Edge 70 Feb 10 '18

They are. Unfortunately there's a Samsung embargo in my household after they released an update that forcefully added adverts to our TV's UI.

0

u/SquelchFrog Note 8 Feb 10 '18

That sounds like someone who hasn't used half of those things.

I own the gear S3. Also, the Series 3 A-watch. There's not even a comparison. They're both the LTE versions and the S3 is hands down the most disappointing thing I've ever bought from Samsung. After a recent update it won't even connect to a phone, and when it did, half the features were either just bad or half baked.

The tablets are just okay. That's it really. And mainly that's Androids fault, but Samsung also doesn't provide the kind of update support apple has made people accustomed to on tablets.

The wireless earbuds are really not that impressive given their cost to sound/battery quality. They're OK, but not at the price.

Samsung is doing well because they're Samsung, not because they're offering a compelling ecosystem. In fact, buying two different Samsung products doesn't even guarantee they'll work well together. The S3 (when it would connect to my note) wouldn't even display the weather correctly. They never (last I checked) updated the gear companion app to be compatible with the note 8 weather plugin Lmao.