Android Wear Gets GPS Tracking as Sony SmartWatch 3 Pre-Orders Begin - Wall Street Journal (blog)
- The SmartWatch 3 is the first Sony watch to run on the Android Wear operating system.
- Sony
Google is taking its first step toward letting Android Wear watches function without being connected to a phone. On Thursday, the company began pushing a software update that will let watches both connect to a Bluetooth headset and play music downloaded from the Google Play Music app, even when a device is offline and not tethered to a smartphone. The update also brings GPS-equipped watches the ability to track a user's location, route, distance traveled and speed when not linked to a phone.
This will let GPS-enabled watches double as fitness trackers when, say, during a run or a visit to the gym, users decide not to have their phones in their pockets or strapped to their arms. Lo and behold, the first Android Wear watch with built-in GPS technology, the Sony SmartWatch 3, is also going on pre-order from Verizon Wireless today. It'll eventually be sold through the Google Play storefront, alongside watches from Samsung, LG, Asus and Motorola. Although the new smartwatch is Sony third, it's the first from the Japanese company that runs on the Android Wear operating system. Both Verizon and Google will be selling the watch for $250.
This is the first of a series of software updates that David Singleton, the director of Android engineering, told the Journal back in September were on the way to fix many of Android Wear's problems.
Singleton said then that over the next year users would see Bluetooth headset pairing, better battery life, improved notifications and refined voice recognition. Aside from the Bluetooth headset pairing function, this update isn't delivering on those much-needed improvements, which are examples of what Google needs to do if Android Wear is to catch on. But, the update will at least allow Sony's watch do something unique with its GPS sensors.
- The Sony SmartWatch 3 is water resistant and has built-in GPS sensors.
- Sony
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