There’s been a number of companies going back and forth with Android Wear lately, and it has had many people worried about the future of the platform… Especially since Google has been very slow to release the highly anticipated Android Wear 2.0 update.
This led to people assuming OEMs would be preparing to release a new smartwatch to coincide with the new update, but it seemed like Google will be the only company doing that.
The Android Wear platform is still being used by a number of companies though. Motorola and Huawei are saying they might not be releasing new devices every year, but still say that they will refresh their hardware when they feel the time is right. Swarovski says they’ll be releasing an Android Wear smartwatch in March, Casio just announced a new WSD-F series watch, and New Balance just revealed some details about the device they’ve been working with Intel on too.
Then at CES this week, ZTE has confirmed they are working on an Android Wear smartwatch as well, and says it should be released sometime in 2017. ZTE’s chief executive officer, Lixin Cheng, spoke with CNET this week and told them the company has already partnered with a wireless carrier in the United States, and that the wearable will have its own LTE connectivity so it doesn’t have to be paired with a phone all the time.
Cheng didn’t reveal any additional details about the device though, other than saying they appreciate the work previous Android Wear OEMs have done for the market. Cheng feels that they’ve done the experimenting for them, and that this will help them not make the same mistakes others made. ZTE is known for manufacturing budget-friendly smartphones, so it will be interesting to see if they follow in the footsteps of companies like ASUS, and produce a device that offers a lot of value for the consumer.
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