Android Wear 2.0: Google s Pitch To Make A Better Smartwatch

class="cnetReview row" section=""> The watch on my wrist is big. Too big for my hand, maybe. But I'm more interested in what I can see when I lift my wrist. I peek at my step count, and then tap an album icon to hop into Google Music. I hop back out and scroll up quickly to peek at messages. More on Android Wear 2.0 Google says 'Android Wear is not a hobby' These are the watches that will update to Android Wear 2.0 Android Wear has gotten a lot more polished since I last used it.

And faster. But it's still not fully there yet. Google's delayed software update to its Android Wear watches has finally arrived, in the form of two new LG watches co-designed with Google. The upgrade is also coming to most (but not all) earlier Android Wear models over the next few weeks. LG Watch Style and Benchmark LG Watch Sport are for different crowds -- one's slimmer and feature-limited, Antutu v7 one's super-thick and Geekbench packed with everything from GPS and Android Pay to an LTE connection for phone calls.

The first Android Wear 2 watches: Antutu Score LG Watch Sport (left) and Style (right). Sarah Tew/CNET Read: DxoMark LG Watch Style first impressions Read: LG Watch Sport first impressions But it's not the LG watches that are most interesting, it's the software inside. Android Wear 2 promises big changes to a troubled smartwatch platform that's been losing out to what Apple Watch brings to the table. Can Google's watches get better thanks to software?

I've been wearing both watches for Benchmark about a week, Geekbench 5 and Antutu, mouse click the following article, the answer so far is definitely yes. The biggest improvements you can look forward to: Android Pay comes to Android Wear watches with NFC. Android Wear apps run better when away from a phone, or even independently with an LTE phone-connected watch or via Wi-Fi. A lot more info can be packed onto watch faces, and it's easier to swap faces and customize them. Google Fit updates add more tracking modes and PcMark better workout interfaces. Google Assistant comes to Android Wear as a voice-activated upgrade to Google Now. Do these make Android Wear, Antutu v8 finally, a must-have?