Google is preparing to compete with the Apple Watch by releasing two “flagship” smartwatches running its Android Wear 2.0 OS in the first quarter of 2017, reports The Verge, citing Android Wear product manager Jeff Chang. The watches won't be Google or Pixel branded, but will have the branding of the unnamed company that’s manufacturing them. Chang said the partnership would be similar to Google’s Nexus smartphone programme in terms of collaboration and goals and the new watches will be the first to run the new version of Wear. Google recently acquired smartwatch OS developer Cronologics to "continue pushing the frontier of wearable technology and smartwatches with Android Wear 2.0 and beyond."
According to the interview, Wear 2.0 will include several new features such as Android Pay support, iOS compatibility, full customisation of watch faces, more powerful standalone apps and a keyboard. Other manufacturers will also release new devices with Android Wear 2.0 throughout 2017, with partner announcements on new devices expected at CES in early January, said Chang, who said Google is "quite optimistic" about the future of smartwatches and believes “this category of product is here with us to stay.”
