Google has settled on the specs of its first Android-powered smartwatch, and could be preparing to launch it in June… around the same time rumors suggest Apple might announce the iWatch.
Google has settled on the specs of its first Android-powered smartwatch, and could be preparing to launch it in June… around the same time rumors suggest Apple might announce the iWatch.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that an Android-powered smartwatch is coming from LG and Google. The Journal’s source said other companies may also be involved, and that the device is likely to be unveiled at Google I/O, Google’s developer conference, which is scheduled to begin June 25.
According to the report, the watch will be integrated with Google Now.
The report didn’t specify the N word, but this information reeks of a quasi-reference design product in line with the Nexus strategy. It’s easy to imagine all this as a Nexus-branded smartwatch with all the core attributes of the Nexus lines of phones and tablets. Let’s go ahead and call it the Nexus Smartwatch.
So what are these Nexus attributes when applied to a smartwatch?
Google will wait until July to unvel its new Nexus 8 tablet with Android 4.5, rather than using the Google I/O event in June to make new product announcements, an inside source claims. The new tablet is expected to become Google’s main focus for Android 4.5, while the smaller Nexus 7 will apparently be killed off entirely.
Google has started rolling out a new update (v4.1) for Google Play Services that brings with it a lot of new goodies for developers to play around with. This includes a new turn-based multiplayer API, preliminary Google Drive integration and more.
Google had announced Play Services back at Google I/O last year, which allows it to bring a host of new features to Android devices without pushing out an update for the OS itself.
Google officially announced that some of its Google Now features will be making their way to its desktop client as well as its mobile search applications, back in May at its I/O event.
Over the next few days, Google will be rolling out travel information, reservations, calendar events and much, much more through Google Search.