Google Store now focuses on selling Google-made products

The internet was abuzz with news earlier that Android Wear might have been abandoned by Google after the section dedicated to these products disappeared from the Google Store. But it seems the reason isn’t as drastic as that one. With the growing number of Google hardware, it seems the company wants to focus on promoting and selling Google-made products. Hoi Lam, a Googler who works with the Android Wear team, confirmed this news on Twitter. Lam adds they have been working over the past year on “custom store fronts with online retailers” for Android Wear. You can see his series of tweets below the cut. 

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Misfit pushes back release of Vapor to October

If you’ve been keeping your eye out for Misfit’s Vapor, you’re going to have to wait for a bit. The smartwatch, which was introduced at CES 2017, was expected to come out this summer. But the company just announced they’re pushing the release date back to October. Aside from the delayed release, nothing has changed about the Android Wear 2.0-powered watch.

It’ll still have a round 1.39-inch AMOLED touchscreen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 processor, 4GB of memory, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, water resistance of up to 50 meters, and Google Assistant support using the device’s built-in microphone. Unfortunately, the Vapor doesn’t come with GPS. But if that’s something you don’t need, the Misfit Vapor comes in at US$199 (around CA$250).

Source: Android Authority

Louis Vuitton outs first premium Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch

Louis Vuitton is the latest high-end fashion label to have its own Android Wear smartwatch. Called the Tambour Horizon, this premium smartwatch features a 1.2-inch 390 x 390 round AMOLED touchscreen, Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset, 521MB RAM, 4GB RAM, and 300mAh battery. Water resistance for the wearable is up to 30m. It also features a 42mm case and is 12.55mm thick. It’s covered by sapphire from front to back.

For the style part of the watch, Louis Vuitton is offering 60 different detachable straps for the Tambour Horizon. The fashion brand is introducing two of its own apps into this wearable, which are geared towards travelling. One is My Flight, which brings all your air travel information into one place. And the other is City Guide, which shows you recommendations and tips on the places you visit. Pricing for the Tambour Horizon starts at US$2,450 (around CA$3,160) for the stainless steel version. If you want the black model, that’ll cost US$2,900 (around CA$3740).

Source: GSMArena

ASUS ZenWatch 2 & 3 aren’t getting Android Wear 2.0 just yet

Earlier in the year, Google released a list of all the smartwatches that were getting Android Wear 2.0 update. Many wearables on that list got the update but the ZenWatch 2 and 3 haven’t gotten it yet. And it seems the wait could take a while. ASUS has said it’ll release the update early in Q2. But with the second quarter over, there isn’t a sign of the update yet. According to ASUS’ Germany Twitter account, Android Wear 2.0 is coming to the ZenWatch 2 in July and the ZenWatch 3 is getting the update in August. ASUS USA’s Twitter account said Android Wear 2.0 was coming to the ZenWatch 3 “in the coming weeks.” But that tweet has since been deleted. And that doesn’t bode well for the update coming soon. We are still holding out hope that ASUS keeps its word and eventually get the update in the hands (or we should say wrists) of ZenWatch owners.

Source: Ubergizmo