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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Can Android Wear Hit Critical Mass Ahead of the Apple Watch Launch?

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Back in early July, Android Wear hit the small screen with the release of the first two Android-powered smartwatches, the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live. In the months that have passed we have seen major changes to the Android Wear space, including the ushering in of several new Android smartwatches and the release of a major software update. But more than that, the five months that have passed since the launch of Android Wear have provided a major head start for Google in a race that its main competitor, Apple, has not yet fully begun to run.
What does this head start mean for the two mobile giants? For Android Wear it means months of invaluable real-world data for Google, its app developers, and smartwatch manufacturers everywhere. But I believe the advantages that Android Wear possesses run deeper still. Google has already begun to learn (and iterate on) something to which Apple seems oblivious: Smartwatch users are looking for a product that can streamline – not deepen – their smartphone dependence.

Technology for Technology’s Sake

What we know about Android Wear thus far is that the platform wants an intuitive smartwatch experience, providing glanceable updates that require little interaction. It’s made as much clear in its creative vision. And developers are beginning to take notice. This week, Vonage announced the ability to trigger a preset “Can’t talk right now” response on its Vonage Mobile app by simply double-tapping the watch face. The feature – a first of its kind – allows users to quickly dismiss calls or messages from the Vonage app without even needing to glance at their smartwatch. It’s an elegant and simple solution, and one designed to simplify user experience. According to Grady Leno, Vonage’s VP of Product, double-tapping is “basically a macro for six different actions. You’re stripping out the UI and getting to the core of what the user is trying to accomplish.”
Such ease stands in stark contrast to what we know so far of the Apple Watch. While its design guide encourages an experience that is personal, holistic, and lightweight, it seems the Apple Watch is more or less determined to bring a full smartphone experience to the smartwatch. Introducing the Apple Watch, Senior VP of Design Jony Ive said, “Magnifying content on a small display is fundamentally important. So we’ve developed a whole new interface, specific to the challenges associated with a product this small.” This new interface is the “digital crown,” a device meant to enable deeper and more prolonged navigation through the watch interface. But while Apple proudly provides a tool that allows navigation without obstructing the display, it seems that Android Wear is happily moving past a need to peruse the display at all.

He Who Has the Data…

Another major boost to the Android Wear ecosystem is the usage data that it will be able to collect over the coming months. Before Apple Watch hits the market, Android Wear will have gathered significant data from Gmail, Google Maps, and a host of other apps on several unique devices. This is already beginning to manifest itself in software updates and new, interactive features like the “double tap” feature mentioned above.
Vonage Director Bryan Stokes feels that this is just the beginning. “Android Wear has already reached Generation 1.5, and is now moving from early adopters into the mainstream,” he said. He also believes that Android Wear is becoming “smarter about which information it’s sending to your watch. What we’ll see over the next couple of generations is it tailoring and hopefully disconnecting you from that smartphone a bit…so that we’re not deeper and deeper immersed in our technology communication.”
Apple Watch, by contrast, is still in its final stages of design and testing, meaning that by the time of its launch it will be at least a full generation behind. This means more time for iteration by Android Wear, and it could also mean a bevy of new smartwatches built to compete with the Apple Watch, each of which will be fueled by months of real-world data.

A Threat to Security?

Another concern around smartwatches involves their potential threat to information security. While Apple has made headlines in recent months forsecurity issues involving iCloud, a Romanian security firm has now displayed how easy it can be to hack into the bluetooth connection that links smartphones and smartwatches. This presents a serious dilemma for potential early adopters who need to protect the confidentiality of information they receive via email or other communication. Such alarmingly vulnerable devices have little chance of fitting into a company BYOD policy, meaning that the demographic most likely to adopt this smartwear – professionals on the go – may be shut out altogether.
On the bright side, improvements to security could be coming in short order for Android Wear devices. Liviu Arsene, Senior Security Analyst at Bitdefender, explains, “These security risks could easily be fixed with stronger or better methods for ensuring the safety of the entire communication.” His suggestions include the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) to safely transmit a PIN code during pairing, but he warns that using NFC “would likely increase the cost and complexity of the devices.” An alternative method would be to “supersede the entire Bluetooth encryption between Android device and smartwatch and use a secondary layer of encryption at the application level.”
This is one area where Apple Watch’s delayed arrival could prove extremely beneficial. While Google deals with potential security concerns to devices that are already in the hands (or on the wrists) of consumers, Apple has months more to invest in a seamlessly secure device. And since the Apple Watch is built specifically for use with Apple’s iPhone, its security options are far greater and more immediately realistic than those available to Android Wear.
With months still remaining before the launch of the Apple Watch, developers on the Android Wear platform are beginning to double down on more intuitive features. Will this head start give Android Wear the boon it needs to gain critical mass, or will it simply serve to improve the features the offering that Apple Watch will provide come early 2015? As with so many other factors in the race to define this new category of watch-like wearables, only time will tell.

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