HTC’s entrance into the wearables space was put into question last week with a story that claimed HTC was pulling the plug on the program. The initial story was vague and referenced HTC’s work on a Qualcomm Toq based smartwatch, but there was never any reference to HTC’s Android Wear plans. Today, we have a new report from CNET which claims HTC is still planning to release a smartwatch, but the launch of the device is set for early 2015 rather than late 2014 as originally expected.
The HTC smartwatch is said to have features that consumers will immediately gravitate towards and its design should be unique enough to allow it to stand out in the already crowded smartwatch category. No specific features were shared regarding HTC’s Android Wear smartwatch, but the delay may actually be a good thing for consumers. All of the first-generation Android Wear devices have the same basic specification and feature set. But that could all change over the next few months with updates to the Android Wear platform. Google is planning several updates to Android Wear which will allow the smartwatches to pair directly with Bluetooth headphones, enabling wireless music listening without having to be connected with a smartphone. Android Wear will also be getting GPS support for smartphone-free location tracking. Updates like these will allow you to track your job while wirelessly listening to your music without needing to strap your phone to your arm.
The other issue that all Android Wear devices currently suffer from is bad battery life. Yes, most Android Wear smartwatches can make it through a full day, but increasing battery life to two days would give consumers a lot more confidence. The new Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 may be the perfect chip for an HTC smartwatch since it optimizes power consumption and performance at a very low cost. Hopefully, HTC’s delayed Android Wear device will include the right hardware to support the platforms new features.
