The latest version of Google's wearables OS, Android Wear 2.0, began its painfully slow rollout at the end of March. In fact, It's only just beginning to make it to most mainstream devices. While health is a key selling point for Wear 2.0, the platform clearly isn't accomplished enough for Alphabet-owned health division Verily. They've just announced the Study Watch, an investigational smartwatch designed to passively collect rich, complex data for use in clinical studies.

A key selling point of Android Wear 2.0 is health and fitness tracking, with various devices that can monitor your heart rate, count your steps, and track your progress. The Verily Study Watch is in a league of its own, however. The various sensors are able to monitor a large range of signals, including heart rate, ECG, electrodermal activity, and inertial movements. As well as these functions, the Study Watch is tailored for seamless usage, to allow for high-level tracking with as little impact as possible to the wearer.

The Study Watch also boasts other impressive features, such as 1-week battery life, an always-on low-power display, and a powerful processor. There's no mention of the device's exact firmware, other than that it can be easily updated with OTAs containing important new algorithms and upgrades. For a device that collects important health data, storage is obviously a concern. The Study Watch uses advanced compression coupled with ample internal storage in order to capture the necessary data. That data is also locally encrypted for enhanced security.

Several upcoming studies will be making use of Verily's impressive smartwatch tech, including the Personalized Parkinson’s Project and Baseline Study.

Source: Verily blog