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While there's been plenty of talk about the consequences of Google, ARM, Qualcomm, the SD Association, the Wi-Fi Alliance, carriers, and the USB-IF no longer working with Huawei, one company has been kept out of the discussion to date: the Bluetooth SIG.
The first Huawei Watch has long been held up as a prime example of a Wear OS device, while its successor, the Huawei Watch 2, didn't fare so well with critics. Both, however, benefit from a surprisingly active joint community of fans that are eager for all the latest updates. Android Police's tips inbox lit up with a flurry of activity when new UI changes courtesy of Wear OS v2.17 began to roll out over the past day, with users reporting that their devices now felt much smoother and faster.
We're expecting a new crop of Wear OS smartwatches to start streaming out in a couple of months with a new Qualcomm smartwatch chipset, but those are bound to be pretty expensive. So if you want a feature-filled Wear OS watch and you want it now, we've got an enticing deal for you: a Huawei Watch 2 Sport for 2.99 from Daily Steals with our exclusive coupon code.
The normal Huawei Watch 2 is not all that great, but the 'Classic' variant retains the traditional timepiece design of the original model. It's a bit bulky, but it has all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a recent Wear OS smartwatch. Now you can get it for $179.99, a $48 drop from the previous Amazon price and $190 off the original MSRP.The Watch 2 Classic runs the latest version of Wear OS, and has built-in GPS, NFC for Google Pay, a customizable shortcut button, and a heart-rate monitor. There's also a 'Watch Mode' that extends battery life to approximately three weeks by disabling most functionality. The Watch 2 Classic does not include LTE connectivity - that's only available on the Sport model.You can buy the Watch 2 Classic from the source links below.Source: Amazon, Best Buy, eBay
The Android Wear market isn't what it once was, but one of the few manufacturers that has stuck around is Huawei. The Huawei Watch 2 Sport and Classic didn't wow us as much as the original Huatch, but given the price drops B&H is offering, they might be worth another look. The Sport is offered for 9.99, and the Classic for 9.99.
So much of our attention right now is focused on what's new with the Android P Beta, but it's not the only platform update Google's introducing this week at I/O. Back in March, Google started the next chapter of its wearable story with the re-branding of Android Wear as Wear OS, followed a couple weeks later by the release of the first Wear OS Developer Preview. Now we're taking a look at what's been tweaked since then, as Google makes available Wear OS DP2.
Google has just announced a new developer preview for Wear OS, which it says brings Android P platform features to wearables. It includes a number of additions, such as a dark system theme, limited background activity, radio deactivation when the watch detects it's not being worn, and so on. Downloads are available right now for the Huawei Watch 2 Sport and Classic.
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- Google has finally made a formal announcement that helps to explain what we observed going on with Huawei Watch 2 users and Google Pay support outside the US and UK: starting today, Wear OS users in Canada, Spain, and Australia can all conduct tap-and-pay transactions with their NFC-equipped smartwatches.
When the Oreo update landed for Huawei's Watch 2 back in February, many reported that it was disabling Google Pay (then called Android Pay). One month and one rebranding later, this issue seems to have been fixed. There are reports that something in the last few days has re-enabled Google's rebranded NFC payments for the Watch 2.
If you've got a Huawei Watch 2, you may want to hold off installing the new Oreo update for now. According to users on reddit, the update appears to disable the Android Pay app on watches that are outside the US or UK, even though Android Pay works in several other countries, including Australia and Canada.
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As the name implies, Android Wear is simply a variation of Android specifically tailored to smartwatches. This year's Wear 2.0 update ran on top of Android 7.0 Nougat, and while some components can be updated through the Play Store, the underlying system can only be updated through normal OTAs.
Huawei is one of the last tech companies still interested in Android Wear. The Watch 2 and Watch 2 Classic were released earlier this year, and the Watch 2 Classic even earned a spot in our Most Wanted list for wearables. Both of the watches are now on sale at Best Buy - $179 ($120 off) for the Watch 2 and $219 ($148 off) for the Watch 2 Classic. These are the same discounts that were live on Black Friday.
There aren't as many big players making Android Wear watches right now, but Huawei is one of them. The second-gen Huawei Watch came out earlier this year, and the price has remained pretty close to the MSRP. However, both versions of the watch are on sale today for more than $100 off MSRP.
Internally, both the Watch 2 and Watch 2 Classic are the same piece of hardware. They've got 4GB of storage, a Snapdragon 2100, GPS, and NFC. On the outside, the Huawei Watch 2 is a sporty device with an integrated silicone band. The Classic is a bit more conventional with a hybrid leather/rubber band you can easily swap.
The Huawei Watch 2 has been bouncing around between $300 and $250 in recent months, but now it's $179 on Amazon. The Watch 2 Classic has been consistently close to $350, but now it's $219. These are solid deals if you're looking for a high-end Android Wear watch.Source: Huawei Watch 2, Huawei Watch 2 Classic
We weren't big fans of the Huawei Watch 2, especially considering how good the first-gen Huatch was, and its $299.99 price tag didn't help it out. But at a hair over $180, the Watch 2 Sport becomes a much more enticing purchase, as does the Classic at $286.75. These are both the lowest prices we've seen on Amazon.The Watch 2 Sport's specs consist of a 1.2" 390p AMOLED display, a Snapdragon Wear 2100, 768MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, a 420mAh battery, and IP68 water resistance, as well as GPS, NFC, and an ambient light sensor. The Watch 2 Classic sports the same hardware, but in a more premium body.As mentioned previously, both the $181.91 price for the Sport in Carbon Black and the $286.75 for the Classic are the best deals we've seen. The Concrete Gray Sport is also discounted, but it's $194.99 and has that weird speckled effect. You'll have to wait until September 9th for the Carbon Black Sport to be in stock, but the Concrete Gray Sport and Classic are both available now. Same-day shipping is even included with the Classic if you're a Prime member.Source: Amazon (Sport), (Classic)
Earlier this week, we posted about a deal on the original Huawei Watch in its black stainless steel finish. But if you have to have the latest, most stylish tech on you, the Watch 2 Classic is just $319.99, with its more affordable Sport sibling only $239.99, on Amazon. That's $50 off the Classic, making it the lowest price we've seen on Amazon for it, and $60 off the Sport.The Watch 2 Classic is essentially a re-bodied Watch 2 Sport. It sports (ha, get it?) a 1.2" 390p AMOLED display, a Snapdragon Wear 2100, 768MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, a 420mAh battery, and IP68 water resistance, as well as GPS, NFC, and an ambient light sensor.You can actually get a new Watch 2 Sport in the speckled Concrete Gray for $242.10 on Amazon right now, but it's being sold by a third-party seller, and there are only a few left in stock. The Carbon Black-colored Sport is actually less expensive at $239.99, and the Titanium Grey Classic is only $319.99 - both roughly $50 off of their MSRPs.And for those of you who think the Classic is expensive, take a look at the Porsche Design model. The Classic will look like a downright bargain.Source: Amazon
The Huawei Watch 2 Classic's regular price of $369.99 puts it at the higher end of the Android Wear market. However, its price is somewhat justifiable - it looks good, has a high-resolution AMOLED display, the latest Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, more RAM than its competitors, a large battery, GPS, and NFC. It's expensive because it has high-quality components. So what does the Porsche Design Huawei Watch 2 bring to the table for the extra $555?
In the market for a new Android Wear watch? Did the Fossil discounts from earlier not tickle your fancy? Well, we've got another smartwatch deal for you - the new Huawei Watch 2 Sport is down to $219.99 at both Amazon and Best Buy from its original price of $299.99.This isn't the first time we've seen this watch discounted, but it's better than that deal by quite a bit. This model, the Sport, features a 1.2" 390p AMOLED display, a Snapdragon Wear 2100, 768MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, a 420mAh battery, and IP68 water resistance. Other niceties include GPS, NFC, and an ambient light sensor.
Huawei and Honor mostly sneak under the radar here in the United States, but they still make some solid Android devices. The Honor 6X already appeared on sale as part of Amazon's Prime Day, but a few other devices from Huawei are discounted too.First up is the Huawei Mate 9, which is $449.99 ($150 off). If you're unfamiliar with it, the Mate 9 has a Kirin 960 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 5.9" 1080p screen, and a 4,000mAh battery. We reviewed the phone back in January, and while Huawei's EMUI skin left a bit to be desired, the phone has a solid battery life with a clean design. It shipped with Android 7.0, but as far as I can tell, there isn't a 7.1 update yet.Two of Huawei's wearables are also on sale - the Huawei FIT and Huawei Watch 2. The former is $69.99 ($60 off), and the latter starts at $209.99 ($90-110 off, depending on the model). I'm not really sure if the Watch 2 is worth it even at the lower price, but I'll leave you to our review and let you decide. The better-looking Watch 2 Classic is also discounted, so that might be a better option.Let us know in the comments if you pick any of these up. Or you can talk about how your day is going, that's cool too.
We're still waiting to see if Android Wear 2.0 does any favors for the platform, but in the meantime it's tough to justify spending a lot on a new smartwatch. The Huawei Watch 2 starts at $300, but you can get one for $35 off today on eBay. That's more probably justifiable for Android nerds.