Successes of 2022: Android smartwatches are lastly turning into attention-grabbing

I used to sigh when reviewing Android smartwatches.

I desperately wished Android customers to have a smartwatch that would go toe-to-toe with the Apple Watch, however it wasn’t occurring. There was at all times one thing. Dismal battery life, a laggy OS, outdated or inaccurate well being options, and extra tumbleweeds than third-party apps — typically all the above. You by no means need to be a very cynical reviewer, however I used to be dropping hope.

However, that wasn’t the case in 2022. Unlike each different yr, Wear OS watches have been the critiques I regarded ahead to most.

There have been a ton of causes to be excited. After years of hypothesis, the Pixel Watch is now not a legendary gadget whispered about in rumor blogs. It’s an actual smartwatch that you can currently buy. Strapping on the Pixel Watch for the primary time, I wasn’t truly anticipating a lot. All it needed to do was not suck. But I used to be stunned by how hopeful I felt writing the evaluate, particularly since I gave it a 6 (which, by our ranking scale, means good, with some points and a few redeeming qualities). The smartwatch had typical first-gen kinks to easy out, however the {hardware} was good, and the design was extra spectacular than leaks had led me to imagine. It had potential, and extra importantly, it was viable. I had not one however two full-featured smartwatches to suggest to Android customers. And for as soon as, they weren’t each from Samsung.

I don’t need to sound like a wearable Pollyanna. To be clear, Wear OS 3 watches nonetheless have a methods to go. But this yr’s successes imply one thing to me after years of disappointment.

This yr’s Android watches stunned me in different methods. On paper, I assumed the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro could be a stinker. I ended up preferring it to the common Galaxy Watch 5 — and I virtually by no means decide huge watches over smaller ones. I missed the bodily rotating bezel within the Watch 5, however Samsung’s strategy with the Pro’s raised lip and a capacitive bezel was intelligent. It was neat to see a flagship Android smartwatch add turn-by-turn navigation and the power to import routes. That, together with physique composition evaluation, is one thing that no Apple Watch can natively do but. It was that the Apple Watch beat out each different smartwatch in each single manner. That’s much less true these days.

Even watches that underwhelmed me, just like the aforementioned Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, had their deserves. As a reviewer, typically iterative yearly updates might not really feel progressive, even when they’re. For instance, the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 supply Android customers extra selections than their Tizen predecessors ever did. You now not must tolerate Bixby should you want Google Assistant or Samsung Pay should you’d moderately use Google Wallet. Samsung watches will at all times work greatest with Samsung telephones, however the expertise for all Android customers is significantly better than it was.

The Montblanc Summit 3 wasn’t my cup of tea, however it was attention-grabbing. It ran a barebones model of Wear OS 3, many options felt unfinished, and the $1,290 price ticket was ridiculous. But it was additionally the primary Wear OS 3 watch to work with iOS, and it provided a glimpse into what the subsequent gen of non-Samsung or Google smartwatches is likely to be like. The contradiction of all its components was enjoyable to ponder, even when the watch itself wasn’t nice. I may not have beloved it, however it was removed from boring.

My final Android smartwatch was the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition. I’ll cop that previously, I’ve been sometimes overwhelmed by the sheer number of Fossil watches that differed solely in design. But as quickly as this evaluate unit arrived, I virtually ripped the bundle open to get a peek. How will Wear OS 3 work on this watch versus the Summit 3? What about all the brand new well being options Fossil watches by no means had earlier than? While the Fossil Gen 6 ended up being a bit higher than the Summit 3, the wellness options didn’t fairly dwell as much as expectations. It wasn’t the Fossil watch I’d hoped for, however it wasn’t boring. There have been some clear indicators of progress nestled among the many bits that didn’t work.

It’s been eternally since Android smartwatches had any form of momentum. Granted, a few of the updates aren’t what you’d take into account flashy or thrilling — however I’ll take all these smaller, incremental updates as an indication that the tide’s shifting. For as soon as, I’m genuinely hopeful.