Now here’s a serious bit of disappointing news. With all the hoopla and media attention that Google has garnered in the past few days since the surprise Android Wear announcement, you’d think every major manufacturer would be jumping on board to get an Android Wear-powered smartwatch on the market as soon as possible. LG looks to be releasing their first Android Wear-powered smartwatch first, the G Watch, with Motorola following closely behind with a Q2 2014 launch. While Sony just launched their Sony Smartwatch 2 near the end of last year, they’ll likely have been planning the Smartwatch 3 in the R&D department, and it looks like Sony isn’t quite ready to throw all that R&D out the window just yet. In an interview with CNet, Ravi Nookala, who is head of Sony Mobile’s US branch, said “We’ve already invested time and resources on this platform, and we will continue in that direction.” While this dashes hopes for the next iteration of Sony’s smartwatch it doesn’t mean the end of a possible Sony built Android Wear smartwatch either.
Those hoping Sony would take advantage of the Android Wear platform, especially given how hand-in-hand Sony and Google seem to be nowadays, are likely very disappointed in this news. While Motorola’s new design seems to have taken the breath out of everyone pining for a smartwatch, Sony is likely at the ready with their own flavor of design, especially given the Japanese company’s pedigree for excellence in design. Right now Sony uses Android in its smartwatches, and like Samsung with its Galaxy Gear runs a series of proprietary apps that take advantage of the link between smartphone and smartwatch. Apps like LifeLog are in Sony’s future plans for pairing with its smartwatches, and they attempt to bring new and interesting ways of keeping track of your day-to-day activities and helping to make your life just a little more healthy and fulfilling. Even with these apps and features though the draw of Android Wear is undeniable, and it’s incredibly disappointing to see Sony taking this route instead of trying out both platforms the way Samsung is going to be doing. Hopefully we’ll see Sony’s tune change once Android Wear launches.