Android Wear has only been available on two devices for the last couple of months and it’s still very much in its infancy right now, but according to a new report from Android Police’s David Ruddock, Android Wear 2.0 is heading to devices on October 15th later this year. Which this seems pretty sudden for a new version of the OS to launch, it makes a lot of sense and this is pretty unlikely to be a major restyle, but rather a maintenance release with some new features and big fixes galore.
Android Police has a pretty decent track record with this sort of thing, and I’ve been thinking that an Android Wear update is coming later this year myself. For one thing, Android Wear uses Dalvik while running its apps, and Android L is to change exclusively to ART, so it stands to reason that Android Wear will fall in line itself. Plus, there are features that Google demoed on stage during I/O that aren’t yet here, like being able to unlock your Android phone without a pin or code when you’re connected to your watch. A lot of the functionality that Google showed off on stage relies on Android L, which is itself hitting devices this Fall, so it’s not surprising to hear that Wear is getting a sizable update itself around the same sort of time.
Just what’s included in the update isn’t clear, and while Android Police is keeping quiet to protect their source, this is definitely a rumor with some substance to it. That October 15th release date may well slip and change, but with Android L hitting devices this Fall, we’re expecting Android Wear to get a little smarter and some holes to be patched up here and there. As Android Police notes, the Moto 360 and G Watch R will be launching later this year too, and a newer, more complete version of Android Wear would certainly help with sales.