Back in February, the original Moto 360 smartwatch and its kin were all updated to Android Wear version 1.4, boasting compatibility with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and a ton of new features. Sporting a somewhat Spartan 1GHz TI OMAP processor alongside 512MB of RAM, the watch had roughly the power of a 2010 flagship Android phone such as the Galaxy S or HTC EVO. Specs similar to these are, of course, common among first-generation Android Wear smartwatches. 4GB of internal storage is enough to keep the operating system and a few user files and apps on hand, but not the kind of storage that would allow loading the device down with hundreds of apps or having your entire music collection on it. The device also lacks a microphone, speaker or headphone jack. Naturally, no device is updated forever, and these specs are a bit on the crippling side for some software out there. Thus, it should surprise nobody that Motorola took to Twitter to announce that the watch would not see Android Wear 2.0.
Android Wear 2.0 brings with it a ton of new features, such as standalone apps, messaging tweaks, more Material Design and changes to notifications to make the device less cluttered. Most of these changes focus on new capabilities and multitasking, making a first generation device a less than ideal candidate for the new update. The original Moto 360, like any Android-based device, will probably end up running the software unofficially in due time, though it may or may not run it well, but Motorola made it clear that no official update is coming.
They did follow up on their Tweet, however, and assure users that essential security and optimization tweaks will continue coming down the pipeline for the Moto 360. While these updates will eventually cease, of course, they will keep coming for the foreseeable future, keeping Moto 360 users up to date on security fixes and keeping their devices as snappy as possible. The second generation model of the Moto 360, however, received an update for the heart rate monitor yesterday and will continue to receive updates well into the future. While the original Moto 360 lacks some power and features, Moto’s updates should keep it compatible with all of the apps that it can logically handle.