Published 17:03 IST, September 25th 2019
Xiaomi may be working on a Wear OS based smartwatch for the first time
It’s no secret that Google’s Android Wear or Wear OS as it is now called never really took off.
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Xiaomi makes a lot of smartphones. Just today it launched a new entry-level phone called the Redmi 8A in India at a price of Rs 6,499. But Xiaomi also makes a lot of other smart products like smartwatches. Mostly, these are made by one of the many subsidiary companies that it has invested in. A new report now suggests that Xiaomi maybe working on a Wear OS-based smartwatch – a first for the company.
It’s no secret that Google’s Android Wear or Wear OS as it is now called never really took off. You could say the same thing about smartwatches in general, once upon a time, but Apple and Samsung have shown all smartwatches need not be dumb – thus bringing the said product category out of a rut. So much so that smartwatches have been beginning to make sense again. The same cannot be said about Android-based smartwatches though. This is also because not many brands are making Android-based smartwatches in the first place, apart from the likes of Fossil.
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A reference to a yet to be published Mi Wear app – the app doesn’t exist as of this moment – found in the Wear OS APK raises speculation that Xiaomi may be joining in the Wear OS smartwatch bandwagon, with further investigation revealing that the company may call it the Mi Watch. No further details are known at this point of time, but should Xiaomi be working on such a smartwatch, it could mean good news for Wear OS.
Xiaomi is known for affordable value for money hardware, and something similar will be expected from the Mi Watch as well – should there be such a product in the making at all. Xiaomi’s Mi Bands are popular in India – these are made by Huami. With the kind of pricing and feature set that Xiaomi is known to offer in its products, the Mi Watch could be Google’s best shot at making Wear OS exciting for potential buyers.
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16:42 IST, September 25th 2019