The smartwatch market hasn’t quite paced up, but the good news is that Google is going to launch two new products next year. We’ve heard about them in the past where a report suggested that it will be fully made by Google just like the Pixel smartphones.
Android Wear product manager at Google, Jeff Chang, told the Verge that the new watches will be the flagship Android Wear 2.0 devices and will be the first ones to launch with the new platform. However he debunked the previous rumours around the manufacturing by confirming that the new models will not have Google or Pixel branding. Instead Google is working closely with a manufacturer which will have all the rights to use its name. We don’t quite know the company yet but Chang confirmed that brand has produced Android Wear devices in the past and has worked on the hardware, design and software integration for the watches.
Android Wear 2.0 Google IO 2016 (2)
The new watch announcement will also be the launchpad for the highly awaited Android Wear 2.0 update. Google had showcased the update at the annual Google I/O developer conference and had set a launch time-frame of fall. However the update has seen some delays and will most likely start rolling by next year.
The new Android Wear 2.0 will bring features including a whole new interface, standalone apps that don’t require a phone to work, support for Android Pay, and support for Google Assistant.  If you are waiting for the new update then let us tell you that not every Android Wear watch will be updated, but most of the recent models will. Some models might also miss out on certain features like Android Pay which requires a built-in NFC chip. While Google has been rolling developer previews of the Android Wear 2.0 platform, expect a final rollout in January.
There were rumours that two new Android Watches would be launched at the Google October hardware event, which saw the launch of the pixel. The watches were called Sailfish and Angelfish.
While we are on the subject of updates, here is a full list of all the devices that will get the new Android Wear 2.0 update:
-Moto 360 Gen 2
-Moto 360 Sport
-LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE
-LG Watch Urbane
-LG G Watch R
-Polar M600
-Casio Smart Outdoor Watch
-Nixon Mission
-Tag Heuer Connected
-Fossil Q Wander
-Fossil Q Marshal
-Fossil Q Founder
-Michael Kors Access Bradshaw Smartwatch
-Michael Kors Access Dylan Smartwatch
-Huawei Watch
-Huawei Watch Ladies
-Asus ZenWatch 2
-Asus ZenWatch 3