Roll up your sleeves, smartwatches are coming of age. Android releases update to take on Apple



It's not called iWatch. It's Apple Watch. Without the i. Quite why, I don't know. iWatch sounds much better. But anyway, Apple's latest mobile computing venture looks set to make wearables...err...well...wearable.

The Apple Watch is about to be delivered to Cupertinoists who've ordered online.

And Apple might just be doing again what they've done very well for the past eight years: take an old idea and make it useable.

The next wave of mobile computing hopes to make us believe smartwatches are useful. They don't make us look like a dorks. And they will be worn happily by most of us very soon.

Apple actually delayed the release of The Watch because it wasn't as user friendly as it should be, like its iPhone and iPad shelf-sharers. Now, Cupertino believes The Watch is ready for public consumption, although it's hedging its bets by keeping initial production low.

But other manufacturers have had smartwatches on the market for a couple of years.

These pioneers have been flaying around looking for a good, workable operating system.

Sony initially used their own software. And it wasn't good.

Crowd-sourcing Pebble also wrote their own software and it was quite good and attracted early adopters who are now diehard Pebble fans.

Google's offering, Android Wear, was OKish, but nowhere near as good as the forthcoming Apple Watch.

But wait.

Google has just released an update for Android Wear and, hey, it might just fight off Apple with just days to spare before The Watch is unleashed.

The update brings important new features to devices already on wrists and running the Android Wear OS.

It now has independent WiFi support: so if your smartwatch has a WiFi chip - and most do - you can use it almost independently of your smartphone.

It now has Always On: so you can keep an app open for as long as you like without your smartwatch screen going to sleep. Think maps.

It now has much better battery life: who wants to charge their watch every 12 hours?

It now has a MUCH better software layout: getting to the apps on your phone doesn't mean wading through menu after menu after sub-menu.

Some of it is still a bit rough at the edges but Android Wear has - at last - come of age, mainly because the richest company in the world - Apple - is about to try to use its marketing clout to make wearable technology mainstream.

On Google's side is the Apple Tax.

The Apple Watch costs at least double a smartwatch running Android Wear and manufactured by trusted companies like Samsung, Sony and LG.

The battle between Apple and Google has already been fought in the smartphone arena. And that's now a draw.

It's already been fought in the tablet arena. And that's now a draw.

Round Three is smartwatches.

Get your biceps ready. Wrist computing is about to happen.

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