Right now there are two different forms of wearables. (Note, these terms are not official in any way)
The first type of wearable is the complementary wearable.
This is what majority of all wearables are so far. Complementary wearables complement other devices, more likely than not, that other device is a phone. The complement it, and present information taken from the phone in a more streamlined fashion. It is merely another terminal for the host device.
This is your Google Glass, Pebble, Galaxy Gear, Fitbit, and so on.
The second type is the dedicated wearable.
The dedicated wearable is it's own device entirely. It has it's own storage, information, and data. There are not any I can think of off the top of my head. Some devices are starting to turn into these. For example, the Gear 2 is it's own dedicated music player, with the songs stored on the device. You have to start somewhere.
OK, now for what the blog is legitimately about. Right now it looks like Android Wear is a complementary interface. That is fine for now, because for now, majority of wearables will be complementary.
There are two reasons that majority of devices are complementary so far:
- People don't want a second device. The problem with dedicated wearables is that people won't want to have to switch over from phone to watch, glasses, or whatever.
- People don't want to have to pay for a dedicated wearable over a phone. Right now, wearables are pricey, for limited functionality. Manufacturers have mastered making phones. Phones are simple, easy to use and understand. Wearables are the distant future. As manufacturers make more of them, and the technologies get better, I do believe wearables will replace phones. But not soon.
Android Wear has to make sure that it is a great complementary interface. So far it looks good. But, at the same time, it has to plants the seeds for the time of dedicated wearables.
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