After repeated delays and rumors over the last two years, newly leaked photos finally show how HTC’s Android Wear smartwatch with Under Armour branding.
HTC has long been rumored to be working on an Android Wear smartwatch, but it has repeatedly been delayed over the past couple of years. The smartwatch was expected to be unveiled in February at MWC this year, but it did not happen. Later on, leakster Evan Blass claimed that it could go official in June, but it got delayed yet again. Now, after all these years, there is some tangible evidence of HTC’s smartwatch at work. Newly leaked photos show off the rumored HTC Android Wear smartwatch with a circular display.
Shared by TechTastic, the leaked photos show off the smartwatch from the front and back. Codenamed ‘Halfbeak,’ the smartwatch sports a circular display with the frame surrounding it made from what looks like tough plastic. There are two buttons on the right side, one of which could be the home button whereas the other could be used for a different function altogether. The smartwatch comes with thick silicon straps. Turn to the back, and we can see an opening for a microphone, a heart rate sensor and magnetic connector for charging. The other two photos also shows the bootloader and custom recovery screen from where one could wipe data, factory reset, apply update using ADB, wipe cache and more.
Interestingly, the smartwatch would be both HTC and Under Armour branded. Back in January 2015, HTC had partnered sports clothing and accessories firm Under Armour to announce its fitness band called Grip. It was a wrist band with rugged design, featured water resistance capabilities, pedometer and built-in GPS for activity tracking. It also featured a 1.8-inch PAMOLED touchscreen display running at a resolution of 32x160pixels (90ppi) and a heart rate sensor too. However, the fitness tracker was later cancelled after extensive wear testing and user feedback. Both companies had also been working on Healthbox, a connected fitness ecosystem, which is currently unavailable.
Coming to specifications, the ‘HTC One’ smartwatch, going by internal codename ‘Halfbeak’ is rumored to feature a 360×360 pixel display, which we can see in the leaked photos. However, other details about the processor, RAM, internal storage and connectivity options still remain scarce. One of the reasons for repeated delays is because HTC thinks that the smartwatches lacked the ‘wow factor.’ While there is no word on when HTC will finally launch its smartwatch, the company has been quite bullish. In an interview few months back, HTC CEO Cher Wang said that the company’s smartwatch will “turn the industry on its head”. But of course, that will only happen when it launches. Now that we have finally seen the working prototype of HTC smartwatch, it remains to be seen when it finally sees the light of the day. ALSO READ: HTC’s smartwatch will “turn the industry on its head”: CEO Cher Wang
If we look at the smartwatch space, Android Wear is yet to make its mark. In fact, the smartwatch trend hasn’t taken off as expected. According to a recent Strategic Analytics report over 4.2 million smartwatches were shipped in Q1, 2016, which is up from 1.3 million in Q1, 2015. According to the report, the smartwatch space is ruled by Apple Watch, with a market share of 52 percent. It also outsold Samsung by more than three times. Samsung has its Gear S2 and the recently launched Gear S3 smartwatch-series, running on its homebrew Tizen OS.
We have all the new smartwatches with latest hardware, heart rate sensors, water resistance capabilities and more. Manufacturers have also been offering different materials for wrist bands – right silicon to leather, stainless steel and more. However, one of the major concerns with smartwatches is the battery life, which requires to be charged on a daily basis. ALSO READ – Fitbit, Apple and Xiaomi dominate wearable segment globally in 2015
Pebble Watch, with e-ink display is one smartwatch that offers a battery life of four to five days but it does miss out on fancy, high resolution color screen display, heart rate sensor and more. The Apple Watch, Moto 360 (second-gen) and Samsung Gear S2 among others offer a battery life that’s less than two days. With Qualcomm working on its custom wearable processors for smartwatches, it remains to be seen how manufacturers can turn things around to optimize performance and battery life altogether. Also, as of now, smartwatches just seem like a fancy accessory for style statement, rather than being functional. Smartwatches aren’t cheap and with refreshed models coming every year, does it make for a valuable investment? With manufacturers also tapping on fitness features, will it be enough to convince users on buying one?
Where do you think the smartwatches are headed, and would you be buying one? Let us know in the comments below.