Google meet Apple Watch. Android Police

Why Google’s Pixel Watch has to be the Apple Watch of Android to succeed

Google first teased the Google Pixel Watch during Google I/O in May 2022, and it’s just about to launch. It will be released alongside the Google Pixel 7 on Thursday, October 6. As always, we’ve learned a lot about what should become one of the best Android watches, thanks to Google’s preemptive marketing and some substantial leaks.

While all these details look extremely promising, the Pixel Watch will also need to offer the smarts, health features, and seamless integration that makes the Apple Watch widely successful to lead the Android pack. Especially in light of Apple’s slew of new health features for the latest watchOS and the Apple Watch Ultra.

Unfortunately, it is not clear that Google can truly deliver. Let’s dive into why.

Software that matches the looks; looks that match the software

Judging from the teasers, hardware leaks, and early unboxings, the Pixel Watch will be one of the sleekest-looking wearables for Android phones. It appears to take the Apple Watch head-on in the design department. That makes sense, given that both of these products are potentially manufactured by the same company.

However, in contrast to the Apple Watch, Google will go for a round watch face rather than a rectangular one. In any case, it already looks timeless, weightless, and super sleek in all the images we’ve seen. We also imagine that the bezels will not appear too big in real life, even if they could be substantially bigger than what we’ve seen on other watches.

But looks aren’t everything, despite how beautiful the Pixel Watch seems on the surface. The Apple Watch not only has its iconic design, but it also has the smarts to match.

The Pixel Watch’s exterior design will have to match the software and internal hardware. Google made strides ever since it combined efforts with Samsung in creating Wear OS 3, introducing a user interface that works well enough on a small screen, all while Qualcomm and Samsung finally offer good processors for wearables that don’t lag behind smartphone SoCs by years. But there are still a lot of improvements to be made.

Notably, the pairing and unpairing process is incredibly painful when you move phones. It requires a full reset of the watch, with you struggling to reinstall your apps and watch faces while you’re hard at work setting up your new phone. Meanwhile, an Apple Watch can be paired with a new iPhone. It looks like Google is finally working on fixing this user-hostile circumstance, with a teardown revealing that the problem could be resolved with Google One Cloud backups for Wear OS devices. It’s unclear how well this will work, though.

Battery life is another issue for many Wear OS devices to this date, with many products not lasting more than 18 to 20 hours on a single charge. You can forget about proper nightly sleep tracking with a device like that. Granted, this is a problem for the Apple Watch, too, but this could be an opportunity for Google to set its product apart from both other Wear OS watches and Apple’s product.

Based on the latest rumors, it doesn’t seem like Google will use this chance, with the Pixel Watch seemingly not rated for much more battery life than comparable products, with the watch supposedly rated to last up to a day.

The Pixel Watch doesn’t seem to have a key differentiating feature

It’s also unclear how Google wants to differentiate the Pixel Watch from the rest of the Wear OS crowd when it comes to software. It was initially rumored that the Pixel Watch could be the first to include Assistant support, but that is already available on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, so this isn’t something Google can use as a unique selling point at launch anymore. The only way the company could differentiate itself is by plainly making Assistant less prone to errors on its product. We’ve found Assistant to be pretty unreliable on the Galaxy Watch.

Google is also looking to add some killer Fitbit integration to the Pixel Watch, but it’s still unclear what this is going to look like. For all intents and purposes, it looks like you will be stuck using up to three apps to get a full picture of your health using the Google Watch. You’ll need Google’s custom Pixel Watch companion app to establish connectivity. To view all your Fitbit stats and act upon them, you will need to use the Fitbit app. Presumably, Google will also add an option to allow you to share your health data with other apps, so you could throw Google Fit and Samsung Health into the mix, too.

It looks like this could end up as one of the usual convoluted solutions Google comes up with when it merges its services, and people are not going to love it. This is more cumbersome than Apple’s fully integrated fitness solution, which often also works much better with third-party devices and tools than Google’s. At least the Pixel Watch will support fast pair, which should make it super easy to set it up on compatible phones.

Fitbit integration can take Google only so far, too. Anyone interested in the Fitbit aspect could get a Fitbit tracker or smartwatch. This is a problem that the Apple Watch has to contend with, too. Still, Google is shooting itself in the foot by offering many similar products. Apple only offers different versions and generations of the same watch, with the latest high-end variant usually the most desirable one. Wear OS watches are more capable than Fitbit watches, that much is true, but depending on your needs, a Versa 4 or Sense 2 could be all you ever want.

Meanwhile, Apple is crushing it with further enhancements to the fitness tracking capabilities for its watches, which have arrived as part of watchOS 9. Apple Watch models feature an enhanced workout app that’s becoming versatile enough to help triathlon athletes track swimming, running, and biking. There’s also better sleep tracking, a built-in medication reminder with warnings on dangerous interactions, and an AFib history. All are accessible in one place, the Apple Health app.

There is no way that Google will create such an integrated system from the start, given that it first has to figure out how it wants to handle Fitbit and Google Fit. It doesn’t help that the company is committed to Google Fit, saying that both apps will co-exist.

The Pixel Watch might even have a hard time standing out from Fossil smartwatches. Google isn’t a big name in the fashion world, and there are a lot of people who pick their smartwatch based on its design and which fashion brand stands behind it.

Apple was aware that its wearable had to appeal to a mass audience from day one. When Apple first introduced the Apple Watch in 2014, it marketed its wearable as a fashion accessory as well as a health device. The original watch made a splashy debut in the pages of Vogue and Self. Apple Stores didn’t keep the Apple Watch in stock. Instead, users had to pre-order one of the first-gen wearables and have an in-store fitting. And just as soon as the OG Apple Watch started to roll out to select retailers and carriers, the Cupertino-based company unveiled the Apple Watch Hermès, a collaboration that continues to this day.

Google hasn’t announced any designer partnerships for the Pixel Watch, and that seems like a misstep. Fossil partners with major designers to create branded wearables in every price range. When someone sees a collection of Wear OS watches in a store, in the range of 300 to 400, why would they pick Google over others? Especially when a Fossil watch like the Fossil Gen 6 might look more like a statement than the restrained and elegant look of the Pixel Watch. Or when you absolutely want to wear a Puma-branded accessory on your wrist?

Google doesn’t have all the time in the world

In contrast to Apple, Google also doesn’t have the time to experiment with the form factor until it finally nails the use case, which is what Apple has done back in the day. The Google watch is late to the party, launching into an increasingly mature space that’s dominated by Apple and Samsung, with all possible use cases already explored. Google may have released Wear OS (née Android Wear) long before Apple launched its product, but the times have changed.

The Pixel Watch must serve double duty with it coming to the market so late. It has to nail all the basic smartwatch aspects, while also offering a glimpse into the future, spearheading the development of Wear OS and leading the way for other manufacturers. It is going to be difficult to achieve this for Google. If the company doesn’t, its first-party watch efforts may trickle out sooner rather than later, joining the ever-growing graveyard of failed Google projects.

It doesn’t look like the Pixel Watch is carved out for the task. As much as we want to love it and as much as we want it to succeed, we’re not convinced based on what Google has released about the watch so far. Other than the special design and the Fitbit integration, the watch might not have anything special going for it. It’s going to be yet another Wear OS smartwatch launching in an increasingly crowded market, coming with nothing that could set it apart from the best Android smartwatches out there.

Sure, Android and Pixel enthusiasts will probably pick one up without thinking twice, and it helps that Google looks set to bundle it with the Google Pixel 7 for free in select markets, but we’re not sure the watch will create a stir in the general consumer market like the Google Pixel 6 was able to.

Apple Watch Series 2 review (hands-on): Steady improvements from Apple

If you saw an Apple Watch Series 2 on a store shelf, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were looking at last year’s model. As the rumours predicted, Apple has taken the approach of fitting more stuff into the available space rather than resetting the design.[gallery:1]

This is no big surprise. If Apple were planning on making a round Watch, we’d know about it by now, given it requires significant changes to apps and developers would have to have been informed.

We are, however, getting new colours, most notably a ceramic Apple Watch Series 2 – a model that Williams described as “remarkably smooth”, boasting that it’s four times harder than stainless steel. Apple will also be continuing their partnership with Hermès.[gallery:23]

Finally, there’s the Apple Watch Nike. On the surface of it, this is just a (slightly gaudily) reskinned Apple Watch Series 2, but it comes bundled with Nike’s running app. That may not sound like much, but Nike’s FuelBand had some great software and a solid running community, so a return to this could be very welcome indeed. If you’re a runner, this is probably the one to go with, especially as it comes at the same price as the standard Apple Watch Series 2.

Apple Watch Series 2 specs

The real innovation is within the watch itself. The Apple Watch Series 2 has a dual-core processor that Williams boasts will be 50% faster, backed up with a new GPU which should be twice as fast as the original. Playing with it in the hands-on area after the conference confirms this: it feels snappier and more responsive, which is pretty important in a smartwatch.[gallery:6]

But speed boosts are to be expected. The real advantages come for the sporty: not only does the Apple Watch Series 2 come with GPS as predicted ahead of launch, it’s also swimproof. It comes with a rather clever design where the speaker actually spits out water once you’re back on dry land again, and means that it can sustain water pressure of up to 50 metres. That’s “pretty deep”, as Williams observes.

The screen also gets a big upgrade. So big an upgrade, in fact, that it’s superseded the brightness on all of Apple’s existing products, hitting the dizzy heights of 1,000nits. That should make it a lot easier to look at in direct sunlight, which is obviously a good thing. In the well-lit testing area post conference, it certainly felt a lot brighter, but we’ll be more exact once we get our full review in soon.[gallery:2]

One thing that didn’t get a mention in the keynote is battery life. Hopefully that was an oversight rather than a worrying omission. Given Apple took the opportunity to announce the power-hungry Pokemon Go for Apple Watch, you’d better hope that this model has more stamina than the original. This is something we’re keen to test when we put the watch through our rigorous review process.

Apple Watch Series 2 software – watchOS 3

As expected, watchOS 3 will debut with the Apple Watch Series 2. The software will be released on 13 September, three days before the watches go on general sale.[gallery:12]

We’ve been using watchOS 3 for a while, and our favourite feature is the change in how the big button on the side of the watch works. Now, instead of bringing up a rotary menu of your favourite contacts (which no-one I know used), it gives you a “Dock” with your most recently used and favourite applications, all of which the Watch keeps in memory. This makes them much easier to access and quicker to load, which is a big deal on the underpowered first Apple Watch, and is still likely to be incredibly useful on the Apple Watch 2.

Apple Watch Series 2 release date and price

Which brings us to the price. Despite the rumours being pretty much spot on ahead of the launch, we were blindsided by one announcement: the Apple Watch Series 1. That’s basically the current features of the original Apple Watch, but with the speed enhancements of the Apple Watch 2. The Series 1 starts £269, making it a more tempting entry level model.[gallery:4]

Then there’s the Apple Watch Series 2. For the added niceties of waterproofing and GPS, you’re looking at an additional £100, starting at £369. The Apple Watch Nike edition is the same price, but as with the existing range of Apple Watches, this is the bottom rung of a very tall ladder – the ceramic version costs an eye-watering £1,249, while the Hermes editions start at £1,149.

So evolution rather than revolution is the order of the day here. Consider the Apple Watch Series 2 an analogue to the S series of iPhones: a modest improvement before the next big leap forwards. As modest improvements go though, this is a pretty good start too: refining the device into the indispensable companion the original so nearly managed to be. Especially if you have a passion for fitness.

These are early first impressions based on hands-on time with the Apple Watch Series 2 after the company’s September event. Check back soon for a more thorough assessment once we’ve had time to give it a once-over on our wrists.

How to Set Up an Apple Watch for Your Kid

In the past you couldn’t use an Apple Watch if you didn’t have an iPhone. But with Family Setup in iOS 14 and watchOS 7, setting up an Apple Watch for your child or other family members is easy. You can also enable parental controls. Here’s how.

Normally, Apple Watch owners need to pair their device with an iPhone during the setup process. However, thanks to the iOS 14 and watchOS 7 releases, there’s now a way around that requirement via a new feature called Family Setup.

Through Family Setup, one family member can set up an Apple Watch for a child or another family member who doesn’t own an iPhone. There is no limit to the number of family members you can add here. For school-age children, you can also enable an option called Schooltime to set limits on how long and when a child can use their watch.

Any Apple Watch set up through this process can make and receive calls, send and receive messages, and use a variety of watch features, including Health, Activity, App Store, Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Noise Notifications.

Even though an iPhone isn’t necessary for everyone involved, there are still certain conditions everyone must meet. You will need an iPhone 6s or later with iOS 14 or later for the initial setup process. Each person will need an Apple Watch Series 4 or later with cellular or an Apple Watch SE with cellular and watchOS 7 or later.

A cellular plan isn’t required to set up the watch for a family member but is necessary for certain features. Everyone will need an Apple ID with Family Sharing enabled.

Update to iOS 14 and watchOS 7

First, you’ll need to update your iPhone to iOS 14 or higher if you haven’t already done so. On your phone, go to Settings General Software Update. Your phone will indicate that your software is up to date or prompt you to download and install the latest update.

Next, you’ll have to update your Apple Watch to watchOS 7 or higher. Open the Watch app on your iPhone and go to General Software Update. Your iPhone will either indicate that you have the latest update for your watch or it will prompt you to download and install it.

Pair iPhone to Apple Watch

Power up the watch you want to set up and place it near your iPhone. Wait until you see Use your iPhone to set up this Apple Watch on your iPhone and then tap Continue. If this message doesn’t appear, open the Watch app on your phone, tap the All Watches link at the top, then tap the Add Watch link. Tap Set Up for a Family Member. At the next screen, tap Continue.

Read the Data Privacy screen. You can tap Learn to read additional information about Apple’s data and privacy. If you’re comfortable continuing, tap Continue and read the screen on “How Family Setup Works,” then tap Continue.

On the Apple Watch, select the options for language and region and tap the Start Pairing button if necessary. Move your phone above the watch until the swirling circle is captured through the camera. You should then receive a message that the Apple Watch is paired. Tap the Set Up Apple Watch button.

Set Up Apple Watch

You then choose the orientation of the Digital Crown and whether the watch will be on the left or right wrist. Tap Continue and agree to the Terms and Conditions.

Move the slider to select the size of the text and decide if you want to turn on the switch for Bold Text. Tap Continue, then tap Create a Passcode and type a passcode on the watch.

You must then choose the family member for whom you’re setting up this watch. Here, you can also opt to add a new family member. At the next screen, have the family member sign in with their Apple ID password, then tap Next.

If the family member is already using an Apple device such as an iPad, a temporary verification code is sent to that device. Type that code to continue. If the person has set up iCloud, another screen pops up titled Continue Setup on Apple Watch to deal with backups and encryption. Click the Learn link to find out more about restoring personal data in iCloud.

Continue the setup on the watch by entering the passcode the person uses for their Apple device. This action will sign into their Apple account and restore all of the saved passwords and other encrypted data stored in iCloud.

The screen for Cellular Setup explains that if the watch is not connected to a Wi-Fi network, the user can still make and receive calls and use cellular data for apps such as Siri, Messages, and Mail. To skip the cellular setup, tap Not Now. Otherwise, tap Set Up Cellular. Sign into the person’s cellular account with their carrier.

Next, tap the Share button to share the Wi-Fi password for your local network with the watch. You can then enable or disable location services and opt to use Siri.

You can also choose to share analytics with Apple and enable or disable Messages in iCloud. At the next screen, tap the Request Health Data button to let the family member view their health information on the watch. Tap Continue at the Emergency SOS screen.

Tap Choose Photo Album to set up a photo album to use as a watch face. Tap Continue to allow the person to add and manage contacts via iCloud. Finally, click OK at the Welcome to Apple Watch screen. The watch is now ready and accessible for the family member.

How to Use Google Calendar on Apple Watch

It’s no secret that pretty much everyone in the world has and uses a Google account. From time to time, you’ll even see that Google provides features for iPhone users before those features arrive on Android. But one service that continues to cause frustrations for Apple users is when it comes to Gmail and Google Calendar.

Google Calendar on Apple Watch

Unlike other services, using Gmail and Google Calendar are on a “delay” when the accounts are added to an iPhone or iPad. That has left many to look elsewhere when it comes to managing your Gmail account. However, since calendars don’t need to be nearly as fast when it comes to syncing, you might find yourself wanting to sync Google Calendar anyways.

This is especially helpful if you use the Calendar complication on your Apple Watch. However, before being able to take full advantage of seeing your schedule on your wrist, you’ll first need to add your Google account to your iPhone. Here’s how you can do so:

• Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
• Scroll down and tap Calendar
• Tap Accounts.
• Tap Add Account.
• Select Google from the list.
• Sign in with your Google account login information.
• Make sure that Calendars is toggled to the On position.
• Tap Save in the top right corner.

After you sign into your Google account and toggle Calendar to begin syncing, your events may not show up immediately. Usually the process takes up to 15-20 minutes on the first sync, but then, your events will sync with both your iPhone and your Apple Watch. Then, you can use the Calendar complication to use Google Calendar on Apple Watch.

Google Calendar on Apple Watch Not Working?

We’ve mentioned that there are issues when it comes to those who use Google Calendar on Apple Watch. However, you might come across some more frustrating issues when it comes to syncing calendars. This usually revolves around Shared calendars, and thankfully, there is a workaround to get things back in working order.

• Open Safari on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
• Navigate to calendar.google.com/calendar/syncselect.
• Sign into the account you are trying to sync calendars with.
• Under Shared Calendars, click the checkbox next to the calendars you want to sync.

Once you’ve selected the Shared calendars, it will take some time before these calendars are synced to your iPhone and Apple Watch.

Try an alternative Calendar app

In the event that using Apple’s native account system is not up to snuff, you’re in luck. The App Store is absolutely packed to the rim with some pretty great calendar apps for you to try out. The options below also work so that you can still use Google Calendar with Apple Watch.

• Fantastical – Calendar Tasks – Fantastical is the award-winning calendar and tasks app with features like natural language parsing, beautiful Day, Week, Month, and Year views, and much more!
• Calendars 5 by Readdle – Calendars does a great job planning your day, week, and month. Enjoy super-intelligent natural language input. Want to meet John at Starbucks at 4 p.m.? Just type that, and Calendars will create the event, with the right location and contact.
• Timepage by Moleskine Studio – Timepage is a revolutionary Smart calendar that is effortless to use. It makes every day more productive by combining your events, maps, contacts and weather into one easy app.
• 24me Smart Personal Assistant – It’s an easy-to-use and yet super powerful app that puts everything related to your schedule in one place: your Calendar, To-Do List, Notes and Personal Accounts.

Any one of those apps will be a great option if you rely on your calendar on a daily basis. And even if you don’t, these have plenty of features that aren’t offered by Apple’s own Calendar application.

Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.

He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including i, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.

How to watch YouTube videos on your Apple Watch

The Apple Watch has many features and functions as a substitute for your iPhone. You can make calls, respond to messages, listen to music or podcasts, etc. However, since your Apple Watch can perform many functions without breaking a sweat, can it play YouTube videos?

Yes, it can. Don’t get too excited as there’s no official YouTube app yet! But there’s a workaround that can help you play YouTube videos on your Apple Watch.

Watch YouTube Videos through WatchTube

On the Apple Watch, you can play songs through YouTube Music but not videos. over, Safari isn’t supported on the Apple Watch either. The only option you’re left with is to watch YouTube videos through WatchTube.

WatchTube is a YouTube client and works well as a free app. You can search for videos, and it’ll also recommend videos based on your location, which you will need to input while logging in to the app.

While WatchTube gets most things right, the app lacks in certain areas. For starters, you cannot sync your Google account. Also, the app reports many errors and is slow to load. But it does the job just fine.

The WatchTube app is exclusively for the Apple Watch. However, you can download it through the App Store on your iPhone, or you can also download it through the App Store on your Apple Watch.

How to download WatchTube on Apple Watch

There are two ways to download WatchTube on Apple Watch: using the Watch or through your iPhone. Let’s explore both options:

I. Through the Apple Watch:

• Open the App Store on your Apple Watch.
• Search for WatchTube.
• Tap the Get icon and install the app.

II. Download WatchTube through iPhone:

• Visit this link on the App Store.
• Tap Get and install the app.

Once done, you can play YouTube videos on your Apple Watch. Also, not sure if you’d enjoy watching videos in a 16:9 ratio on the Apple Watch. Everything looks too crammed in. However, you can adjust the volume through the Digital Crown and double-tap to zoom in on the video.

FAQs

Yes, YouTube Music is available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

No, you cannot stream Netflix on the Apple Watch.

Here’s a list of all apps you can install on your Apple Watch.

Share your feedback in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев below and let me know if WatchTube works well for you. Also, what made you want to watch YouTube videos on your Apple Watch?