Author: JT

The tech giant is getting ready to launch two wearable technology devices on its upgraded operating system.

Google will launch two smartwatches based on Android Wear 2.0 in the first quarter of 2017. The Google Android Wear product manager, Jeff Chang revealed these details in an interview conducted by The Verge.

Chang spoke to the publication about the wearables which will be the first to use this operating system.

Until now, there had been only rumors of new Google smartwatches. Now, Chang has confirmed not only the wearables but also that they will be the first to run on the Android Wear 2.0 operating system. This is the latest big announcement in the wearable technology industry to help to encourage consumers to take interest in smartwatches. As much as there has been a great deal of growth in that category of mobile devices, consumers haven’t been purchasing anywhere near the rate that was predicted by many industry analysts, including eMarketer.

The Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches from Google won’t have the company’s brand, nor will it be Pixel.

Instead, the smartwatches will carry the brand of the company manufacturing them. According to Chan, Google worked with the manufacturer (which has remained unnamed by the time of the writing of this article) to create the software and hardware design of the wearables. Though the manufacturer continues to be unnamed, Chang did mention that it is a company that has previously made Android Wear devices.

Following the initial launch of the 2 Google smartwatches, there will be others that will be upgraded to the Wear 2.0 operating system in 2017. They include: Tag Heuer Connected, Polar M600, Moto 360 Gen 2, Moto 360 Sport, Casio Smart Outdoor Watch, Fossil Q Wander, Fossil Q Marshall, Fossil Q Founder, Huawei Watch, Huawei Watch Ladies, LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE, LG Watch Urbane, LG G Watch R, Asus ZenWatch 2, Asus ZenWatch 3, Nixon Mission, Michael Kors Access Bradshaw Smartwatch, and Michael Kors Access Dylan Smartwatch.

The other devices will receive their Android 2.0 updates following the launch of the Google smartwatches. The upgraded platform is meant to provide users with a new spectrum of features.

In India, the vast majority of consumers are turning to m-commerce to buy their products and services online.

E-commerce has always been somewhat unpredictable in India, but Indian mobile shopping appears to be taking off with a vengeance. For instance, despite the fact that Flipkart broke the 100 million user mark two months ago, its valuation recently fell by another 38 percent.

That said, while online shopping may be somewhat unstable, mobile commerce looks much more steady.

Current Indian mobile shopping trends suggest that the market will bring in $48 billion in 2020. Furthermore, recent Regalix research indicates that 83 percent of Indian consumers prefer to use their smartphones. This makes m-commerce the most popular online shopping channel in the country.

The same research showed that mobile commerce users in India are primarily within certain age groups. Interestingly, people between the ages of 25 and 34 years were more likely to use their smartphones to shop than those from 18 to 24 years old. In fact, 90 percent of online shoppers in that first age category prefer mobile.

Overall, Indian mobile shopping statistics show that 1 in 3 people in the country is shopping with a smartphone.

The Regalix report showed that exactly one third – 33 percent – of shoppers in India shop over mobile commerce at least one time per month. This option provides them with a broad spectrum of options and allows for convenient price comparison no matter where the consumer happens to be.

Another 28 percent of Indian shoppers shop even more frequently than that, once per week. One in four consumers – 25 percent – shop over mobile phone at least once per three months. Only 14 percent of participants said they shopped online over their mobile devices once per year.

One noteworthy Indian mobile shopping trend pointed out by the Regalix report had to do with who was shopping. Men appeared to be using mobile phones to shop more than women. Forty four percent of women were shopping at least once per month over mobile. At the same time, 63 percent of men were buying products and services over their smartphones.