back to article Your new Android Smartwatch? Dead!

Bad news for first-generation Android watch users. It seems that early watches can't get new firmware updates. @konrad_it Sorry it's not on our current software update list and it's been discontinues. ^JK — LG USA Mobile (@LGUSAMobile) May 24, 2016 On the plus side, you technically were ahead of Apple, so at least you did …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is anyone really surprised?

    Android OEMs don't care about after sale support, because they don't make any money from it.

  2. Oengus

    Whats the news

    They are really no different to most android phones and tablets.

  3. Jeffrey Nonken

    CyanogenMod?

  4. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Meh

    Landfill Android

    Well, it had to be said...

  5. david bates

    Still getting occasional updates for my Pebble Steel, and with one of the updates earlier this year it'll now go nearly a fortnight between charges.

    It may not be as pretty as Android or Apple, but for me it covers all the major bases - messaging, music control, run app etc. I dont understand why the big makers have gone down the root they have with smartwatches when Pebble has shown them basically how it should be done (IMHO of course).

    1. King Jack
      Facepalm

      Milking Cows

      "I dont understand why the big makers have gone down the root they have with smartwatches.."

      There is more money in making idiots buy the same thing over and over again. The real mystery is why the masses have not cottoned on yet?

    2. ratfox
      Headmaster

      Gone down the route.

      1. david bates

        Sorry. I should definitely have picked up on that.

        Too much time reading Americans on reddit.

  6. Phil W

    Expectations

    Frankly I don't see the problem. These days people seem to have the unrealistic expectation that their device will forever be supported and updated with the latest and greatest features, yet even 10 years ago this was not something that was expected or considered normal.

    When you buy your device you buy it as it is advertised, and expect to it perform the functions it was sold as performing. Unless the device was sold with a stated promise of future software updates for a particular period, the only software updates you are entitled to are those that may be required to fix any problems with the advertised features, anything else should be considered a bonus.

    Aside from not having any obligation to provide it, the new OS is almost certainly more resource hungry than the old one and providing an update to it on hardware that is not sufficiently capable may potentially cripple the device leading to far more outrage than not providing an update customers perceive they are entitled to.

    1. Darren B 1

      Re: Expectations

      By making the phone and wearables market just like the PC market the OS makers and manufacturers have pushed the notion that Mobiles and Wearables are mini-PC's and users have been able update the OS and get updates every week/month for a long time.

      I would suggest that Apple have been the main contributor to this idea by releasing new (and free) OS Upgrades on a regular basis and announcing them with fanfare, ok they are now not supporting all models of phone but the simplicity of the model Apple has with a limited line of products that the same OS can be installed on the last x years models is pushed openly and that ensures that Android and Windows users assume to expect the same level of service. Unfortunately OEMs do not have a simple model and try to hit too many entry points at the same time.

      The OEMs are still working on the old propitiatory model from 10 years ago where phones were closed and had a 1-2 year contract and shelf life but users now expect the Apple Model. This device software update cycle is then cascaded into the consumer market whether phones, wearables, smart TV's etc.

      1. Phil W

        Re: Expectations

        "By making the phone and wearables market just like the PC market the OS makers and manufacturers have pushed the notion that Mobiles and Wearables are mini-PC's and users have been able update the OS and get updates every week/month for a long time."

        I agree with as far as phones are concerned, however to some degree smart watches are still a different market, there's only so many new features that software updates really add to them unlike phones where the hardware is starting to plateau and most of the major changes are in software at the moment. Also in most cases, and definitely in the case of the G Watch, the device has limited connectivity and data handling so there is a less pressing need for security updates unlike with phones.

        It's not like LG have not provided any updates to the device at all, the device is now 2 years old but has been updated as far as Android Wear 1.4/6.0.1 Marshmallow, that's two or three major OS updates since release, and is in fact the latest version.

        The fact they have no plans to update a 2 year old device yet again, to an OS that hasn't actually been released yet anyway, is really not a big deal.

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