The Android Wear smartwatch platform continues to evolve, and in the latest update from Google, it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more watch phones coming soon. The new version adds support for cellular connectivity to Android Wear, paving the way for the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition to launch, and presumably more after it.
Announced on Google’s blog, the update adds a third way of connecting your smartwatch to the outside world, following Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but only if your watch has a SIM card slot. We’ll save you the bother of checking: It hasn’t. The first watch will be LG’s new Urbane, and that’s not on sale just yet. Once it’s here, the humble Android Wear smartwatch will become a fully-fledged phone on your wrist.
It’ll allow the watch to be used without a paired phone — although it sounds like it’ll need to be setup using a phone initially, just like Samsung’s Gear S — or when it’s out of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth range. The watch will automatically swap over to its own SIM, and will make and receive calls, send messages, and run apps without any outside help. It’s the next stage on from utilizing the internal memory for music, and the GPS chip for location, when out for a run without your phone.
