{"id":12936,"date":"2022-08-23T14:41:12","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T14:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/08\/23\/the-pixel-watch-has-only-one-job-dont-suck\/"},"modified":"2022-08-23T14:41:14","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T14:41:14","slug":"the-pixel-watch-has-only-one-job-dont-suck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/08\/23\/the-pixel-watch-has-only-one-job-dont-suck\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pixel Watch has only one job: don\u2019t suck"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/8\/22\/23316396\/pixel-watch-google-wear-os-backups-smartwatches<\/a>
\n
<\/br><\/code><\/p>\n

\n

Later this fall, Google is expected to launch the Pixel Watch. Given Wear OS\u2019s history, there\u2019s understandably a lot of anticipation. Will the watch be good? Will it fail to deliver the promise of Wear OS 3? Honestly, those questions might be more appropriate for future iterations of the watch. For now, all Google has to do is create a smartwatch that does the basics well. <\/p>\n

Case in point, XDA Developers<\/em> recently reported<\/a> that Google seems to be hard at work addressing an egregious oversight in Wear OS: backups. In an APK teardown of Google Play services v 22.23.12 beta, XDA <\/em>says that there\u2019s code that refers to \u201ccompanion backups\u201d via Google One. Right now, if you upgrade to a new phone, you can\u2019t back up your non-Samsung Wear OS smartwatch data. Yes, although it\u2019s 2022 and nearly every consumer gadget lets you create cloud backups, you still have to factory reset your Wear OS smartwatch. (Technically, there is a workaround<\/a> to this inconvenience \u2014 but you shouldn\u2019t need<\/em> a workaround for something as basic as a cloud backup. )<\/p>\n

This just underscores how low the bar is for the Pixel Watch. Competitors like Samsung and Apple already have cloud backup for their watches because, again, it\u2019s 2022. So long as the Pixel Watch can make it 24 hours<\/a> on a single charge, has a snappy chip<\/a>, and can go down the list of expected smartwatch features (e.g., contactless payments, music streaming, basic fitness tracking, backups, <\/em>etc.), it\u2019ll succeed at Not Sucking, which is all Google needs to establish that its wearables can play ball. Anything else on top of that is gravy.<\/p>\n

\n