In a little less than a month’s time, Android Wear 2.0 will be launching for wearables from the Android camp. The software was originally set to launch in Fall but for unknown reasons was delayed and once it does launch, it’s still unclear what wearables will be eligible to receive it. Patrick O’Rourke writing for mobilesyrup:

 It’s believed that negative feedback from the final preview developer build forced the company to hold back Android Wear 2.0’s release. Now, however, a recent notice sent out to developers indicates that Wear 2.0 will launch at some point in the next few weeks.

The notice was specifically sent out to developers with apps using Wear’s legacy APK installation mechanism. Wear 2.0 features an on-watch Play Store with support for standalone application that don’t require a phone companion app. Apps that have not been updated with new support will not show up in the Wear 2.0 store when it launches, according to the email sent to developers. 

Every person that I talked with at CES seemed to care very little about what Google has been up to with Android Wear. Most companies who were initially onboard with it have either publicly stated their exit from supporting the initiative or have simply let it fade away like Sony. In fact at CES 2017, Sony didn’t even bother to display any of their previous wearables with Android Wear and their own OS like SmartBand, SmartBand Talk, and SmartWatch 3.

Sony had even gone as far as releasing sensors for tennis rackets for better shot tracking and other various information but that initiative also seems to be dead. Now this doesn’t mean Sony won’t surprise drop SmartWatch 4 at IFA or MWC but from everyone I’ve talked to, they’ve already moved on to other things, most notably voice assistant-driven products like the Xperia Agent, Xperia Ear, and Project N with Nigel. With software support even from Google nearly nonexistent on Android Wear and little momentum from OEM partners, I hope that Sony lets this product die, and I believe they have. In fact I think Sony saw the light before many others did and smartly exited before things went from slow to dead.