Sony has just uploaded a new update to the Android app for its Smartwatch 2 SW2 wearable accessory. This new version brings in a couple of new features that not only improves certain aspects of the user interaction but also gives users new options on how they want their smartwatch to look.
Even before Samsung revealed its Galaxy Gear, Sony was already on its third smartwatch iteration. Unimaginatively called the SmartWatch 2, the device landed in the US market only last October but has not had the same media splash as the Samsung’s version. That said, the Sony SmartWatch 2 looked solid and worked well for what it is: a companion to a smartphone that also happens to tell the time.
Compared to the update released shortly after the US launch, this new version brings in quite a number of new features. The changelog notes that light sensing has been added, which is crucial to automatically adjusting display brightness depending on one’s surroundings. There is also mention of the introduction of fast scrolling and scroll bars in notification lists, though how that performs or looks on such a small display remains to be seen. Users will now have more options to choose from when it comes to watch faces, finally including a digital clock face that includes the date. Amusingly, the Stop Watch was added as a native application, a feature one would presume to have already been present from the start.
The Sony SmartWatch 2 SW2 update is available as an app from Google Play Store. While anyone may be able to download it from the link below, the app is of course only usable with the smartwatch.
Download: Smartwatch 2 SW2 on Google Play Store
VIA: Xperia Blog
So, a stand-alone smartwatch would still be far-fetched? Not to bash about smartwatches or anything, but actually, they’d be much better if we could interact directly on them. You know, possibilities are endless.