When the Omate TrueSmart Smartwatch 2.0 Kickstarter project was announced, it boasted a milestone. This would be the first smartwatch to ship with the Google Play Store and Google Services. This meant that you’d have access to thousands and thousands of Android applications and be able to take on Google’s arsenal of Android services that require Google Services, such as Hangouts, Gmail, YouTube and more. Omate has finally announced the fate of Google Play on their upcoming device and some of you aren’t going to be happy.
Shortly after the Kickstarter project launched, many speculations arose surrounding the watches supposed support for Google Play. Omate has taken to their Kickstarter project page to let backers know that trouble lies ahead. You see, for a device to pass the Google Play Store’s CTS (Compatibility Test Suite), the device would have to have a screen with a minimum of 426 x 320 dp. The Omate TrueSmart Smartwatch 2.0 sports a screen that does not meet the minimum requirements, coming in at 240 x 240 dp. Even Google’s own Dianne Hackborn weighed in on the issue on Google+ a few weeks ago.
Finally, after 2 months of speculation, Omate has come clean and announced that the TrueSmart Developer Edition will not launch with Google Play Services as originally promised.
In videos and pictures from various developer events we’ve been attending, we have shown Google Play and Google Services are working properly on the TrueSmart engineering samples. However we have to respect Google’s certification process in order to get official access to their services so we must confirm the TrueSmart Developer Edition will not ship with Google Play preloaded on it. If you have pledged the Developer Edition, we consider that you are a Developer (that makes sense to us) and thus you know how to install any Android APK. We rely on you – Developers – to test your existing applications and even create new ones dedicated to this new fantastic Android based wearable platform that the TrueSmart represents.
Omate does state that they are committed to the cause and are “still working closely with Google over Google Play and Google Services issues,” hoping to bring Google Services over to their smartwatch in the future. In the interim period, Omate has announced the “OStore.”
Omate is currently working closely with app developers to ensure apps are compatible with the OStore, but more importantly to ensure that apps do in fact come with the OStore at launch. Let’s hope they don’t repeat what happened to Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, launching with limited app support.
Source: Omate Kickstarter
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