Google may be planning to boost its Android Wear platform with support for on-watch phone calls, according to rumours posted online on Monday.
According a Google+ update from well-connected Android blogger Artem Russakovskii, the firm could be planning to unleash another significant update at Google I/O later this month.
The boost to the wearable operating system will also add compatibility for Android Wear watches with built-in speakers, the tipster claims.
Currently there are no Android Wear watches with built-in speakers, but the new software functionality would surely open the door for such hardware enhancements.
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As for making calls on the phone, new watches like the LG Watch Urbane LTE feature cellular connectivity, so the software boost would optimise Android Wear in that respect.
Read more: Google I/O 2015: What to expect
Russakowskii wrote (via 9to5Google): “I’m hearing that Android Wear is getting support for watches with speakers and on-watch phone calls (yes, the concept isn’t new, but it’d be new to Android Wear).
“I’m hoping for an I/O announcement, but I have no info about timing, unfortunately. Hardware with speaker support should be coming soon.”
Whether either of these features would be enough to give Android Wear a much needed boost in the opinion polls remains to be seen.
However, in terms of on-watch calling, we’ve been there and done that, haven’t we?