Android is the leading operating system in the world, with the majority of global smartphone users having devices that run on the Android system. With the latest advances in Android technology beginning to be unveiled, much anticipation over the quality and speed of the operating system is under discussion.
While many analysts have pointed to the slow speed in the migration for the new Android system, its positives in terms of wearables has observers excited, even if it requires the latest devices.
Leading the Android charge is the new LG G Watch that is being launched this week. It will be the first wearable Android offering from AT&T, which should give LG a massive boost in the wearables sector.
That new G Watch has captured much media attention, and while many do not like the minimalist design and display functions, others believe this will make it more accessible, whereby users not familiar with Android technology -- or wearables, for that matter -- will be able to use the device with ease.
"The G Watch has been called the 'boring' Android Wear watch due to the lack of design or logos or anything and well, I love that," wrote Tom Dawson. He has been testing the new G Watch for the better part of almost three weeks and believes "the minimal look of the G Watch is nice, and while it is a little plain jane, it suits me just great. I dislike logos and overly complicated designs, so this is a personal thing of mine here."
That is a major selling point for LG, and now that it will be available at AT&T retail stores beginning July 11, it will have the edge over the competition.
But one point that analysts are noting is the slow pace of Android's overall update. Many are arguing users would be better off upgrading their devices instead of going through the painstaking process of updating their operating system.
Google unveiled its latest Android generation for mobile platforms at last month's I/O developer conference and while Andoid L is expected to deliver better performance, longer battery life, increased security and over 5,000 new APIs for developers, the update process is tedious and lengthy, which has turned off some.
"Android L will face the same problems that have faced earlier incarnations of Android, and that is that the migration rate will be glacially slow, and that the majority of existing Android users will need to buy new devices in order to benefit," wrote tech observer Adrian Kingsly-Hughes.
For now, Android is getting a new look and a big boost in terms of functionality, but for some observers, the inability to streamline the update process could throw a number of users into a limbo state until they are able to upgrade their device entirely.
