Tech & Gadget Stream

Google's initiatives to enhance the entire experience on Android smartphones have been disclosed in the most recent APK breakdown of its Play Services app, which comes as more and more Wear OS devices have begun to hit the market. Google Play Services is getting ready to add support for storing up smartwatch data when moving to a new device, according to an app deconstruction by XDA-Developers that uncovered new strings in the beta version 22.32.12 edition of the app. One of the strings included the following prompts in its name: "Back up your device with Google One/Back up via Google One/Choose backup account." Users now need to factory reset their Wear OS smartwatches in order to transfer them to a new Android smartphone. A device backup option would greatly improve the user experience. It's intriguing that Google One, a premium Google membership, is mentioned. Although a Google One membership is not necessary to access the service, Google's device data backup s...

LG has hit the ground sprinting when it come to smartwatches. One of the first out the door with the original G Watch, followed by the G Watch R, and the Watch Urbane this spring. Now, they’ve got yet another smartwatch to sell—and this one is an Android Wear first. The LG Watch Urban Second Edition, let’s just call it “new,” comes with LTE, much like the original Urbane’s South Korea equivalent. However, unlike that first Urbane that used LG’s own WebOS software, the new Urbane uses Android Wear, which is probably the wearable OS you actually want to use. The shtick? The Android Wear watch is equipped with LTE, meaning it has its own SIM–and, yes, it’s own phone number. LG says it’s working with carriers to make to numbers as seamless as possible. It also houses one of the biggest batteries in a smartwatch yet, at 570mAh. One problem: It’s massive. When I wrote about Huawei’s new smartwatch, I felt like 11.3mm still edged on just a little to clunky. Well, LG is turning it up t...