Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- A leaker has revealed that HMD is apparently working on two Wear OS smartwatches.
- One of these watches is tipped to have a 2MP camera, but there’s no word on what this would be used for.
- The watch could also bring a 400mAh battery with wireless charging, a relatively large screen, and NFC.
There are plenty of smartwatches on the market today, covering a variety of price points and use cases. Now, it sounds like HMD Global could launch a Wear OS watch with a unique selling point.
Twitter tipster @smashx_60 reports that HMD Global is working on two Wear OS watches, the Rubber 1 and Rubber 1S. There’s no word on the specific version of Wear OS, but the Rubber 1 has our attention due to its 2MP camera.
There’s no word on how this camera would be used, but I remember using the Samsung Galaxy Gear in the mid-2010s. This watch offered an outward-facing camera to take low-quality photos of your surroundings. However, HMD could theoretically opt for a camera in the watch face or bezel to facilitate video calls.
Otherwise, the two smartwatches share a number of features. This includes apparent USB-C and wireless charging capabilities, 5ATM water resistance, Wi-Fi, and heart rate/SpO2 tracking.
Would you buy a smartwatch with a camera?
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The Rubber 1 is clearly positioned as the more premium smartwatch, though. It’s tipped to offer the aforementioned camera, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, a 400mAh battery, and a 1.85-inch OLED screen. Meanwhile, the Rubber 1S misses NFC but offers Bluetooth 5.0, a 290mAh battery, and a 1.07-inch OLED display.
In any event, a camera-equipped smartwatch would certainly be a unique proposition in the Wear OS landscape. So we’re definitely keen to hear more about it.
