Smartwatches have been around for many years now, but I think there have been two powerless moments. The first was the arrival of the Pebble, a smart watch that perfectly understood what a smartwatch should do: be the companion of the smartphone and, among other things, show notifications. Later came the Apple Watch, a smartwatch that included many interesting applications. The next step will be a watch that almost completely replaces mobile phones, but it will also be important that there are options like the ones it will offer asteroids.
It's been a couple of years since we wrote on AsteroidOS for the first time. At the time, my partner Isaac was talking about an open source project that had just hit GitHub. Today, the news is mainly that the project is moving forward, and the version 1.0 release proves it. Like other Linux-based mobile operating systems, such as Ubuntu Touch, AsteroidOS can be installed on existing watches, such as some from Sony or LG.
AsteroidOS can be installed on Android Wear watches
Among the devices in which we can install AsteroidOS we have:
- ASUS Zenwatch 1/2/3.
- LG G Watch Urbane, Watch R and Watch.
- Watches moved by the MTK6580 spark.
- Ticwatch E&S
- Sony Smartwatch 3
- More information.
And what makes AsteroidOS different from other smartwatch operating systems? In the beginning, you are designed to be private and secure. The main problem is that, at least at the time of this writing, it does not have an application store where we can find popular apps, but it is not what they intend either. It is an operating system that, saving distances and thinking about its function, reminds a little of the Pebble mentioned above.
In the following video you can see some of its outstanding functions.
- Easy to use.
- Controls
- Notifications
- Applications.
- Compatible with existing watches.
- Open source.
En this other video you can see how AsteroidOS worked in its first months of life. I think it is a good alternative to Android Wear. How do you see it?