What you need to know
- Xiaomi may be working on a new smartwatch running on Google's Wear OS platform.
- Evidence of a "Mi Wear" companion app has been found by 9To5Google.
- The smartwatch could debut as the Xiaomi "Mi Watch."
According to a new report, Xiaomi could be working on a smartwatch running on the Wear OS platform from Google. The folks over at 9To5Google have found a string that references a "Mi Wear" companion app in the latest Wear OS 2.28 companion app for Android.
The string found in the Wear OS 2.28 app suggests Xiaomi is planning to launch its own companion client on Android, which will allow users to manage their Xiaomi smartwatch. Currently, the company only offers the "Mi Fit" and "Mi Health" apps for its Mi Band series wearables.
Further digging into the Wear OS 2.28 app revealed the Xiaomi Wear OS smartwatch could be marketed as the "Mi Watch." Apart from that, however, there is nothing else that is known regarding the wearable currently.
Thanks to its popular Mi Band lineup, Xiaomi is currently the world's biggest wearable vendor by shipment volume and market share. According to data from IDC, the company shipped 5.9 million wearables in the second quarter of 2019, capturing 17.3% of the total market. If Xiaomi does release a Wear OS smartwatch, it could prove quite helpful in increasing the popularity of Google's wearable platform.
Fossil, which is currently the biggest maker of Wear OS smartwatches, shipped just 0.3 million wearables in the second quarter of 2019 in North America and held 4.1% market share. However, the company still saw an impressive annual growth of 34% during the period.
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