Google reportedly almost ready for smartwatch mass production

Google may now be putting the finishing touches to its smartwatch offering, according to the Wall Street Journal. The source, while citing the usual “people familiar with the matter” has said that the project is in late-stage development and that the company is in talks with Asian suppliers to begin mass production.

The finished product, which will run on Android, may also come with Google Now, the search giant’s personal assistant app that answers questions, makes recommendations and also predicts what information the user might need based on what they are doing. The company has also reportedly been working to cut down on the amount of power being used by the wearable device to reduce the number of times you will need to charge the battery.

Google may be close to the finish line for its smartwatch project

The device will also be able to sync with other devices like smartphones, and pull in data about things like travel schedules from a user’s email through Google Now. The source claims that the device will start getting mass produced within months. It has also been stated that Google wants to address two issues with the smartwatch category: usefulness and battery life.

The wearable category has been growing quite a bit since companies like Apple, Google and Samsung have been pumping in resources to come up with products of their own. High saturation levels in mainstream consumer electronic categories like PC and high-end smartphones could also be another reason for this interest.

Apart from wrist-mounted gadgets, there have also been reports hinting at Microsoft testing prototypes for Web-connected eyewear on the lines of Google Glass. Samsung jumped ahead of the race last month when it rolled out the Galaxy Gear smartwatch along with the Galaxy Note 3. While the product itself is pretty good looking, there have been claims that Samsung is facing higher than normal return rates after sales for its wearable device.