HTC's Android Wear smartwatch project is dead, exec confirms

A few days ago we got a new round of leaked images purportedly showing an upcoming HTC smartwatch running Android Wear. This mythical beast, developed in partnership with Under Armour, was first talked about in 2015, believe it or not. Then last year some pictures leaked, but other than that we haven't heard anything about it. That's very odd for a device that's due to launch soon.

And it turns out that there's a very simple explanation for the lack of any more rumors, leaks, and speculation about the HTC smartwatch. Namely, that the project is dead. As in, the company will not release a wearable anytime soon. Don't take our word for it though - here's what Chialin Chang, HTC's President of Smartphones and Connected Devices had to say on the matter:

I can tell you that we're not going to have an Android watch. I don't think we've nailed it with [the experience of] watches. Android watch is one thing but even Apple as a big brand is declining [in watches]. We are not going to have a watch in the short term.

So there you have it. If you want to dream on, you could focus on the last part of that statement and assume that an HTC Android Wear smartwatch is coming, just not soon - but you'd be reaching. Given how its smartphone sales have been doing recently, it's probably best for HTC's bottom line that it decided against entering a new market that isn't all that exciting in terms of growth at this point.

On the other hand, new Android Wear watches are coming, just not from HTC. LG will out two models (co-developed with Google) at an event next month, and Huawei may show the second generation of its wearable at MWC.

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