Android Wear is great, it really is. But why on earth is fitness tracking an afterthought? Especially when these devices are becoming more and more expensive!

Why does a fitness band at $90-150 dollars do fitness way better than a device, which has fitness companion apps, yet costs upwards of $400?  Not only could OEMs include GPS so that runs could be triangulated, the app developers could do a better job at showing us fitness details about ourselves.  As noted on the Android Central Podcast (Ep. 254: New toys, old grievances), people that want fitness should just get a fitness band.  No.  That is where you are wrong.  Why should we accept a half-backed solution?  If there are fitness apps to go along with these devices, then naturally it should be able to track my fitness-self more accurately.  Apple Watch is a perfect example, as it is a premium device at it’s finest; however, the most expensive one (excluding the gold edition) is approximately $1049, with no GPS.  New Android Wear devices, with increasingly higher price tags also do not have GPS.

My question is: Why?  With our mobile devices becoming larger and larger, it would be great to be able to track a run with carrying around a gigantic iPhone 6 Plus, Nexus 6 or Galaxy Note 5 — it just makes sense. These bands that are supposed to do so much for us but they cannot integrate such a simple thing as fitness tracking properly.

Bottom line: OEMs, GPS should go in a wearable, period. Until then, I’ll pass on the next round of Android Wear devices.