The simple reality is that Android watches are getting very expensive to manufacture due to the older technology needed to produce the older chipsets. Everything is going nano extremely fast and the cost of keeping older fabrication methods to produce the older SOCs is becoming difficult for big manufacturers like MTK and even Unisoc to justify.
This why so many big tech firms like Google, Apple and Samsung have gone their own way for SOCs.
The people involved in making our FAWs do not have this opportunity.
If you add to this the fact that sales of full android watches have plummeted over the last 18 - 24 months and you can see why companies are reluctant to take the risk in investing in new models that will only sell a few hundred at most.
To make it worthwhile they have to commit to manufacturing thousands, investing huge amounts of money up front.
The Optimus 2 is a good example.
An expensive watch to fabricate and over all a pretty awesome product.
However, sales were a disaster and almost bankrupted the parties involved. We only see the tip of the iceberg. For the brands it is vital that they sell a few thousand pieces to keep it financially viable.
Many other factors are involved as well.
IMEI numbers being blacklisted in more and more places around the world, shipping items out of Hong Kong that contain lithium batteries is becoming almost impossible unless a high cost is paid (for whatever reason).
AliExpress has even stopped shipping to many destinations Newer Android versions are becoming far more secure and therefore prohibitive to use in some cases.
More people are taking a less “risky” choice and buying the BT watches and bracelets - as @Edward mentioned.
So, what next??
We do actually mean it when we say that our passion is Full Android Watches, so I have a teleconference booked to talk about the future of FAWs with the key people in China soon (factories, brands and solution providers).
Luckily, our relationship with them is strong and I hope we can work something out.
The future of the FAW devices is a painful topic that needs to be discussed seriously.
Something radical needs to happen (design, functionality, sourcing components, power consumption, waterproofing etc.) while keeping costs reasonable.
Having said all that, remember that we are non-profit here and this is all voluntary on our part, so we have to fit this stuff in while doing our regular day jobs.
Of course, if \ when we have any updates for you, we will let you know.
I suspect that there will still be a couple of new models coming in the following months that were designed earlier in 2022, but it is a very slow and quiet time at the moment.
Fingers crossed that something can be done. 