Andrew Cunningham One of the biggest downsides to Android Wear—or (nearly) any smartwatch—is that it requires a tethered smartphone to work. This is fine for day-to-day activities where you have your smartphone anyway, but for activities where you'd rather carry a lighter load, like running, Android Wear doesn't help much. In an interview with CNET, Android Engineering Director David Singleton and Vice President of Android Engineering Hiroshi Lockheimer talked about the future direction of the platform, including announcing upcoming standalone functionality that doesn't require a smartphone.