Android Wear users complain about slow software due to Google speech recognition

A number of users of Android Wear smartwatches have noted that the software suffers from slowdowns because Google’s speech recognition demands a lot from the processor. Disabling the controls via ‘ok Google’ seems to improve performance.

On Reddit, a user claims to have found a solution to the slow operation of the interface on his Huawei Watch 2. With him, Google’s automatic speech recognition, which works by saying ‘ok Google’, seems to be the culprit. The user, who goes by the pseudonym Yozakgg, claims to have identified the problem by using adb to see which apps demand a lot of the processor.

When turning off the ‘ok Google’ recognition, the interface of the smartwatch appears to work much faster. Many other users in the Reddit thread note the same thing with smartwatches from other brands, so the speech recognition software seems to be systematically demanding too much of the processor. The internet giant has not yet responded to the issue.

Voice recognition allows Android Wear users to control their watch by voice. This function is also included in the standard version of Android. Incidentally, it remains possible to talk to the smartwatch after switching off ‘ok Google’; voice control is still accessible via the built-in Assistant.