The evolution of Android Wear has been far from smooth and linear ever since its 2014 inception, both in terms of software updates and hardware releases.

Google’s most notable smartwatch-making partner left the ship without even properly trying to keep it afloat, Sony randomly jumped in and out, Lenovo took an indefinite hiatus as the second-gen Moto 360 scored underwhelming sales numbers, and now we’re hearing Asus is also thinking of throwing in the towel.

Meanwhile, the platform got a major makeover… about six months late, and a bunch of industry newcomers, the majority of which have a strong traditional timepiece, fashion and luxury background, joined Big G’s program to help pull the impossible and take down both Apple and Fitbit.

At the end of the day, Asus doesn’t sound like a huge loss for the wrist-centric operating system that recently received its own app store and digital assistant, though Google would certainly suffer if this turned into a trend.

The company departures and indeterminate “breaks” need to stop, especially as the number of stylish, affordable, mass-oriented Android Wear devices seems to be declining. Now, granted, none of the three Asus ZenWatch generations managed to truly appeal to the “masses”, but they tried their best, and to be honest, we’re mildly distressed to see them go with little to show for their efforts. Unless the latest supply chain-based Digitimes report proves to be fictitious, which is always a possibility.