Today, Android Wear is taking a massive step forward. Google announced updates for both the platform itself and the Android Wear companion app. The theme of the update is Wear What You Want because of the personalized features that have arrived. Now, no two Android Wear devices are likely to be the same. It is all about catering the experience to each and every user.
Hit the break for details.
The long-awaited Watch Face API is here. Consumers have asked for it since Android Wear’s inception because of the launch devices’ limited selection of watch faces. The limited selection did not provide for any actual personal styling. The Watch Face API gives developers the opportunity to design unique watch faces. The creative freedom is identical to what Google offers developers with apps. The Watch Face API focuses on meeting good design with useful information in a presentable way. In fact, Google already has lessons on the Android development site.
Watch faces will be downloaded directly from Google Play. To showcase the power of the Watch Face API, Google has already published a page in the Play Store with various watch faces. The current list includes watch faces from PAC-MAN, Despicable Me, the Google Santa Tracker, and Plants vs. Zombies, Rebecca Minkoff, Facer, and many more.
The way in which Android Wear operates has been changed as well. Accidentally dismiss a card? It can be brought back manually rather than waiting around to see if it returns. Recently used actions appear when tapping a watch face. Obviously, this saves time because users do not have poke around the user interface to find something that was just used. Android Wear’s navigation is simpler than before.
There are a few new modes that lessen the amount of times a user has to interact with a device’s settings. Theater Mode turns off the display and the vibrations from notifications. Sunlight Mode will instantly raise the display’s brightness to its maximum level for optimal viewing when glare will likely be an issue.
The Android Wear companion app has been revamped to include watch face switching, notification blocking (from the watch), and analysis of battery usage and storage.
The updates for both Android Wear devices and the app will be rolled out over the next week. Have patience!
Source: Official Google Blog, Android Developers Blog
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