Android Wear Puts The Power Of Google Now On Your Wrist

Once you strap an Android watch to your wrist. You’ll never have to talk to someone to order pizza or embarrass yourself by not knowing what burger cheese is. The promise was delivered by David Singleton, director of engineering for Android, during the I/O keynote in 2014. In taking the wraps off Android wear, Singleton focused on its features. Designed to give you a glance at yet actionable information at contextually appropriate times with simple swipe or voice navigation. But he also dropped some news on being able to have Android wear on our own wrists. The LG watch and the newly announced Samsung Gear are both available for preorders starting at any Store around. Moto 360 will go on sale later in the summer. Singleton said those are just the first three watches, and many more are on the way.

At a Glance

People check their phones 125 times a day on average, Singleton explains. So Android wear wants to give you all that information. But in a quicker, more immediate way than digging out your phone. So you can get back to what you’re doing. Android wear will surface the cards it thinks are most important, like a flight later on today.

watch 1

Android wear shows you now style cards. You navigate between them with up and down swipes or swipe them off-screen to dismiss. If a card wants to show you more information than fits on your watch screen. It’ll display a page indicator that you can swipe to get more details. The cards use the new Material Design announced for Android wear to add a feeling of depth. They appear to be floating ever so slightly above the background images. Get a card with the local weather forecast, commute time, or a package shipment.

When demonstrating the package-tracking card, Singleton added a geo-fenced reminder to himself by simply speaking to his Android wear watch. With an OK, remind me to check the mailbox when I get home. That reminder was synced to his phone. You can also leave voice notes yourself. Although the demo didn’t work on stage. Ask questions if you need help identifying unfamiliar stinky cheeses on a restaurant menu. You’re too shy to ask the waiter but not too shy to ask your watch. Swipe through cards just as you would on your Android phone. Notifications you dismiss from the watch disappear from your phone, too.

What They can Do

Android wear watches will vibrate when you receive a phone call on your paired Android smartphone. Letting you swipe to reject the call from your watch or swipe up to send a quick SMS message. If you’re going into a meeting and don’t want your watch buzzing or lighting up. Swipe down from the top of the screen to turn on Do Not Disturb mode.

watch 2 — Turn-by-turn walking directions on your watch is another feature of Android wear.

Now is fantastic when traveling. Your Android wear watch can keep you updated on your flight status. Show the QR code on your boarding pass. Also your hotel address, the local weather, restaurant reservations, local transit schedules, and even what time it is back home. The notifications won’t be limited to smartwatches. During the afternoon session at I/O, a developer advocate said that Glass users will get the same reports as Android wear in the next few months.

Developers can Wear It Too

App notifications aren’t limited to Now. The cards on your Android watch can come from apps on your phone or the watch itself. Android developers can use the Android wear SDK to write apps directly for the watch. Or the new Apps and Services. Send data between a watch to an Android phone tablet.
If you have Eat 24 on your Android phone, its Android wear component will be on your watch too.
For example, Eat 24 has an Android app that lets you order delivery takeout food. The developers can bundle a wearable app inside the leading Android app. It will be installed on the Android wear watch. When you install the main app on your phone. Launch it, and you can reorder your last few Eat 24 meals with just a few taps. Singleton gleefully ordered a pizza from the stage in less than 20 seconds.
Social recipe app allthecooks has an Android wear component too. As you swipe the steps of a recipe on the screen. The recipe on your phone advances a stage, so it’s always in sync. And when a timer is set, that number is highlighted in blue. You can tap it to start the clock.
Apps can stay in sync between Android wear watch the phone app, such as recipes from allthecooks.
Developers can use the sensors in each Android wear watch, and the voice commands. The Lyft app will let you say, OK, call me a car, for example. Fit on the watch grabs your location from your phone. You can verify with a tap and track the car’s progress to you. Even rate your driver all from your wrist.
Note that similar notifications will come to Glass.