More info on how to install the update can be found on Google’s Android Developer blog. This could possibly be a workaround, and a way for iPhone owners to finally use Android Wear watch apps, too, without having to run through the iPhone.
Advertisement
Based on the release, Google is taking steps in the right direction by listening to both its developer community and its users, creating a Play Store for Android Wear to help streamline the app development and marketing process. This means that watch-only apps can be directly installed on the wearable without going through the hassle of using a smartphone, making the smartwatch more independent.
You can find more details at the source link below, and we’ll keep you posted on further updates regarding Android Wear. It incorporates the Google Play Store. Apple and Samsung watches need to install apps via a paired phone. Today’s smartwatches feature Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and some even feature in-built SIMs for internet data in places where Wi-Fi isn’t available.
The latest developer preview of the Android Wear 2.0 comes with various updates. Smart Reply provides users with a “fast (single tap), discreet (no speaking aloud), private (messages received by a user never leave the watch), and reliable (no Internet connection needed) way to respond to chat messages”. In addition to the Play Store, the Preview 3 also allows testers to look at the new view for the wearable and an easy way to respond for notifications. Instructions for getting the latest preview on a compatible device are detailed on the Android Developers website.
A word of warning, though – installation isn’t a cakewalk. The update is still in development while Google finishes off the last few features and improves the existing ones.
Alternatively, you can test Developer Preview 3 on an emulator. They’re by nature pitted against Apple’s juggernaut wearable, the Apple Watch, which commanded a 33.5 percent share of the USA smartwatch market in the three-month period that ended with July (see: Kantar Worldpanel).
Delaying software is usually a sign that there’s some more testing that needs to happen, as well as some more features to be added, which makes a lot of sense, after all anyone would want to ship the best product that they could. Notably, major partners like Huawei, LG, and Motorola announced earlier this month that they won’t be releasing new devices in 2016.
Advertisement
Is Google working on its own smartwatches?
