Developers will offer enhanced apps for the upcoming Android Wear 2.0, with the new Android Wear supporting third party standalone applications.
Supporting Standalone Apps
Google has delayed launching the new Android Wear 2.0 to 2017 and with the release, the new device will offer support for third party standalone applications. Users can expect much more from the app developers, such as Foursquare or Glide in case of the updated apps on Android Wear.
Native Apps
Developers will be able to create applications capable of running natively on the Android Wear device. There was a demonstration of such features on apps at the I/O held by Google this year. It demonstrated apps having widgets that are embedded in the watchface. These are capable of launching a particular app or performing a particular action when the user taps on them. In addition, the user can search for an app, install it or use the application through the Android Wear device.
Direct Broadcast
Glide, which is video message service, can allow the user to broadcast a message directly frosm the Android Wear 2.0 watchface, for example. Users can directly get into conversations by tapping on the contact shortcut seen on the watchface. Glide has earlier released another similar application for the Huawei Watch as well as the ASUS ZenWatch 2, which come with built in speakers. The latest update will bring this feature to all Android Wear watches that are updated.
Foursquare New Features
Foursquare has created a new canvas for seeing notifications on the new Android Wear 2.0. The new canvas allows the user to have information about some nearby places to eat or to drink. This can be done without having to peer down at the wearable device, so that the user reduces screen time. The result will be a quicker search and improved performance on the whole. Users don’t have to spend much time looking into the watch face and can get information and entertainment without wasting much time, as they can easily check out places of entertainment and food.
Lifesum’s App
Lifesum’s app for Android Wear will be a standalone one allowing the user to track calories and water all through the day using the widget seen on the watchface. This means that the user can easily track his food intake and water intake, without have to access the app on his or her smartphone.
Single Biggest Addition
The biggest addition for the upcoming Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch is that the OS will have the capability for applications to installed as well as used without having to link them to a phone. Google has released its 4th developer preview for the Android Wear 2.0 a few days back. The company has indicated the fact that there could be another preview build and the public version would be released only after that some time in the early part of 2017.
Standalone applications happen to be one of the single new big features of the upcoming 2.0 version of Android Wear. They can be directly installed on the smartwatches and don’t need a paired app on your phone.