Google is working on a big update to Android Wear

Platform Android Wear just turned one year old. And soon it should receive a major update. What is Google preparing for users?

Gesture control:

The upcoming update will bring a redesigned system for interacting with the watch. Users no longer need to tap their watch to scroll through notifications in a thread. By rotating your wrist, you can switch from one flow card to another. The developers have spent a lot of effort on reducing false positives of the system and assure that they have achieved significant success. However, the ability to turn it off just in case remained.

Drawing emoticons:

Instead of the usual typing on a smartphone or mumbling in hand, in response to SMS, users will be able to draw and send one of the Emoji emoticons. The watch will analyze the image and suggest the most similar emoticons from the extensive gallery.

And to ensure the accuracy of the analysis, the development team pre-processed hundreds of thousands of image samples received from volunteers participating in the development program. This icon selection scheme seems to be more convenient than choosing the desired emoji from a long list of pictures in the Apple Watch.

Energy Saving:

The watch will have a new energy-saving screen mode. It will turn on when the watch is not being actively used. The image on the screen will turn black and white, and the displayed information will be limited to the minimum data set. The mode will be available to both watch faces and apps. It can be especially useful for developers of map services, sports and music applications, to-do lists and shopping.

Wireless networks:

In the new version of Android Wear devices will support wi-fi! According to Google, many watches built on their platform already have a built-in wi-fi module. It’s just disabled in the current firmware version.

Even if the smartphone is out of reach of the Bluetooth connection, the user will still be able to receive notifications, answer calls, send messages, search the Internet using his watch. And it doesn’t matter what Wi-Fi network they are on. The watch will still remain connected to the phone.

Do not forget that Wi-Fi support will not make a smart watch an independent device. All user requests and actions, as before, will be processed on the linked smartphone. Also, activating Wi-Fi mode will negatively affect the duration of the watch. It remains to be hoped that the reduction in operating time will be insignificant.

The first to receive a new firmware directly from the factory LG Urban. Other devices will receive it as an update starting in May. Google noted that each manufacturer will decide on its own whether to activate Wi-Fi in older devices or release new ones.

It seems that Google has taken a firm grip on the development of its wearable platform and is preparing to start a full-scale war with the Apple Watch. They don’t get in the way of competition. [the Verge]