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Wear OS

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Android Wear
The Moto 360 smartwatch
DeveloperGoogle
Written inC (core), C++, Java[1]
OS familyAndroid
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source with closed source components[2]
Initial releaseMarch 18, 2014 (2014-03-18)
Latest release1.4 (Based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow)
Marketing targetSmartwatches, other wearables
Available inMulti-lingual
Platforms32-bit ARM, MIPS, x86
Kernel typeMonolithic (modified Linux kernel)
UserlandBionic libc,[3] shell from NetBSD,[4] native core utilities with a few from NetBSD[5]
Default
user interface		Graphical (Multi-touch)
LicenseDeveloper Preview: proprietary[6]
Apache License 2.0
Linux kernel patches under GNU GPL v2[7]
Official websitewww.android.com/wear/

Android Wear is a version of Google's Android operating system designed for smartwatches and other wearables.[8][9] By pairing with mobile phones running Android version 4.3 or newer, or iOS version 8.2 or newer with limited support from Google's pairing application,[10] Android Wear integrates Google Now[11] technology and mobile notifications into a smartwatch form factor. It also adds the ability to download applications from the Google Play Store.

Android Wear supports both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi [12] connectivity, as well as a range of features and applications. Watch face styles include round, square and rectangular. Released devices include Motorola Moto 360,[13] the LG G Watch,[14] and the Samsung Gear Live.[15] Hardware manufacturing partners include ASUS, Broadcom, Fossil, HTC, Intel, LG, MediaTek, Imagination Technologies, Motorola, Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei and TAG Heuer.[16]

In the first six months of availability, Canalys estimates that over 720,000 Android Wear smartwatches were shipped.[17] As of 15 January 2016, Android Wear had between one and five million application installations.[18] Android Wear was estimated to account for 10% of the smart watch market in 2015.[19]

History

The platform was announced on March 18, 2014, along with the release of a developer preview. At the same time, companies such as Motorola, Samsung, LG, HTC and Asus were announced as partners.[20] On June 25, 2014, at Google I/O, the Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch were launched, along with further details about Android Wear. The LG G Watch is the first Android Wear smartwatch to be released and shipped. Motorola's Moto 360 was released on September 5, 2014.

On December 10, 2014, an update started to roll out, adding new features including a watch face API and changed the software to be based on Android 5.0 "Lollipop".[21]

The LG G Watch and Gear Live started shipping in July 2014, while the Moto 360 began shipping in September 2014. The next batch of Android Wear devices, which arrived at the end of 2014, included the Asus ZenWatch,[22] the Sony SmartWatch 3,[23] and the LG G Watch R.[24] As of March 2015, the latest Android Wear devices are the LG Watch Urbane,[25] and the Huawei Watch.[26]

On August 31, 2015, Google launched pairing application for iOS version 8.2 or newer, allowing limited support for receiving iOS notifications on smartwatches running Android Wear.[27] As of September 2015, only the LG Watch Urbane and Huawei Watch are supported, but Google announced support for more smartwatch models.[10][28]

Features

Users can find directions by voice from the phone, choose transport mode, including bike, and start a journey. While traveling, the watch shows directions, and will even use tactile interaction to indicate turns by feel, obviating the need to look at ones phone, or even watch screen.[29]

Via Google Fit, and similar applications such as Moto Body, Android Wear supports ride and run tracking ("OK Google, start a run"), heart activity can be sampled automatically through the day or on demand ("OK Google, what's my heart rate"), step-counting, calorie expenditure etc. are all active. These features work within the Fit ecosystem, allowing integration with companion devices and applications such as Withings Smart Body scales for weight monitoring. The watch reinforces achievements with cards noting goal attainment, when a goal is near, summaries of heart, and body activity.[30]

Users can use their Android Wear Watch to control their phone. Music can be requested (for instance, "OK Google, play the Rolling Stones"). The screen then shows a card for play-control, volume, skip, media images, allowing music to be controlled from the wrist with the user free to move.[29]

Notifications

The vibration engine alerts users about important notifications originating from a user-selectable set of applications. Wear provides multiple smart options for replying, including Google Voice that allows dictating responses to email (including third-party email applications like Type), spoken or drawn emoticons.

Intelligent notifications from Google Now are supported including traffic, flights, hotel check-in, meeting alerts, location- and time-based reminders, weather and sport, stocks, flight status, boarding passes, restaurant bookings, etc.[29]

Users can receive messages sent to them via Google Hangouts, and respond to these by sending a voice message.[31] Users can also set the alarm by using 'Okay Google' on Android Wear. Currently new SMS can be initiated from the watch. Wear 5.1.1 supports drawing to reply, which uses AI to interpret the user's sketch as an emoji character. Search by voice is fully supported. Google Now searches such as "How tall is Nicole Kidman" result in Knowledge Graph cards appearing on screen, with options to open the search result on another device.[21]

If the phone's camera app is activated, the screen is relayed to the watch, and the user can control the shutter, and view photos on the watch. Third-party applications support using the phone camera as a streaming device, or more varied camera control. Events appear as cards on screen. "OK Google, show my agenda" will display the user's agenda. Watch faces also support marking out appointments (for instance with contrasting color to show periods with an appointment, and/or illuminating a lighted "count-down" line for upcoming appointments.[29]

Note taking is fully supported via Google Keep and other note-apps, as is marking-off check lists etc. Via voice commands such as "OK Google, remind me to call Roy at work", or "Remind me to baste the chicken in 25 minutes" the user can create location and time-based reminders, set alarms, timers etc. which appear on the watch at the appropriate time or place.[9]

Many applications has been released, with developers such as Evernote etc. creating new functionality on the watch: for instance, handing-off notes to the watch screen when the user turns off their phone screen. Location-based applications like Foursquare show Android Wear users suitable near-by venues, allow check-in etc.

Version History

Android Wear 1.0

The original version 1.0 was launched 25 June 2014 on Google I/O.

Android Wear 1.3

Version 1.3 was launched 20 August 2015. The main new feature was the addition of interactive watch faces.[32] This version of Android Wear, based on Android 5.0 Lollipop, added new features such as Wi-Fi connection (to compliment the Bluetooth on capable models), and introduced improvents in speed and battery life.

Android Wear 1.4

Version 1.4 which is based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, was launched on the 4th of February 2016. The most important new features are more gestures to operate a Wear watch, the ability to send voice messages directly from the watch and speaker support (for calls, music etc.).[33]

Android Wear 2.0

Version 2.0 was announced at Google I/O 2016 on 18 May 2016.[34] New features include standalone apps, handwriting recognition, a keyboard, dark background for OLED watch displays and a new, redefined circular user interface. The Watch Preview supports only the LG Watch Urbane Second Edition LTE and Huawei Watch currently. The preview is available now at g.co/Wearpreview [35]

List of Android Wear Devices

See also

References

  1. ^ "Android Code Analysis". Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  2. ^ "Philosophy and Goals". Android Open Source Project. Google. Archived from the original on 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  3. ^ "libc – platform/bionic – Git at Google". Android.googlesource.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  4. ^ "android / platform/system/core / master / . / sh". android.googlesource.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
  5. ^ "toolbox – platform/system/core – Git at Google". Android.googlesource.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  6. ^ "Developer Preview License Agreement | Android Developers". Developer.android.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  7. ^ "Licenses". Android Open Source Project. Open Handset Alliance. Retrieved 2012-09-09. The preferred license for the Android Open Source Project is the Apache Software License, 2.0. ... Why Apache Software License? ... For userspace (that is, non-kernel) software, we do in fact prefer ASL2.0 (and similar licenses like BSD, MIT, etc.) over other licenses such as LGPL. Android is about freedom and choice. The purpose of Android is promote openness in the mobile world, but we don't believe it's possible to predict or dictate all the uses to which people will want to put our software. So, while we encourage everyone to make devices that are open and modifiable, we don't believe it is our place to force them to do so. Using LGPL libraries would often force them to do so.
  8. ^ "Android Wear - Android Developers". android.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Google reveals Android Wear, an operating system for smartwatches". The Verge. Vox Media.
  10. ^ a b Al Sacco (31 August 2015). "Android Wear for iOS gives iPhone owners more smartwatch options". CIO. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  11. ^ "OK Google, tell me about Android Wear".
  12. ^ "Android Wear gets cellular support, still needs to be paired with a phone". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  13. ^ Tuesday, March 18, 2014 (2014-03-18). "Moto 360: It's Time. - The Official Motorola Blog". Motorola-blog.blogspot.in. Retrieved 2014-06-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "LG introduces G Watch, first smartwatch running on Android Wear". Androidos.in. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  15. ^ Jeffries, Adrianne. "This is the Gear Live, Samsung's $199 Android Wear smartwatch". The Verge. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
  16. ^ "Android Wear". Android Developers. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  17. ^ Just 720,000 Android Wear smartwatches shipped last year. Engadget. Retrieved 11 FEBRUARY 2015.
  18. ^ "Android Wear - Android Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  19. ^ "Apple Watch Claims Over 50% of 2015 Smartwatch Market in Less Than a Year of Sales - Juniper Research". www.juniperresearch.com. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  20. ^ "Motorola, LG announce upcoming Android Wear smartwatches". The Verge. Vox Media.
  21. ^ a b Amadeo, Ron (10 December 2015). "Android Wear gets Lollipop update, adds watch face API, new features". Ars Technica. Conde Nast. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  22. ^ "Phones - ASUS ZenWatch (WI500Q) - ASUS". Asus.com.
  23. ^ "SmartWatch 3 SWR50". Sony Smartphones (Global UK English).
  24. ^ "LG Newsroom". lgnewsroom.com.
  25. ^ "LG Newsroom". lgnewsroom.com.
  26. ^ Kellex (1 March 2015). "Huawei Makes the Huawei Watch Official, Other Wearables and a 7-Inch Phone Too". Droid Life. DRD Life Inc. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  27. ^ "Android Wear on iOS: A hobbled, Google-centric smartwatch experience". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  28. ^ "SmartWatchCrunch". smartwatchcrunch.com.
  29. ^ a b c d "Android Wear software review: Smartwatch software that doesn't suck". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  30. ^ "Google Fit to curate steps, calories, heart rate, other biometric data". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  31. ^ "Android Wear Takes Industry Leading Smartphone Software to the Next Level". www.techpayout.com. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  32. ^ http://officialandroid.blogspot.nl/2015/08/android-wear-stay-connected-with.html
  33. ^ http://officialandroid.blogspot.nl/2016/02/android-wear-designed-for-your-wrist.html
  34. ^ Statt, Nick (2016-05-18). "Google announces Android Wear 2.0 with standalone app support and tiny keyboard". The Verge. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  35. ^ "Android Wear 2.0 is a major overhaul of Google's smartwatch OS". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
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