Android Wear Update Targets Apple Watch

As the Apple Watch launch approaches and orders are starting to ship, Google is feeling the pressure and this week announced Here are some key changes and improvements in Android Wear as a whole, in wearable software like smartwatches, aimed at overtaking the Apple Watch. Google’s blog post detailed tons of new changes to Android Wear that should make many of the smartwatches currently available even better.

Android Wear hasn’t received many updates since it was announced last year. A few minor updates have popped up with new features, battery life improvements, and minor tweaks to the UI, but now the platform as a whole and its companion app are getting the biggest update ever.

The Apple Watch is here now, and with tons of cool futures, tons of emojis and more to come, Google is releasing an update to level the playing field. Things like drawable emojis, always-on apps, more WiFi options, and much more. This is the biggest update ever for Android Wear.

Add in the news and rumors that Google is working to get Android Wear on iOS for iPhone owners, and this update is even more important. Offering more features to make Android Wear options like the Moto 360 more appealing and potentially stealing some sales from the Apple Watch.

So, what’s new in Android Wear v.1.1, which is now available on the Google Play Store and finally on all Android Wear smartwatches? Too much. Android Police It goes over tons of new features. For now, the update isn’t quite there, but the accompanying Android Wear app Google Play store It has received a major update that mentions most of the changes and brings new features to it.

Individually, all the changes are pretty minor and useful little features, but when you put it all together it makes Android Wear even more appealing and offers as much or more than the Apple Watch. Most Android Wear watches have built-in WiFi, but this was not used. The watches pair with a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, acting as the device’s main hub and brain. With this new update, the situation is changing. If your watch has WiFi, you can now use your watch without a phone by connecting to WiFi and using Google’s cloud servers.

Apps can now always be running even when the watch is not connected to a smartphone, and that’s because they can now sync and work over WiFi. This update actually enables WiFi (which can affect battery life) and allows users to connect to a home WiFi network, whereas it can only be synced to a smartphone via Bluetooth. This lets you make Google calls, send messages, read emails and more with your voice when you’re not near your phone and within Bluetooth range. Something that is one of Android Wear’s weakest links. If you lose your phone, you can use your watch and WiFi to find it. Pretty clean isn’t it?

There are also new gestures and even hand-drawn emojis. This is a neat thing where users can draw a smiley face with their finger, and the watch will do its best to match it with an emoji and send it in a text, email or hangout message reply. This makes things fun, more interactive, and easier than scrolling through various emojis on the small screen. That said, Android Wear still needs a smartphone to perform most tasks, and they’re not its own devices like the Apple Watch.

Google has also introduced a new low-power mode to the screen when you’re not actively looking at it. It allows applications to display only a minimal amount of data in ambient, usually black and white, without turning on the screen. Android Wear already does this for the watch face and shows it in a low power state, but now that feature covers apps as well.

Now, if your hands are full, you can flick your wrist to scroll through your watch stream, and then respond with your voice even when your phone isn’t with you. This makes using Android Wear easier, faster, more convenient and does not tie owners to their phones. Even so, making Android Wear more like your own device.

Finally, the Android Wear app lets you control and manage multiple watches within the app, rather than disconnecting and reconnecting one watch at a time for those with multiple watches. It specifically remembers each device, its settings, notification setup and more. The update also includes additional UI changes, better controls, an easier-to-view calendar, and more. We’ll review everything when more hours come. Expect Android Wear v1.1 to arrive first on the LG G Watch Urbane and then on your watch in the near future.