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Upcoming Android Wear 2.9 update adds new notification indicator to all watch faces

Following the rollout of Android Wear 2.0, Google has been pushing more frequent updates to its wearable platform. An upcoming version adds a default notification indicator to all watch faces, with developers able to customize the look.

Android Wear 2.8 rolled out with a number of new features just last week, and Google is already discussing version 2.9. This next consumer release will add an unread notification counter to all watch faces.

This dot-shaped indicator with a surrounding ring will be displayed by default at the bottom of every watch face if there are new, unread notifications.

Watch face developers will be able to customize the appearance by adding an accent color, as well as disabling it in favor of other alternatives. This includes displaying the number of unread notifications in the system tray at the top of the screen. Another option is a custom display anywhere on the screen to better match the watch face.

The latest SDK release for Wear also includes the final version of an emulator based on Oreo, as well as enhancements to complications. This includes integrated requests for permissions, as well a new drawable callback.

Google ends the developer blog post on the promise of more enhancements in development over the months ahead.


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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

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