Wear OS

You knew it was going to happen.

Just when you thought that Flappy Bird clones had run their course, Flopsy Droid has become the first unofficial Flappy Bird port for Android Wear devices. The app brings the bird-and-pipe experience to the LG G Watch, Moto 360 and other Android Wear devices, with the same one-tap controls as the smartphone version. The only difference is that Flopsy Droid is designed for markedly smaller screens. 
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As more and more Android Wear devices start to trickle out to the public, a somewhat major bug has been discovered by the folks at Android Police. According to users of the G Watch and Gear Live, there is currently no way to install paid apps onto the devices. Normally, Android Wear apps are installed to the watch from the user’s phone, via Bluetooth. Apps that cost money, however, are not installing on Android Wear devices.

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We told you late last week that Android Wear devices had started leaving the warehouse, and this week is seeing many of those orders reach their destinations. And with the devices now in more and more developers hands, countless apps have started appearing on the Play Store. It will soon get to the point where there are too many to keep track, but in the meantime we’re watching the Play Store closely for great (and not so great) new apps.
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It’s quite certain that Twitter will at some point launch their own app for Android Wear, but for those that are just itching to be able to tweet from their watch right now, there’s an app called “Bunting” that will let you do just that. The name might be confusing, but I can assure you there’s nothing baseball-related here.

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By default, the launch Android Wear watches (which are now shipping) only come with a select number of watch faces that packed in the OS. It was only a matter of time before developers developed their own, however, and it appears that there are now a few available. If you’re lucky enough to have an Android Wear device on hand, you can install them the same way you install any Android Wear app.

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Is was bound to happen, and it looks like it’s here. On the day that the first Android Wear device began shipping and only a few days after Google I/O attendees were given a free device themselves, one developer has demoed a home automation system using an Android Wear smartwatch to control it. And even more interestingly, it runs on Android applications that are already on the Play Store.

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Last night Google announced a new space for apps on the Play Store specifically for Android Wear software. In just a few short hours, this new wing has amassed a collection of 33 apps and shows no signs of slowing down. Apps like Runtastic Running & Fitness, MediSafe Meds & Pill Reminder and Hue Control and Lyft hit Google Play today along with a slew of others.

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Google tonight made a pair of enhancements to the Play Store for the lucky people with an Android Wear device. First off, the company has released the official Android Wear companion app for Android. This app connects with your Android Wear device (i.e. the Gear Live or G Watch) and allows you to control voice action preferences, adjust notification settings, and configure various other settings for your watch.

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Fog Creek Software announced today that its organization app Trello is now available for Android Wear. If you’re unfamiliar with this software, it’s pretty much a live whiteboard that uses task cards to help groups keep track of who’s doing what when working on project. To bring this powerful tool to your new smartwatch, just update to the latest version of Trello for Android on your smartphone and the app will automatically install on your wearable.

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Android Wear got its big announcement at Google I/O last week, and the Mountain View company opened up orders for both the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live on the same day. But unfortunately both US and UK residents have been left anxious with ship dates not coming until later this week. Luckily for those in the UK and wanting to get their hands on the G Watch, there seems to be a way to have the device dispatched a few days early.

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Android Wear doesn’t just show you notifications. In at least one developer session at I/O, Google made it clear that its new smartwatch platform will actually be capable of running standalone applications, even further extending the possibilities of what the device will be able to do in the near future. But now, some of these apps are already hitting the Play Store.

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Recently at Google I/O 2014, LG and Samsung launched their new Android Wear smartwatches. The LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live are available now on the Google Play Store, but which one should you buy? Both devices have differences and similarities and today we’re taking a quick look at all of them. Check out our comparison video below for a closer look…

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At Google I/O this year, the company unveiled a trio of new operating systems, Android TV, Android Auto, and Android Wear. All of these operating systems, of course, run with an interface designed by Google itself. There was doubt, however, surrounding whether manufacturers would be allowed to overlay their own interface on top, like many do with Android. While speaking with Ars Technica, Google’s engineering director David Burke put an end to our doubts and confirmed that OEMs will not be allowed to overlay their interfaces on top of Android Auto, Android TV, or Android Wear.

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I was debating which Android Wear watch to get at Google I/O between the Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch. Sadly what won out overall was probably the look of the Gear Live (which looks like a Tizen-powered Gear 2 minus the camera and a few other minor details). Samsung’s offering also has heartbeat monitor and a higher resolution OLED display but LG has a bigger battery and LCD display (which didn’t help much with outside viewing from my brief usage).

I’ll say what everyone else was saying: We’d all rather have the Moto 360. But those come later this summer – which ends in September. Both the industrial design and the almost round face put the Moto 360 in another league but will probably put it in another price league as well. Both LG and Samsung will come in around $200.

How was the experience with the Samsung Gear Live?
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Google this morning rolled out an update to the Maps app on Android with a feature that will certainly make Google I/O 2014 attendees happy. Bumping the app to version 8.1.1, the update resolves the issues surrounding Android Wear’s compatibility with Google Maps.

Many Google I/O attendees noted that the Maps integration with the new Android Wear devices was entirely nonexistent, despite Google’s on-stage demos. Today’s update, however, adds integration between Wear and Maps like Google showed us during its keynote. With Maps on a smartwatch, you can search for a location and start navigation directly from your wrist. The watch, of course, still communicates with your phone for the data.

Now that Google has officially released the full Android Wear SDK, we expect to see a lot of apps updated with Android Wear support over the coming days and weeks. You can download the Google Maps update on the Play Store now.

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Attendees at Google I/O are busy pawing smartwatches made by LG, Motorola and Samsung, but obviously there are other companies ready to jump on the Android Wear bandwagon. One of the firms currently drafting up a plan is Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asus, which will release a smartwatch sometime this fall, according to TechCrunch. Powered by Android Wear, the high-tech timepiece will reportedly feature an AMOLED display and ship with a price tag between $100 and $150.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d36cIFCJvQs

Google announced a variety of new services and products today at Google I/O, including the “L” version of Android, Android Auto, Android TV, Google Fit, and Android Wear. In an effort to help us all digest this onslaught of news, Google this evening posted a 2-minute video on YouTube showing how all of those services can seamlessly work together to make your life easier.

The video, seen above, shows a man performing daily routine, but with all of Google’s new services. He’s using an Android “L” smartphone paired with an Android Wear watch, paired with a car with Android Auto, paired with Android TV. And, of course, an obligatory cute dog. The video makes it look like it all works pretty seamlessly together. But unfortunately, we’re still quite aways away from this becoming reality.

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On stage at its Google I/O developer conference, the company talked wearables, as we expected it to. Google says that Android users check their phones “an average of 125 times a day,” so the company hopes that Android Wear paired with various wearables will help cut down on this number. Demoing it on an LG G Watch, Google showed more details about the Android Wear interface. The company also announced that starting today, the full Android Wear SDK is available to developers. Most importantly, Google announced that the LG G Watch will be available on Google Play today, although a price is still yet to be determined. The company also announced that the the Samsung Gear Live will be available today, as well. The Moto 360 will be available later this summer.

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