Google Pushes Android Wear Update For Select Smartwatches

It is always nice to have updates being introduced to smartwatches from time to time, as this shows that manufacturers and developers alike still retain their faith in the hardware platform. Google has started to introduce a major update to Android Wear which will activate speakers on select smartwatch models. If one could remember, the Huawei Watch (that has a 2-year warranty) as well as the 49mm Asus ZenWatch 2 arrived with a speaker right out of the box so that users can make or take calls via Bluetooth. The thing is, the speaker has to be activated by Google, and we are glad to say that the day has arrived with this update.

Basically, making use of an app such as Glide will allow owners of the Huawei Watch or the ZenWatch 2 (49mm) to tune in to audio/visual messages after applying the update. Of course, that is not all there is to it, since additional changes will include the addition of new gestures so that navigating an Android Wear timepiece is a whole lot easier and more convenient.

If you were to flick your wrist, you can now scroll up and down your card stream, while select gestures can enable one to expand a particular card, which brings up one’s apps before making a return to the watch face. You can also opt to send messages with a voice command, and select messaging apps (Google Hangouts, Nextplus, Telegram, Viber, WeChat, and WhatsApp) will play nice with this feature – pretty handy if you are busy with both hands, right? Expect the update to be rolled out in a staggered format in the coming weeks. [Press Release]

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: Android Wear, Asus, Huawei, zenwatch