Android Wear has risen like a phoenix from the ashes, with 2017 giving us some of the world’s most desirable smartwatches from fashion and watch brands alike, as well as the old smartwatch holdouts like LG. There’s never been a better time to grab yourself a smartwatch and stay constantly appraised of your updates, when and where they happen, without having to ever look at your phone’s screen.
We’re massive fans of Android Wear, and that’s why we keep as close an eye as possible on the latest news and updates to the system. Android Wear 2.0 has been and gone, and the upgrade to Android Oreo on Android Wear is rolling out as we speak. But that doesn’t mean that the updates have stopped; quite the opposite, in fact. Google has switched over to a “more-is-more” approach for Android Wear, pushing out smaller updates more frequently — so if your smartwatch is slated to receive those updates, you should see it constantly evolve over time.
Here’s the latest update news for Android Wear.
Android Wear 2.8 update
This update goes straight through to your app, rather than being an OTA update through to your watch, and it’s aimed at making your notifications easier to read on your watch.
The changes are fairly small, as we’ve come to expect from most Android Wear updates these days, and most of the meat of this particular update is centered around a new layout that should make your notifications easier to read at a glance. In addition, the background of your notifications has been made slightly darker, so the notification texts stands out even more.
Which watches can expect to receive this update? Since it’s an update to the app itself, any watches that have received the Android Oreo Android Wear update should be receiving this update. But as always, if you’re unsure then it’s worth contacting your manufacturer directly.
Android Wear 2.7 update
This isn’t an OTA update to your watch, so expect to see this update downloaded straight to your app.
Users can expect some quality-of-life improvements with this update, adding the ability to see more on your watchface, and cutting down on some accidental screen-presses and swipes that you might have experienced. The additions and changes are as follows:
- Better glanceability with improved typefaces and font weights.
- Complications now work with Talkback for improved accessibility.
- Text size of notifications adapts to message length, adding an extra line of text on most notifications.
- Swipe down in Quick Settings to easily see your connection (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or mobile).
- Check on download progress with new progress indicator notifications.
- Launch your last-used app right from your watch face with the Recent App complication.
- Better prevention of accidental side-swipe and long-press gestures.
Editors’ Recommendations
- Apple iOS 11.2.2 update offers a fix to the Spectre security vulnerability
- Apple’s WatchOS 4.1 update adds phone-less music streaming, GymKit
- You can finally do more with the Fitbit Ionic thanks to an OS update
- Serif boosts its Photoshop competitor, Affinity Photo, with new update
- Updates addressing Meltdown security issue are causing a number of PC reboots
