Google shows off three new apps for Android Wear 2.0

By Jerry Hildenbrand
last updated

Android Wear 2.0 has plenty of improvements and changes, but one that has plenty of people excited is having apps installed on, and running from, the watch itself instead of the connected phone. In the past Google had said that this wasn't optimal and would lead to a bad experience, but hardware improvements and Android just getting "better" have brought this change.

The three apps are Glide, Foursquare, and Lifesum. The Glide app will use the Communications API to let us do things like stream directly from the watch or initiate a conversation with someone without getting our phone involved.

Foursquare will use Android 7's new rich notifications so that you'll get more information — and the information you want — right on your watch instead of being directed back to your phone for it. Nougat's notifications were built on the original Android Wear card system and should make for a better experience anytime your watch needs to tell you something.

The Lifesum app for Android Wear 2.0 is designed to track meals and water intake directly from the wrist. Cutting out the phone component means you'll always have fresh data available and changes will be reflected instantly.

You can have a look at the latest developer preview builds of Android Wear as well as all the documentation at the Android Developer site.

Jerry Hildenbrand
Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.

27 Comments
  • Glad to see Android wear development isn't dead, but I really hope we see a "made by Google" pixel watch released with Wear 2.0.
  • I hope so, too. It will almost certainly cost more than I'm willing to spend on a smartwatch, but it'll be good to see that Google is legitimately committed to the platform.
  • I'm with the other commenters. I'm glad to see this, because I hope it means we'll see Pixel watches in the first quarter with Android wear 2.0.
  • I want any Android wear watch 2.0.....I also own 4 Android wear watches so they need to upgrade those too....
  • My co-worker: Holds iPhone on right hand, looks at Apple Watch on left hand "Hey, I got a text!"
  • ?
  • She was holding her phone with one hand and checking for text on her watch.
  • Yes, I use Android Wear and do the same regularly. Think of it like dual monitors on a computer. I can focus on one thing on the phone while glancing at a different, unrelated thing on the watch without needing to switch apps or steal focus from whatever's on the phone.
  • Side note: There should be no such thing as monitoring water intake. There is no such thing as 8 cups a day...biggest perpetuated myth in modern society. If you're thirsty drink water. Otherwise, your constant over drinking of water just leads to constant bathroom breaks and reduced vitamin retention. Don't believe me? Do REAL scientific research instead of what the beverage industry wants you to think.
  • The beverage industry isn't needed to get water. Now if they had said i need to drink 8 glasses of Mountain Dew, i would be suspicious.
  • Very true.
  • Most people suffer from chronic dehydration. Even 1% dehydration can impact performance. While it's true that the 8 cups is just thrown around, it's also false that 'drink when you are thirsty' works.
  • Evidence for that claim?
  • 8 cups in a day really isn't much, but you can definitely throw off your electrolyte and fluid balances if you're drinking too much.
  • Android Wear is nearly dead and adding three aging apps like these doesn't do anything to excite me. I hope they can turn it around to push the industry harder but it's going to take a miracle at this point.
  • Dead? No. Slowed sure... But if Google made Pixel watches showed up it would catch it back up to speed.
  • Possible but highly unlikely. There isn't anything captivating in smartwatches yet for most.
  • If pixel watches sell better than other brands it'll just be proof that Google fanboys are as addled as Apple fanboys. Spending a few hundred bucks for something which duplicates some (and only some) of the functionality you already have on your phone, and still needs your phone to work, just so you can avoid taking your phone out of your pocket as often is not a compelling sales pitch.
  • It's a compelling sales pitch for a lot of people, especially as you customize which notifications go to the phone (many more of the less important notifications) and which ones go to the watch (a select few of the more important notifications). It's a great way to filter notifications. Another compelling thing about the Apple Watch specifically is the Taptic engine's gentle and unobtrusive taps instead of most phones' and other watches' annoying buzz. Mobile payments are also a compelling reason but mostly for people living outside the US. Same thing with health and fitness tracking (yes, there are dedicated devices for those purposes, but having it all in one package is convenient).
  • What is the watch in the picture?
  • I think that's an LG Urbane 2nd edition. Very nice looking.
  • Foursquare is still a thing!?!?
  • bleh
  • These apps aren't even useful on a phone, let alone a watch.
  • For some reason hangouts is not showing up on my watch in the new Wear 2.0 dev preview 4. Anyone else seeing this issue, or have insight on how to get it to show up in the app drawer? To clarify, I can receive and reply to hangouts messages through the watch, but hangouts does not show up in my app drawer, so I have no way to open hangouts to see all messages, or send a new message.
  • I'd rather have them show me a watch that looks as badass as the S3 Frontier.
  • Oh boy, I can't wait to be surrounded by a bunch of tech geeks having conversations on their watches, in public. Even more annoying that hearing half a a conversation from people using BT headsets.