According to a recent report coming out of The Verge this morning. It looks like Android Wear’s next update is going to be a pretty big one. The site is citing that Google is going to enable WiFi support, as well as Gesture Controls and even faster/easier access to contacts. Looking at the WiFi Support, what this means is that you’ll still be able to get Google Now cards when your smartwatch is not connected to Bluetooth. However, I’d imagine that it’d need to be connected to a WiFi network that your phone recognizes, for instance your home or work WiFi network. Most Android Wear Smartwatches do have WiFi support, so we should see how that works in the next OTA, once the switch is flipped to on.
Another feature that’s coming is Gesture Control. Again, according to The Verge, it appears that users will be able to flick their wrist and be able to scroll through all their notifications without actually touching the device. The Verge’s source also has informed them that the UI for Android Wear will get a few tweaks. Which include making it easier to access applications and contacts on the smartwatch. While right now, jumping into an app on Android Wear is a bit of a nuisance as you have to either tell your watch to open a specific app, or jump through an extra menu first.
This news comes just a day after Apple finished unveiling their smartwatch to everyone – which included the pricing of their watch. Which we won’t go into detail here, but there are a few models that are in the 5 figure range. Yeah, I’m not kidding. While Apple is about a year behind Google’s smartwatch ecosystem, both are very early in their life cycle. However, Android Wear has a lot more options – as Google showcased in their latest ad – there’s still a lot of work to be done. And it sounds like this next OTA will help out with that.