The third developer preview for Android Wear 2.0 was just pushed out yesterday, and while the official software push was knocked back into 2017 when it comes to a public release, Google is still taking steps to make it more possible to work with the software. Part of how they do this is through the developer preview, and in relation to that the Android Wear App 2.0 Beta for this version of the developer preview has received and update and adds in some changes to take note of. Having said that, none of the changes are extremely major, and this version of the app is meant for those who are running the preview, which means you’ll likely want to stick with the version of the Android Wear app that you have on your device instead of downloading this beta version of the app if the preview hasn’t been installed on your watch.
As for what’s new, the most notable difference here is that the app now includes and account manager which is used to add your Google account to the watch that you’re using. The reason for this is due to the access to the Play Store that Android Wear 2.0 will bring in. Just like on Android smartphones and tablets, standalone access to the Play Store for downloading apps will require a Google account on the device. With this, though, users won’t have to download apps to their connected devices, they can simply download them straight from the watch.
Aside from the new account manager, the Android Wear App 2.0 beta also includes some form of Google Assistant, to a degree, as images shown from Android Police display that the dev preview 3 of Android Wear 2.0 on the watch brings up some screens with Google Assistant on them, but it’s noted that commands for Google Assistant don’t work here as they aren’t recognized. What this may suggest even if Google Assistant isn’t working in this version of the dev preview, is that Google might have plans to integrate Google Assistant with the software down the line at some point, however it’s possible that Google has other plans here for putting these tips on the platform. If you have the latest version of the Developer Preview for Android Wear installed and you want to give the Android Wear App 2.0 beta a try, you can grab the APK from the button download below.
Download Android Wear App 2.0 Beta APK
