Earlier today Google confirmed the arrival of Android Wear 2.0. It also seems as though the Google Play Store listing for the Android Pay app has now been updated to reflect the use of Android Pay on select Android Wear 2.0-running smartwatches, like for instance the LG Watch Sport. The updated Play Store listing now includes screenshots of Android Pay on Android Wear watch faces, although the rest of the app listing has not been updated to reflect the support for Android Wear. As it stands, it is only the screenshots that have been updated.
Android Wear 2.0 was originally set to make its debut last year, but Google delayed the release to put in some final changes and fix bugs. Adding Android Pay to an Android Wear smartwatch may be the catalyst that Google needs to increase two sore spots – enhance the sale of smartwatches and to expand the use of Android Pay – as you can now leave the house with only your smartwatch and still be able to make payments at places which accept Android Pay. While many Android Wear users will have been waiting for this major update, it looks like many manufacturers have also been waiting to release new smartwatches with Android Wear 2.0 installed out of the box. In either case that time has now come as Android Wear 2.0 has arrived and is set to be received by a number of existing smartwatches in due course. It is also worth noting that in order to gain the ability to make Android Pay purchases, your smartwatch must have an NFC chip built into the device to make an actual purchase – it takes a combination of the NFC chip and the software to make the magic happen.
Android Wear 2.0 is the next step in the evolution that Google started back in 2014. While the original Android Wear version was a huge first step in the proliferation of smartwatches, Google, and manufacturers of smartwatches, are hoping that Android Wear 2.0 will be a giant step forward in the functionality of the devices and spawning increased sales. Android Wear 2.0 includes improvements to the user interface, better use of the round faces found on most watches, a new app launcher, a new notifications design, a new watch face picker, and of course, Android Pay support. Standalone apps is another big coup as this will allow apps to run independently on the smartwatch without the need to be paired with your smartphone.
