Wear OS – Devstyler.io

Android Dev Summit focuses on building apps across devices

nikoleta — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 07:56:58 +0000

Google LLC’s Android Dev Summit 2021 happened two days ago and was all about enabling developers to build better apps across devices.

To begin, the Android team is expanding its collection of development tools by bringing Material You to Jetpack Compose. And Jetpack itself is getting jam-packed with new features that developers have been clamouring for.

A new operating system optimization feature for Android 12 called 12L that’s designed specifically for large screens was also announced to make it work better for tablets, Chromebooks and foldable. Smaller form factors also got some love with Wear OS updates in Jetpack Compose.

Here comes Material You to Jetpack Compose

Material You is a set of design updates that launched with Android 12 that delivers an adaptive user interface on Android devices. The Android team has now brought its capabilities into Jetpack Compose, a developer toolkit for building native UIs.

With this integration, developers will be able to access Material You’s personalization features with the first alpha build of Compose Material 3, which offers Material Design 3 components and themes. The new Material Theme builder is available as a Figma plugin and a web tool.

Android team is releasing the first beta version of Jetpack Compose 1.1 with features such as stretch over scroll for Android 12, improved touch-target sizing, experimental lazy layout animations and more which aims to allow developers to design for more screen sizes and form factors.

On the other hand, Jetpack is getting more features developers have been asking for

For instance, Navigation has added multiple back stacks support. WorkManager, the recommended solution for persistent work, which makes it easier to handle Android 12 background processes, added support for expedited jobs. Room adds auto-migration and multimap relations. DataStore, the replacement for SharedPreferences, reaches version 1.0. And Macro Benchmark, a tool to measure and improve startup, adds simplified frame timing and compatibility.

According to Google, there are a lot of large-screen devices running on Android and as a result, the Android team is looking to increase support for those devices with “12L.”

12L is a special feature drop for Android 12 that optimizes for these large screens and provides a new set of tools to make multitasking more powerful and intuitive compatibility support for apps.

The refinements include UI changes that allow large screens above 600dp, to take advantage of a new two-column layout. This includes the notification shade, lock screen and other system surfaces. In 12L there is also a new taskbar that lets users instantly switch between apps on the fly. It makes split-screen mode more accessible than ever.

Google plans to launch 12L early next year in step with the next wave of Android 12 tablets and foldable.

Wear OS gets Jetpack Compose support

What is more, the Android team is bringing Compose support to Wear OS with a developer preview. It includes new samples and documentation that will help developers get started.

Tiles API is currently in beta, which provides predictable and glanceable access to information and quick actions on the watch face. And Android has partnered with Samsung to make it easier to design watch faces. The Watch Face Studio enables developers to create watch faces rapidly without any coding knowledge.

Galaxy Watch4 series gets its first Software Update

nikoleta — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 06:50:07 +0000

South Korean tech giant Samsung has started rolling out the first big software update to the Galaxy Watch4 series with some new features on board.

The firmware version is R8xxXXU1BUH5 and it has a size of 290.52MB. The update will enhance the watch’s stability. It includes bug fixes, enhancements to current functions, and an overall improvement in performance.

The new update brings some fresh new watch faces to the Galaxy Watch4 and Watch4 Classic. The firm has made it possible for users to select a GIF image as a My Photo+ watch face. In addition, gesture support has been updated with the option to launch apps and features using gestures.

Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic are the first smartwatches to feature the new Wear OS which is built jointly with Google. The biggest USP of the device is that it allows users to monitor their blood pressure on the go, at work or at home. Galaxy Watch4 is equipped with Samsung’s ground-breaking bio-active sensor.

This new 3-in-1 sensor uses a single chip to precisely run three powerful health sensors – Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis — so users can monitor their blood pressure, detect aFib irregular heartbeat, measure their blood oxygen level, and for the first time calculate their body composition.

The all-new ‘Body Composition‘ measurement tool gives users a deeper understanding of their general health and fitness, with key measurements like skeletal muscle, basal metabolic rate, body water and body fat percentage.

Google’s Wear Smartwatch Software Update List is short, And the Wait is Long

nikoleta — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 15:56:52 +0000

If you’re waiting for news on when, or if, your Wear OS smartwatch will receive an update to the new version of the software announced during Google I/O, there’s some good and bad news ahead. Google has listed the smartwatches eligible for an upgrade, and the timeframe expected, but neither is likely to be what smartwatch owners were hoping for.

The new version of Wear OS, which Google refers to as Wear OS 3 but had introduced it as Wear before, will eventually arrive on the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 and its 4G/LTE connected counterpart, and the TicWatch E3, plus unannounced models from Fossil and Mobvoi expected later in 2021. It won’t be arriving very quickly either; as Google states that it “expects our partners to be able to roll out the system update starting in mid to second half of 2022.”

When the update does arrive it’s so comprehensive that the smartwatch will be reset to factory settings during the process, Google states it will make the update an option. If you don’t want to reset your watch, then you don’t have to update to Wear OS 3. Google quietly announced the details regarding the new software on its Wear OS community help page.

The news doesn’t quite fit with the statement released by Qualcomm concerning which smartwatches could receive an update. It said Wear OS 3 is supported by smartwatches with the Snapdragon Wear 3100 and Snapdragon 4100 processors, but Google’s list only features the two Snapdragon 4100 models available now, with no mention of the dozens of current Snapdragon Wear 3100 models.

If you own a Ticwatch Pro 3 or Ticwatch E3, it will be at least a year old by the time the software arrives. Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Watch 4 at its August 11 Unpacked event, and it will use the new Wear platform with Samsung’s One UI over the top, making a 12-month wait at the minimum for an update to arrive on a watch you can already buy a disappointment.

While confirmation of an update is good news, the small selection of compatible models and the long wait before it arrives is not. If you’re considering buying a new Android smartwatch, it may be worth waiting to buy a model with the latest software on board already.