Google has announced a new platform for wearable devices called the Android Wear. This platform is a new version of Android designed specifically for wearable devices an indication that Google will be exploring the opportunities in the wearable ecosystem.
The idea behind Android Wear is to bring contextual information to the user when it’s most needed. This means that it doesn’t just tell the time, one can get receive notification from a social app, chats from your preferred messaging apps, get the fastest route to next locations, show the time for your next appointments among others. This platform makes significant use of Google Now for contextual features and voice commands.
According to the official Google blog post, Work is going on with several manufacturers and chip makers to bring Android wear powered watches later in the year.
“We’re also already working with several consumer electronics manufacturers, including Asus, HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung; chip makers Broadcom, Imagination, Intel, Mediatek and Qualcomm; and fashion brands like the Fossil Group to bring you watches powered by Android Wear later this year”.
By the time these manufacturers begin to roll out their watches, we would be able to tell whether products on this new platform will perform better than the smartwatches from Sony and the Gear 2/Gear 2 Neo from Samsung.
Google also announced that there is a new section on developer.android.com/wear that focuses more on wearables, open to developers to download the preview SDK. This will also allow developers to bring their existing app notifications to watches that are already running Android Wear.
