Android Wear Software Evaluation: smart phone supporting software is not good (1)

Android Wear Software Evaluation: smart phone supporting software is not good (1)

BKJIA Translation: although still unable to operate independently from the mobile phone, it has already brought us a very good notification information processing mechanism.

A glance at Google wearable devices

Whether you believe it or not, Google has been using its glasses to gain a dominant position in the wearable device field for quite a while. Google Glass can help users quickly access information and view and process specific information in a simpler way) to receive notifications, but its shape factors may cause physical burden and inconvenience to users in normal social media. At this time, the appearance of Wear seems to help the fast information access flow set off by Google glasses, deliver the same service to users in a more comfortable and gentle expression.

I have been playing with several Android Wear devices for a long time. In fact, I have never seen a product that is easy to use and practical like Android Wear. This is not my point of view-at the Google I/O conference, every participant received an Android Wear watch. One day later, it seems that everyone's behavior has changed because of the appearance of this smart watch. As long as a notification bell rings, there will always be a large number of people looking at their mobile phones, but on the second day of the I/O conference, Everyone began to check their watches. In just a few days, this Wear watch will completely subvert everyone's mobile workflow. This is a very practical device, and I plan to keep wearing it from now on-the reason is very simple, it can indeed greatly improve my production efficiency.

Similar to Android, Android Wear is also an operating system and will eventually appear on many different types of devices. The Display Effect and operating mechanism of the software are not the focus. Therefore, as we have mentioned in the Android "chocolate bar" version evaluation, this article will only focus on the software itself. Of course, the first hardware release is also worth a chat. We will evaluate lg g Watch and Samsung Gear Live in another article.

Wear is currently in the software beta testing stage. After all, the most attractive and most anticipated hardware, Moto 360, has not yet been released, and Google is still working to strengthen Wear's support for its application suite. Since I got this device, I have received several updates every day to make it easier to integrate various features with Wear. The ecosystem has not yet been fully built yet, and the related application links on Play Store only display the words "will be officially launched on April 9, July 7. Therefore, although we are already using a consumer-level product and the method we use in our hands, the real carnival will not begin until the official launch of the Moto 360 this summer. Before that, however, the weeks are the best time for us to review existing software solutions and evaluate them before Google makes major updates.

Before in-depth discussion, we should first say a few words about the Wear screen display effect. Wear runs two display screens, square and circular. The system can convey the screen shape to the application and ensure that the latter adjusts the display scheme accordingly-of course, developers can also manually adjust the application layout. The point is that if the circular interface only changes the outer frame of the square interface, this effect will certainly not satisfy us. As the first stop in the Android Wear experience, we use lg g Watch with a square screen), but the round smart Watch product will definitely appear on the market.

Supporting applications

Initial settings of the Wear Application

Consistent with most smart watches, Wear devices also rely on Bluetooth to connect to mobile phones and require the latter to run Android 4.3 or a later version. Are you still using iOS or Windows Phone? We can only say sorry: Wear cannot provide services for such users. Smart watches seem to be defined as a type of device that is highly locked on a specified ecosystem. Samsung smart watches require matching Samsung phones, while Google's solutions require connecting to Android phones, and we are sure Apple's technology will require matching iOS phones. To support multiple operating system types, watches and mobile phones need to solve many problems related to cross-platform communication. This is by no means a simple task. Speaking of this, are you willing to change your mobile phone system platform for an outstanding smart watch?

Like Google Glasses, Wear also needs to use supporting applications to work properly ). Currently, You need to register a developer beta test group to complete the settings. This is used to log on to five beta test applications and install them on the watch. For ordinary consumers, future mass production solutions should not be so troublesome.

Without a smartphone, Wear is practically useless. It cannot access the Internet or use voice commands, that is, everyone can only use its most basic timing functions-such as timer or stopwatch. After the Wear application is installed, the primary task is to enable its Bluetooth mechanism, match the watch with your mobile phone, and allow it to access the notification API. After the steps related to the beta test are completed, the setup is very simple and can be completed smoothly even for common users. It scans our mobile phones, downloads all Wear matching components from the app, and synchronizes them to the watch.

Third-party vendors can only install applications on Wear devices using standard mobile phones and tablets, and we cannot install applications using the sideloaded mechanism as on Galaxy Gear. According to the current situation, Google Keep is the only mobile app that can install a mini app on Wear watches, however, with the addition of more developers, we believe that the number of such applications will continue to increase. OEMs can directly build their watches in Wear without binding them to a specific mobile phone application. For example, LG watches Include a 'world clock 'application, samsung provides a dedicated 'stopped' application), but other vendors do not have the initiative.

We cannot retain the original watch data while changing the Android device. If you want to change your mobile phone number, you need to clear all the data on the watch first, then ask it to scan the new mobile phone and download the relevant data again. The entire process takes about several minutes, and we will push the STEP Data and even the settings on all the steps.

Currently, the main applications include voice operations, application stores that have not yet been officially launched, and long-term notifications.

Once these applications are started and running properly, the system requires us to make a series of adjustments to the settings, connect to them, disconnect the matching with the watch, and select the default application for each voice operation. At the bottom of the Application List, we can see a blue "Browse compatible application" button. Now it is used to open the Play Store and list all Wear applications, but only "officially launched on April 9" is displayed, so we will pay attention to this feature in subsequent articles. Like Google Glasses, Wear will generate a long-lasting notification, reminding us that we have established a connection with Wear. This mechanism is really annoying. We hope Android can release the notification panel while prompting Wear connection in other ways.

Main Screen and noteworthy content.

Android Wear is a brand new operating system, so it is necessary to explore in depth what it can do and how users can use it. Wear mainly relies on voice, touch, and notification mechanisms for operations. It does not provide any icon mesh or keyboard mechanism, so if you want to input content, you can only rely on verbal expression. The standard Android Wear home screen displays the current time in the upper left corner, the prompt icon in the upper right corner, and some information cards are displayed below the screen.

The icon in the upper-right corner is used to display the current status. When disconnected from the phone, it will be displayed as a line across the cloud, while charging is displayed as a battery indicator. When we complete all the settings and connect them to the mobile phone, the only way is to use the SDK. Therefore, you will always see the battery icon in the upper right corner on the home screen we provide. Of course, if your computer is equipped with a Bluetooth mechanism, you can connect to it wirelessly ). In the Developer Preview and many official materials provided by Google, the "g" icon is displayed in the upper right corner of the interface, but the setting is canceled in the released version.

The touch command activation time is now doubled in the previous Developer Preview version, which relies on clicking the 'G' button ), the long-pressed current time allows you to change the display content of your watch, similar to enabling the home screen setting option by pressing the background in the Google Now starter.

At the bottom of the screen is the preview content of the latest information card from the "background stream. We will discuss it further in the following content, but we should regard it as a "notification" mechanism. The main screen does not display all the content of the information card, but is the "TOP", that is, only the first content is displayed. Click this small information card to perform corresponding operations, such as playing/pausing the current music.

Some dial designs, including the default scheme, do not provide wallpaper options that can be set by users as the smartphone does. The background is constantly transformed based on the current notification content. When playing a music, it uses the album cover as the background. When an email, text, or instant messaging message is received, a contact image is displayed. When providing weather information, it uses a cartoon background. This design is quite brilliant and can ensure that the wallpaper is frequently used based on the current notification content.