Google Releases Android Wear 2.0 Developer Preview 4
- Paul Thurrott
- Dec 13, 2016
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Google’s Android Wear doesn’t seem to be going anywhere fast, but they’re forging ahead with the next version of this wearable platform: Today, the firm announced Android Wear 2.0 Developer Preview 4.
The big news in Android Wear 2.0 is that apps can be standalone apps, something Apple also added in the latest release of watchOS for Apple Watch. But new features in this Developer Preview release include:
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Seamless authentication. Available on both Android phone and iPhone, Android Wear users will be able to utilize one-click Google sign-in.
In-app billing. Android Wear 2.0 will support paid apps, and in this release, the firm has added in-app billing support as well. “Users can authorize purchases quickly and easily on the watch through a 4-digit Google Account PIN,” Google says.
Swipe-to-dismiss. Google had originally removed swipe-to-dismiss from Android Wear 2.0, but it got a lot of complaints, so it’s back. “We have reverted back to the previous behavior with this developer preview release,” Google explains.
There’s more, of course, and as you might imagine, most of the new features in this release are, by nature, geared towards developers creating Android Wear apps.
And Android Wear 2.0 Developer Preview 4 isn’t the end of the road: Google says that Developer Preview 5 is coming soon as well.