Skip to main content

6 things Android Wear smartwatches can do that the Apple Watch can't

Image
By
Android-wear-5-1-1-wrist-gestures

1. Custom watch faces

Android Wear watch faces

Android Wear lets developers create and sell their own custom watch faces.
IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
From the very start, Google's allowed anyone to design and sell their own custom watch faces for Android Wear smartwatches. The Apple Watch, on the other hand, only has 11 watch faces, though they can be customized with "complications," little widget-like bits in each corner.
With Apple rejecting apps that display only the time, it's unlikely the company will allow third parties to design and sell digital watch faces without its official blessing. That's a real disappointment if you're really into customizations.

2. Always-on apps (soon)


To see the time on a smartwatch, you often have to raise your arm up in an exaggerated motion. This is fine if you're walking down the street, but just plain irritating when you're sitting down or want to glance at the time while you're typing.
Many Android Wear watches, including the LG G Watch R, include a feature called "always-on," which switches the smartwatch into a low-power state. In always-on mode, the watch face is stripped of almost all color, and some details (like a second hand) are pared down, in effort to conserve battery life while remaining on.
Android Wear 5.1.1 extends "always-on" to apps. Maps, for example, will get the same black-and-white treatment when you're not actively looking at them. However, the apps require an update to support the feature, so there aren't many with always-on baked in yet, so if you don't see any, be patient; they're coming.

3. Works over any Wi-Fi network

Android Wear Wi-Fi

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
The biggest knock on smartwatches, besides battery life, is that they're smartphonecompanions and need to be tethered via Bluetooth in order to work. Leave your smartphone at your desk and walk away or go for a run without your glass slab and your smartwatch stops getting notifications.
The Apple Watch still works over Wi-Fi if your iPhone is out of Bluetooth range, but the two must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network to work.
With the new Android Wear update, your smartwatch can still get alerts and notifications over Wi-Fi, even when your phone isn't within range. Unlike the Apple Watch, Android Wear watches running the latest version can connect to any Wi-Fi network (assuming you have access, of course), meaning your phone could be at home and your watch connected to Wi-Fi at work and you'll still get notifications. (You'll still need your smartphone to pair and activate an Android Wear smartwatch, so it's not quite phone-free... yet.)

4. Hand-drawn emoji


The Apple Watch has 3D-animated emoji — something many users have called creepy — and a sketch messaging feature. The latter lets you send a quick doodle to another person with an Apple Watch. The recipient can then watch the doodle animate itself.
On Android 5.1.1, your chicken-scratch emoji are automatically converted into proper emoticons. Google's drawing-to-emoji conversion is pretty spot on, too. It recognized everything from my terrible bicycle to my cat-that-looks-nothing-like-a-cat doodles.

5. Wrist-gesture controls

Android Wear 5.1.1

Android Wear 5.1.1's new wrist gestures on the LG Watch Urbane.
IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Operating a smartwatch is a two-handed affair. You typically need to flick the arm that it's on to turn on the display and then use your other hand to tap and swipe it. It's annoying when you can't use your other hand. For example, when you're cooking and have chicken fat lathered all over your fingers, the last thing you want to do is touch your precious wearable.
In Android Wear 5.1.1, you can browse through Google Now cards with wrist gestures; Flick your wrist up fast and then slow back down to scroll down through notifications, and flick your wrist up slowly and then back down fast to scroll up.
It's not the most intuitive gesture way to control your wearable, but it's useful once you know how to do it.

6. Pattern lock screen

Android Wear 5.1.1 lock screen

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Android has always been one step ahead of iOS in terms of lock screen security. While you can set a simple number passcode on the Apple Watch, Android Wear 5.1.1 does it one better with Android's familiar pattern lock screen. To be fair though, both security options work similarly: The lock screen feature kicks in only when it detects you've taken it off your wrist.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five budget-friendly open source storage servers

By
Storage is essential for the enterprise: Data must be stored. Data must be retrieved. Data must be shared. Data must be secured. At the same time, storage must not consume the entirety of your IT budget. Fortunately, you can find effective solutions in the world of open source. Outside of cost effectiveness, one of the biggest benefits of these solutions is the ability to modify them to perfectly fit your needs. You can make minor changes or even roll your own storage solution based on one of these tools. If you want enterprise support and a "solution in a can" that will meet just about any enterprise storage need, you should turn to Red Hat or SUSE. Both Linux-based companies offer some of the most powerful enterprise-ready tools on the market. But if you'd rather get your hands dirty and craft something of your own—something that won't demolish your budget—these five open source tools are a great place to start. 1: ownCloud ownCloud ( Figure ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Visa confirms Coinbase wasn’t at fault for overcharging users

By
Yesterday, we wrote that Coinbase customers were being charged multiple times for past transactions. While some speculated that the erroneous withdraws were down to a Coinbase engineering issue, Coinbase issued a statement saying it wasn’t liable for the duplicate charges. The blame, instead, rested with Visa for the way it handled a migration of merchant categories for cryptocurrencies, Coinbase said. While you can read my post yesterday for an in-depth description of what happened, the basic gist is that Visa refunded and recharged (under a different merchant category) a month of old transactions. Many users saw the recharge come through before the refund processed, making it look like they were double charged. Honestly, the issue was likely exacerbated by existing payment rails — it’s normal for refunds to take multiple days to show up on credit and debit statements. But here’s where it gets weird — this morning Visa issued a statement to some publications shifting the blam...
Post a Comment
Read more

Use Cortana to define words for you in Windows 10

By
Microsoft’s Cortana has many uses including sending emails or checking the weather. One of the best uses though is a simple look-up feature for words and their definitions. Combined with the Hey Cortana voice recognition using Cortana to tell you quickly what a word means is a great hands-free tip. There are multiple ways to get Cortana to define a word. If you have Hey Cortana enabled you can simply blurt out your request: “Hey Cortana what is the meaning/definition of  inchoate ?” “Hey Cortana define  ubiquitously “ You can, of course, also just type in your request e.g “ define beatitude ” although this admittedly takes some of the speed (and fun) out of using the personal digital assistant. For many words, Cortana displays the definition within a card, and OxfordDictionaries or EncartaDictionaries powers it. Sometimes, if Cortana misunderstands you or does not have the definition, the assistant opens up a web page after performing a web search for...
Post a Comment
Read more

Airbnb will open its Cuba listings to users outside the United States

By
Airbnb  will now let travelers from outside the U.S. to book properties in Cuba after receiving authorization from the U.S. government,  reports the Associated Press . Previously, only Americans were allowed to reserve the site’s  Cuban listings . They will open to international users on April 2. Airbnb launched its  Cuban operations in April 2014 , four months after the Obama administration revealed that it will begin to  restore diplomatic relations with the Communist country . The historic policy change means that  travel and trade sanctions will be lifted , which is expected to boost tourism to Cuba dramatically because Americans no longer need licenses to visit. In fact, President Obama is  currently on an official visit to Cuba , the first president since Calvin Coolidge to do so. According to the AP, Cuba is currently Airbnb’s fastest-growing market, with about 4,000 homes added since it opened listings. Other travel businesses...
Post a Comment
Read more