It’s time: Google delivers its Watch Face API for Android Wear

Android Wear time dim

Google has delivered on its promise to offer developers a way to make official Android Wear watchfaces, debuting its Watch Face API on Wednesday.

Along with the software tool are several dozen watch faces ranging widely in style; these can be found in a new Google Play Store section. Android Wear software also gets a facelift of its own, with usability improvements and an updated companion app for Android devices.

google play home banner android wear faces

New faces in the Play Store include designs from movies and games such as Despicable Me — go minions! — and Plants vs. Zombies as well as looks from Craig Ward, Hugh Turvey and Rebecca Minkoff. You’ll also find some branded faces in the mix from Porsche, RedBull, Specialized and more. Of course, these are just the start: With the new Watch Face API, nearly anyone can create their own faces that are optimized for the platform.

 

The new Android Wear software isn’t just about personalized looks, though. Google is tweaking the platform to make it a bit easier to use.

Once your Android Watch has the new update — which Google says is rolling out over the course of a week — you can bring back an accidentally dismissed card, for example. Tapping the watch face will show the most recently used actions, which is a huge improvement over the current static list of actions.

Swiping down from the top of the watch face will provide access to more settings than the current Mute function. A new Theater Mode disables the screen and mutes vibrations as well. And now you can block notifications directly from the watch instead of having to rely on those settings in the companion phone app.

All in all, these are some solid improvements in the Android Wear experience. Sure, there’s still some room for even more new features, but Google seems to be taking its time with updates to make sure they’re done right the first time. Besides, devices that run on the platform have only been around for six months or so. Give Google time and its smartwatch will only get better.

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