Posted by Kseniia Shumelchyk, Android Developer Relations Engineer
As we proceed to evolve the Put on OS platform, we’re excited to share with you a few of the latest options and enhancements which have been added that will help you create progressive and fascinating experiences on your customers.
Companions like Peloton and Todoist have been constructing distinctive experiences for Put on OS – and seeing the affect on their feature-adoption and engagement. Hear instantly from Peloton engineers about how they constructed a differentiated expertise for the watch with Compose for Put on OS.
On this weblog submit, we’ll be highlighting a few of the key updates we introduced at Google I/O this yr, so let’s dive in and discover the newest developments in Put on OS!
Put on OS 4 Developer Preview
At present we’re releasing the primary Developer Preview of Put on OS 4, the following model of Google’s smartwatch platform arriving later this yr. It has enhancements to safety, consumer customization, and energy optimizations.
This preview introduces a number of new instruments to assist improve your Put on OS app expertise:
Watch Face Format
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| Watch faces created utilizing the brand new Format |
Tiles
Put on OS tiles give customers quick, predictable entry to the data and actions they depend on most. Model 1.2 of the Jetpack Tiles library introduces assist for platform knowledge bindings, so in case your tile makes use of platform knowledge sources corresponding to coronary heart fee, step depend, or time, your tile is up to date as soon as per second.
The brand new model of tiles additionally provides assist for animations. You should use tween animations to create easy transitions on modifications to a part of your format, and transition animations can animate new or disappearing parts from the tile.
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| Examples of animated Tiles |
Get your app prepared
Put on OS 4 relies on Android 13, which is a number of variations newer than the present Put on OS model, so your app might want to deal with the system habits modifications that took impact in Android 12 and Android 13. We suggest you begin by testing your app and releasing a suitable replace first – as units get upgraded to Put on OS 4, it’s a fundamental however a crucial stage of high quality that gives a great app expertise for customers.
Obtain the Put on OS 4 emulator in Android Studio Hedgehog to discover new options and check your app on Put on OS 4 Developer Preview.
Tooling and library updates
Put on OS assist in Firebase Check Lab
Firebase Check Lab will assist working checks on your standalone app on bodily Google Pixel Watches within the subsequent few weeks. You possibly can run your automated checks on the Google Pixel Watch through Gradle Managed Gadgets, or use the Firebase Console to additionally run Robo checks. To be taught extra, try out there units.
Put on OS assist within the Pre-launch stories
At present we’re additionally excited to announce Put on OS assist in Google Play Pre-launch stories for standalone apps. The Pre-launch report helps to determine points proactively earlier than your app reaches customers, so it’s an vital device that will help you launch a high-quality app. You possibly can check for stability, accessibility, safety and belief, and screenshot previews! In the mean time the evaluation runs on Put on emulators and it’s quickly launching on Google Pixel Watches.
Emulator enhancements
The Put on OS 4 emulator brings assist for emulated Bluetooth, which helps you to check extra use circumstances, for instance Bluetooth audio.
The brand new Put on OS 4 emulator doesn’t assist unmanaged 32-bit code, so in case your app makes use of native code, make it possible for it contains each 32-bit and 64-bit native libraries. This may also put together your app for upcoming 64-bit solely {hardware}.
In Android Studio Hedgehog we additionally added capabilities for capturing screenshots and Logcat snapshots within the Put on OS emulator, so it’s now a lot simpler to generate screenshots on your app’s retailer itemizing.
Jetpack libraries
Because the newest secure Compose for Put on OS 1.1 launch, we proceed to convey new options and enhancements to the toolkit. Model 1.2 already has a lot of alpha releases – try launch notes to seek out out extra.
Well being Providers model 1.0 has launched a number of new options in newest beta releases. Most notably, it contains BatchingMode to ship batched train knowledge at a configured interval as an alternative of the default interval, in addition to an ExerciseTypeConfig API which permits updates throughout ongoing workouts, corresponding to {golfing}. In case you are to be taught what’s new in Android Well being, try this weblog.
Begin constructing for Put on OS now
Put on OS lively units have grown 5x since launching Put on OS 3, and it is the quickest rising smartwatch platform.
We’re excited to share our model new Put on OS Gallery, the place you’ll find much more steerage with confirmed design and growth patterns for messaging, media, and well being & health apps!
With the newest updates, you will have much more instruments at your disposal to create lovely, high-quality wearable experiences.
Study extra
Get began constructing for Put on OS with hands-on expertise! Attempt our Compose for Put on OS codelab, and take a look at the documentation and samples.
The brand new Put on OS high quality necessities will come into impact on August 31, 2023, so take into account them early when designing and growing your app.
We’re trying ahead to seeing the experiences that you just construct!
