Google announces Android Wear 5.0 with ‘Watch Faces’

Google has announced Lollipop-based Android Wear and released an api that allows developers to design their own bezels for Android Wear smartwatches. There will be a separate section in the Play Store where users can install the Watch Faces.

In the part of the Play store where the Watch Faces can be found, there are already the necessary designs. This includes fronts with games as the subject, such as Pac-Man and Plants vs Zombies, sponsored designs such as Porsche and Red Bull and variants by professional designers such as Rebecca Minkoff and Hugh Turvey.

At the same time, the Watch Face API has been released, which should lead to an ‘explosion’ of new designs and styles, in the words of the company. Developers can add multiple Watch Faces to their app, so that users can choose from multiple faces within an app, such as versions with a time format of 12 or 24 hours. In addition, the api offers the possibility to use OpenGL for the graphics and to load data in the background, such as for the weather or agenda items.

In the coming week, Google will roll out the new Android Wear version. It is based on Android 5.0 and includes api 2.1 implemented. Users can expect the update over-the-air. Google does not yet announce anything about the other new features of Android Wear 5.0, but previous rumors spoke of, among other things, battery analysis tool and a sunlight mode.