It’s official: Android Wear now supports speakers
Well, that didn’t take long. Just hours after spotting a change to the Huawei Watch on the Google Store to show speaker support, Google today announced a new Android Wear update that brings said speaker support.
You’ll be able to make calls directly using the watch through Bluetooth, and you can also listen to voice and video messages from apps like Glide. It’s a pretty big step to making watches even more independent in their abilities than they already are.
As we guessed, both the Huawei Watch and the ASUS ZenWatch 2 are hooked up and ready to go, and you’ll be able to enjoy the speakers as soon as you pull the update down. Google also confirmed Casio’s forthcoming Android Wear watch and the ladies’ variant of the Huawei Watch will also sport speakers once they’re made available.
Here’s a quick look at the other changes coming in this update:
- Navigate your watch with new gestures. Scrolling up and down your card stream is as simple as flicking your wrist. Starting today you can also expand a card, bring up your apps, or return home to your watch face with a push, lift or shake. You’ll be able to stay connected to what’s important, while keeping your phone (or other hand) in your pocket.
- Send more messages with just your voice. With Android Wear, you’ve always been able to get answers to spoken questions. Now you can also use your voice to send messages from apps like Google Hangouts, Nextplus, Telegram, Viber, WeChat, and WhatsApp. Running late for lunch? Just say “OK Google, Send a WhatsApp message to Nathan: I’ll be right there.”
The updates will roll out in stages over the next few weeks, so sit tight and hope that it won’t take too long to reach your wrist!