Google publishes support docs detailing new wrist gestures, speaker support in Android Wear 1.4
To the surprise of pretty much no one, LG's recently-launched Watch Urbane 2nd gen. LTE runs the latest version of Android Wear, based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Context & Ripple Effects
Two days after Android Wear gained cellular support on the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE, Google has published support documentation for version 1.4, effectively confirming what shipped on that watch: new wrist gestures and speaker output, built on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The docs also retroactively validate an April report that Android Wear's "second big update" would add gestures, WiFi, and a better UI.
First-order effects
- LG's Watch Urbane 2nd gen LTE is the reference device here — the only shipping watch running Android Wear 1.4 — so its buyers get wrist-gesture navigation and speaker playback before owners of any older watch.
Second-order effects
- Speaker support makes the Urbane 2nd Edition LTE usable standalone for calls and voice replies, pressuring other Android Wear makers (Motorola, Huawei, Samsung at the time) to add speakers to their next hardware revisions.
Third-order effects
- Cellular plus speaker plus gesture control is the component stack of a phone-independent smartwatch — if Google keeps pairing OS releases with one flagship LTE device, Android Wear consolidates around a phone-free use case rather than a phone accessory.
The trend: Android Wear is evolving from a tethered notification display into a standalone wearable, with each Marshmallow-era release adding the hardware hooks (WiFi, LTE, speakers) that make untethered use practical.