Google has made Android Wear 2.0 Preview 2 available to developers.
This second preview of Google’s revamped wearable platform tackles lots of bugs based on developer feedback since the first preview was released in May, but also adds some interesting new functions. Perhaps most importantly, the second preview gives developers access to wrist gestures.
Though wrist gestures were first added to Android Wear last year, they have until now been reserved only for core apps and user interface elements run by Google. Moving forward, developers will be able to add wrist gestures to their own apps, which Google says can help improve one-handed use.
The second preview also bumps the Android Platform API version number to 24 in order to match Android 7.0 Nougat, and makes enhancements to wearable drawers. For example, users will be able to peek into the contents of drawers as they navigate past.
Google warns that Android Wear 2.0 Preview 2 is still a work in progress and is not intended for daily use. Google is expected to make Android Wear 2.0 available to Android smartwatches later this year.
