Android Wear update makes its smartwatches a little more useful

It’s easy for smartwatch companies to develop a face to indicate the time, but the device’s issues is its inability to show the plethora of additional information available in an orderly fashion. Well, Google is actively trying to remedy this and has subsequently issued an Android Wear update, that brings with it interactive watch faces.

While it does sound like something that has been with Android Wear for ages, it’s a little more intricate than that. The watch face itself — without forcing the user to trudge through it’s idiotic menu — displays bit-sized information, from weather, to steps taken, to meetings pending to alarms set.

It looks like a great implementation, and means that the user never really has to leave the watch face, unless he or she wants to actively visit an app.

Three faces are available at launch it seems, along which Bits seems the most intriguing:

Choose the info you want at a glance—from weather, to unread mail, to upcoming meetings. Want to know this afternoon’s weather forecast? Just tap on the weather complication.

American sports apparel brand Under Armour is also getting in on the act, with a watch face that privileges activity information.

While Together is a more social experience which turns “the entire watch face into a space for sharing.” The Google blog post explains further:

Once you’ve paired your watch face with a partner’s, you’ll be able to share things like photos and emoji, as well as your activities (like if you’re working out, on the phone, or stuck in traffic).

The update is available today but will take a few weeks to filter down through the Android Wear family.

Feature image: Maurizio Pesce via Flickr