The arrival of the first round Android Wear-based smartwatches means developers have to take extra care to ensure their apps look good.
One of the issues developers have faced when creating apps for Google’s OS is the fragmentation caused by different software versions, screen sizes and resolutions. The same problem has started to appear on smartwatches, albeit for now on a much smaller scale, as vendors launch square and round models of these devices.
On Thursday, LG Electronics a blog post earlier this year.
To make notifications fit on the G Watch’s square screen and the Moto 360, Nurik and Jordan had to make some changes to the user interface of a walking tour app they developed. For example, they increased margins and moved some text and notifications on the round display.
The pair used the Android Design Preview tool, which lets developers mirror part of a computer screen to a connected Android device, to quickly see the effect of changes.
In general, designing for Android Wear is quite different from creating desktop, phone or tablet apps.
“You really need to think carefully about the information and actions you present to the user, and even more so about the contexts in which your app will come to the surface,” Nurik and Jordan wrote.
The key for Google and its hardware partners is to offer better tools than competing platform vendors and hot-selling devices, in order to appease developers.
“If you provide a better framework for smartwatch developers than your rivals, they are more likely to create apps for you. That creates its own positive spiral. But the main thing for developers will the installed base,” Mawston said.
