Android Wear Gets New Hands-Free Features

Google's Android Wear smartwatch platform is getting some new hands-free options that should make it easier to multitask when your paws are already total.

For starters, Google is adding new wrist gestures to help you navigate your watch. Now, you tin simply "push button, lift, or shake" your wrist to do things like aggrandize cards, bring upward your apps, or return to the home screen, Android Wear User Experience Designer Krystal Higgins wrote in a blog post.

Head over to Google's support page for a full rundown of what you tin can practice, or visit the Settings card on your device for a tutorial on how to utilise gestures.

Meanwhile, you lot tin can also now employ your vocalization to transport 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,'" Higgins wrote.

Finally, and perhaps most exciting, you lot tin can likewise now brand and answer calls over Bluetooth. This feature is still kind of express, withal, as information technology but works on watches with a speaker, including the Huawei Watch and the Asus ZenWatch 2 (49mm).

"You're walking to see a friend with coffee in hand. Or maybe it's actually cold outside, so you're rocking a pair of mittens. Or mayhap you're in the eye of making dinner," Higgins wrote. "There are plenty of times when you lot've got your easily full just still need to stay on top of reminders, messages, and calls. That'southward why Android Wear includes things like phonation actions and gestures."

Google said these new improvements are rolling out to Android Wearable watches "over the adjacent few weeks."

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag's proficient on fitness and smart domicile products. Didactics yoga for nigh 10 years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected health products including fitness trackers, heart rate monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, strength preparation machines, treadmills, and more. Angela also tests smart home devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, simply to name a few.