Skip to main content

Did you ever dream of having a Dick Tracy watch? Good news: Google just unveiled it. Okay, so it might not help you fight crime, but the interface for its upcoming Android Wear watches that the tech giant just unveiled might otherwise be life-changing. The watch is expected to launch later this year. Here's why it is going to be amazing.

Voice commands

All you’ll have to do is say, “Okay, Google,” and then ask whatever you want. As Google explained in a blog post announcing that Android technology is coming to watches, questions could be anything from how many calories are in an avocado, to what the score is in a game. Voice commands will also help when you’re out and about. “Okay, Google. Where’s the nearest toy store?” And there’s the answer on Google Maps on your watch.

Google

Instant info

“With a wearable device you can be going about the rest of your day and just glance down at your wrist, and the information you need is there right away,” David Singleton, Android’s director of engineering, says in a video announcing the interface. Not only will the watch show time – duh – it will also display weather and, with a flick of your finger on the screen, show you when you’re next meeting starts.

Connecting to other devices

As the so-called internet of things grows, our smartwatches might just become the way we operate a lot of our other devices. The Android Wear interface allows people to access and control other devices. That could mean saying “Okay, Google,” to start a playlist on your phone or casting your favourite movie to your television, as Google’s blog post notes.
Google

Fitness monitoring

The watch will be able to track “real-time speed, distance and time information,” according to Google. Runners and other athletes have had to buy fitness watches just for that purpose, whether it’s to find out how many kilometres they just cycled or what their 5K time was. Now that functionality will be in one neat package to spare you the trouble of switching from one watch to another.
Google

The watch actually looks good

A lot of wearable tech seems like it was made with designers focusing all their attention on the tech and little, if any, on the aesthetics of the hardware. That, or the design is so sleek it feels almost too futuristic, like images of Apple’s rumoured iPhone watch that have circulated around the Web. The sleek watch with the round face shown in the Google’s video – Motorola’s Moto 360 – seems inspired by classic watch design, albeit with a very minimalist sensibility.