14 DAY TRIAL // The first slew of Android Wear apps have started to hit the Google Play store and most of them can be downloaded without paying a dime. However, even as Android Wear is a new baby in this world, the first malfunctions have already started happening.
Even if most developers aren’t asking you to pay in order to get your Android Wear app onboard, this doesn’t apply to every piece of software. There are a few paid Wear paid apps, but the catch is, you can’t really install them on your device.
The problem was reported by Android Police, which argues the fault lies with Google’s own app encryption.
Android Wear apps behave quite different from the general Android-bound applications. For starters, you won’t have to access Google Play on the tiny smartwatch screen in order to download apps, but proceed to do so right from the smartphone you pair the time-piece with.
Basically, watch apps are downloaded directly to your smartwatch if you have the corresponding app from Google Play installed on your smartphone.
So if you want to download the Runtastic app off the Google Play store, your Android Wear counterpart should automatically start downloading on your LG G Watch or Samsung Gear Live. Well, at least that’s how the theory goes. But users attempting to do just that are failing at it.
It appears the problem arises with paid apps, because Google encrypts them in a certain way in order to tie them with specific devices. The process is failing because the system doesn't “know” to extract the file of the encrypted apk. The installer is unsuccessful at recognizing the payload, so it skips over the installation request and aborts.
Complaints of the bugs have started arriving just a few days ago, and since in the US it was a holiday weekend, Google hasn't had the chance to say anything about the problem.
So for the time being it would be best if you kept away from paid apps in case you don’t want to go spending money and getting virtually nothing in return. Google will most likely issue an update to either Google Play or the Android Wear companion app, but for now it’s best to wait.
As for developers, they can easily skip over the issue by launching free apps and then collect money by using the in-app purchase alternative. It’s not the best scenario possible, but it’s a doable workaround until Google does something about this problem.