The search giant shares a few more details about three of its upcoming smartwatches

Jun 25, 2014 17:54 GMT  ·  By

Google’s I/O event has kickstarted at full force and, as was highly anticipated, the first Android Wear smartwatches have been official unveiled.

Google introduced Android Wear a while back, but at Google I/O the tech giant took the opportunity to further detail the features of the new platform.

And what was highlighted during the presentation is that Android Wear will heavily be relying on voice commands.

But first things first, the OS has been designed to be compatible with both square and circular screens, and in the demos shown in the presentation we’ve managed to take a glimpse at how the LG G Watch, Moto 360 and never-seen-before Samsung Gear Live will behave when they arrive in the wild.

The watches are bundled with sensors to help them understand the context you are in (they will know your location, the fact that you plan to fly to Brazil or that you’re currently walking on a certain street), provide you with relevant fitness information and intelligently answer all your questions.

Android Wear has been designed to quickly show the information relevant to you, while at the same time allowing the briefest interaction with the device.

Google previous talked about a new design language which it has dubbed Material design, and we could see it implemented in the Android Wear platform.

We’re shown a few demos on the LG G Watch where a stream of cards brings forth the relevant information like reminders, weather notifications and more.

Music Playback demonstreted on LG G Watch
Music Playback demonstreted on LG G Watch
Users will be able to swipe a card to remove it from the screen. Pressing and holding will let wearers choose a different watch face and there’s a broad selection of analog and digital styles.

As you might know, Android Wear devices have been designed to work in concert with smartphones, but the catch is the apps running on the smartwatches will be synced with the handsets. So when you swipe to get rid of a notification on your watch, it will disappear from your phone.

Furthermore, Android Wear watches will be able to control other devices around you. For example, you can play music from your wrist and pause or increase the volume, while the album art is beautifully displayed in the background.

Google also demoed a super-fast food ordering app on the Moto 360, which remembers last week’s order and also gives suggestions on other dishes to try, pays for the meal, and tells you how long you have to wait.

How does the smartwatch take advantage of the app? Well, the trick is you download and install the app from Google Play on your smartphone, and the wearable part goes to the watch where it is always kept updated.

As mentioned, Android Wear devices will heavily rely on vocal commands, so you can ask it to set up a reminder, search for a term you don’t understand and much more.

Last but not least, Google said the LG G Watch and new Samsung Gear Live smartwatches would become available for order from the Play store starting later today, while the long-awaited Moto 360 would arrive later this summer. Sorry folks, we still have to wait a little bit before the round smartwatch makes it into the world.

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LG G Watch shows up at Google I/O presentation
Music Playback demonstreted on LG G Watch
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