Google I/O 2015: Upcoming features for Android Wear

Google Android Wear watchesGoogle kicked off its annual Google I/O developer conference with a keynote that gave us a look at what is coming next from the company, including Android M. One area that got less attention than we expected is Google’s Android Wear platform. The company chose to focus more on the recent Android Wear 5.1.1 release than on showing us what is coming next. But a few hints and nuggets of information still came to light.

Some 4,000 apps are now available for Android Wear. Google highlighted a few that had updates coming soon during the keynote. Among these are Foursquare, Citymapper and Uber. Vehicles also continue to get lots of Android Wear attention with Ford getting ready to release an app for its Electronic Vehicle line.

Google also touted Android Wear’s always-on capabilities to display not only the time but also certain app updates with the latest update.

No new Android Wear devices were announced at today’s event. Recent rumours had suggested that a second generation Moto 360 might be unveiled but that did not come to be. But Google promised that “By the end of the year, there will be many more Android Wear watches.”

We presume that these new devices will be announced closer to Android M’s release sometime this fall.