Android Wear is a fantastic smartwatch platform. It includes a whole slew of useful features baked in. They are so helpful, that watches running the OS almost become a necessity shortly after you start using them.
Sound a little far fetched? It may seem that way for someone who’s never used an Android Wear smartwatch, or even someone who’s used another brand with half-baked features. That said, just the remote notifications and controls are remarkably useful. If you own an Android smartphone and an Android Wear watch, you can receive text messages, emails, notifications and much more right on your wrist. It means you never have to pick up your phone, take it out of your pocket or postpone your current activity.
Point being, Android Wear smartwatches are incredibly handy. We could drone on forever about what features they offer and what kinds of things you can do with them, but those articles are a dime a dozen. We’ve written plenty here at Smartwatches.org too.
Instead, we’re going to explore some tips and tricks you can use if — or when — you get your hands on a shiny new Android Wear smartwatch like the Moto 360, LG G Watch R, ASUS ZenWatch or one of the countless others.
Get the Most Out of Your Smartwatch: Android Wear Tips and Tricks
Any time you get your hands on a new device or piece of technology, it’s good to know a few tips and tricks to using it. Often, there are many shortcuts to call upon various functions that may be hidden away.
Dim the Screen Instantly
As with most devices, Android Wear watches will automatically dim the screen after some idle time. You can customize the length of time the screen remains on in the general settings. However, there may be times when you want the screen to dim immediately. For instance, if you check the time while you’re in a movie theater, or even during a conference meeting in a dimmed room.
The trick here is pretty simple. You just need to cover the entire screen and front of the device by placing your palm on. If you hold your hand there for a few seconds, it will vibrate to let you know the screen has now been dimmed. Wallah!
Recall a [Google Now] Information Card You Prematurely Dismissed
If you dismiss one of your information cards prematurely by accident, don’t fret. You have a small window of time to recall said card. Within seconds of removing the card from your screen, swipe down from the top of the watch and touch the “dismissing” button.
This trick only works if you have other cards in your stream. If you’ve swiped away the last card that was available you need to do something a little different. Instead, swipe up from the bottom of the watchface to access the same “dismissing” button.
Disable Theater Mode
Android Wear devices include a pretty awesome “theater mode” that dims the screen and mutes all notifications until you disable it. Even interacting with the watch, moving your wrist or incoming notifications and alerts have no impact on the device. The screen remains dims, and vibrations alerts simply do not happen.
There are a couple ways you can disable theater mode, and return your device to normal. They don’t require you to fumble around with the settings either. If your watch has a power button, you can press the button twice quickly to return the watch to normal. If your device does not have a physical power button, then you can tap on the screen twice in quick succession.
Mute Your Smartphone While Your Watch Is Connected
If you want to prevent your smartphone from creating any distractions — by playing back sounds or vibrating — you can setup an auto-mute feature within the Android Wear mobile app. Obviously, launch the mobile app that allows you to pair your Android Wear smartwatch.
Once the app is open, tap on the “settings” gear icon, and find the following menu option: mute connected phone. Make sure the on-screen indicator shows the function is on — or off if you want it disabled — and you should be good to go.
Monitor Automatic Step Tracking
Android Wear will automatically track and count the steps you take daily — unless you have this feature disabled. It will use the collected information to provide a personal performance report, letting you know how active or lazy you were on a particular day.
If you want to view this information, all you need to do is open the “Fit” app and you’re good to go. You can also set a daily step goal that you’d like to shoot for. As soon as you pass the number you have set, the watch will send you a notification.
Change the Watchface
If you don’t like the digital watchface, or you’d just like to change things up don’t worry, it’s pretty easy to setup a new one. Aside from downloading other watchfaces through Google Play, all Android Wear watches come with a handful of stock designs. You can always change the watchface through the general settings menu on the device, but there’s an even easier way to do it too.
All you need to do is tap and hold the screen with your finger, while you’re on the main watch screen. A menu will appear that shows you several alternatives you can choose. Once you’ve found a new watchface you like, it’s as easy as tapping on it again.
Enable Developer Settings
Just like with the mobile Android OS, there are some hidden developer settings locked away. If you’d like to gain access to them, you do so in much the same way you do on an Android smartphone. Either open up the settings menu the traditional way, or simply say “OK Google,” and then “settings” after the device responds. Once you’re there, find the “build number” entry in the settings list and continue tapping on it until the watch informs you that you’re now considered a developer.
Check Your Pulse (Select Models)
If your watch has a heart-rate sensor — like the LG G Watch R, Moto 360 or Samsung Gear Live — you can check your pulse at any time to make sure your ticker is working great. Sure, you can always navigate through the UI and select the heart-rate app the way you’re supposed, but there’s a much easier way. Plus, it involves talking to your watch which is pretty friggen cool.
All you need to do is call upon the device by saying “OK Google,” or by tapping the microphone button. Once the voice commands function is up, just continue with “show me my heart-rate,” and boom it will be done. Of course, make sure your fingers are on the heart-rate sensor if that’s necessary before you start up the app. Some device have the heart-rate sensor on the back of the watch, so if that’s the case you don’t need to worry about interacting with it.
Chromecast Remote
Your Android Wear smartwatch will automatically turn into a Chromecast remote if your smartphone begins streaming to a Chromecast device while paired up. Of course, the controls aren’t very fancy at all — just a play and pause button appear — but it’s better than nothing, right?
Setup Android Wear Watch as Trusted Device
You can designate your Android Wear watch as a “trusted device” for your smartphone, so that if it’s in close proximity it will automatically unlock your phone for you. This is a great feature if you use a passcode or pattern lock on your Android handset.
To enable this feature, on your smartphone pay a visit to the “settings” menu and navigate through the following menus: personal > security > screen security > smart lock > trusted devices. On the trusted devices screen you will need to select the device you want to use. To do this, tap the “add’ plus icon and then select the “Bluetooth” option from the subsequent menu. Then, simply choose the device that you want to use from the list of available options — which will probably consist of just one device unless you have multiple Bluetooth devices paired with your phone.
Keep in mind, to use this feature you need to use the smart lock which requires settings a PIN, password or pattern based lock on your device. It also reportedly uses a lot of battery power to run on both the smartphone and smartwatch, so you may notice an increase in battery consumption while the trusted device feature is active.