Android ar 2.0 has been kicked back to 2017, but we’re already starting to hear buzz about how the experience will change for you.
It looks like the way you install apps is going to see a major change. According to a lengthy Android ar Developers thread on +, Android ar 2.0 will not only support, but require stalone watch phone apps.
Developer Advocate ke makes the difference pretty clear:
“A ar 2.0 user must visit the ay Store on their watch to install apps. There is no auto-install like on ar 1.X. ar 2.0 apps get full network access can be installed completely separately from the hheld app so the focus is much more on stalone ar apps than the hheld centric 1.X ar apps,” he said.
This led to a lot of back forth discussion as to whether this would or wouldn’t be a user-friendly change. ke said a lot of usability studies found that many didn’t like the ar app being auto-installed. However, he did note that they’ll still be at the top of the list on the watch so it’ll be easier to go grab the tch version. Additionally, you’ll be able to do so directly from the ay Store on the web.
ke did say other specifics about how this all will work could change, particularly when Dev eview 4 launches soon.
“I know there’s more we’re going to be talking about around how the ar ay Store works how that affects companion style stalone ar apps around Dev eview 4, where some of the remaining ayStoreAvailability As are added,” he said.
In general the idea is to make the watch less dependent on the phone, which would also free developers to build watch-only apps that won’t require a version for an Android phone. There’s still a lot to be worked out, so it’s a discussion worth following.
y this matters: Android ar 2.0 has a lot of potential in how it can be a more useful part of the Android experience. It’s also worth noting that some of ’s focus is that the more Android ar is independent, the better it can work with those who have an ione. You just may need to learn a new habit when it comes to picking out apps installing them.
