Google countered Apple's launch of its first wearable last April with a major update to its own Android Wear platform. However, it rolled out a little bit slowly at first to older smartwatches, but this time, the update is steadily gaining traction.
Previously, the new Android Wear 5.1.1 update is only available as a platform to the recently-launced LG Watch Urbane. However, since competitors, particularly Apple, are slowly gaining a foothold on the smartwatch market, Google decided to include previous generations of Android Wear smartwatches into the 5.1.1 update, starting with the Asus ZenWatch, followed by the LG G Watch and G Watch R.
The Android Wear 5.1.1 update brings stability and performance improvements to the wearables. In addition, new features make the older smartwatches capable of going toe-to-toe against newer, recently-launched competitors.
Most notable among the new features for the Android Wear update is activating the Wi-Fi chips in older smartwatch models. The unlocked chips in the LG Watch Urbane, Motorola's Moto 360, Sony's Smartwatch 3, and the Samsung Gear Live now makes it possible for users to sync and link their wearables with their smartphones. This way, the owners would still be able to receive notifications like missed calls and app feeds, and SMS messages without looking at their smartphones.
In addition, the new update introduces Android Wear to a new launcher and gestures function. Wearers can now simply swipe on the watch face in order to launch apps. Meanwhile, opening and navigating the interface are now made simpler with just wrist flicks.
The Android Wear 5.1.1 version also allows the always-on screen and always-on apps feature to be unlocked. Starting with the update, opened apps will not disappear even if the wearable senses the app is already running in the background. This way, more apps like fitness trackers, sensors, and such will stay visible as long as the wearer needs the apps to be on.
