We already know that cellular support is coming to Android Wear, but apparently those aren’t the only new features that’ll soon be added to Google’s wearable platform.
Google support documents have detailed new Android Wear wrist gestures and Audio Feedback. With Android Wear 1.4, wrist gestures will let you navigate through Android Wear using just your wrist. You’ll be able to scroll through cards by flicking your wrist away or toward you to go forward and backward or see more details or take an action on a card by holding your arm in front of you and then pushing down. When you’re on the watch face, you’ll be able to open the apps menu by pushing down from the watch face or pull down settings from the watch face by turning. And to get back to your watch face, you’ll hold your arm in front of you and shake or jiggle your wrist a couple of times.
These aren’t the first wrist gestures to come to Android Wear. Last year, Google added the ability to flick your wrist to scroll through notifications. Android Wear 1.4 will greatly expand on the wrist gestures, though, letting you actually navigate through the OS by flicking your wrist. The gestures will be a bit more conspicuous than just using your finger to move throughout the OS with your watch’s touchscreen, but if you’re in some situation where you can’t touch the screen because you’ve got stuff on your hands or whatever else, the gestures could come in handy.
Meanwhile, Audio Feedback will read the time and date to you. If your watch has cellular capabilities, you’ll be able to make calls and send messages by saying things like “Ok Google, call <name of contact>.” or “Send a message.” To use Audio Feedback, you’ll need an Android Wear watch with a speaker. Google says that the only Android Wear device with a speaker is the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE, though it’s thought that the Huawei Watch has one, too.
