Google’s second developer preview of Android Wear 2.0 added support for wrist gestures in third-party apps. The change gave developers a way to make navigation more practical when users had only one hand free.
What’s new?
Platform API 24
The preview raised the Android Platform API level to 24 to align with Nougat. Developers could update their projects’ compile and target SDK versions to API 24.
Wearable drawer improvements
Preview 2 refined wearable navigation drawers with peeking behavior, automatic peek views, and improvements to how drawers close and display their first action. Developers could also customize drawer views and refresh their contents as needed.
Wrist gestures for apps
Gestures had already helped users move through notifications. The preview opened this interaction to app developers, making it possible to navigate compatible third-party apps with a wrist movement.