Creating Watch Faces

Dependencies and Prerequisites

  • Android Studio 1.0.0 or later and Gradle 1.0 or later
  • Android 4.3 (API level 18) or higher on the handheld device
  • Android 5.0 (API level 21) or higher on the wearable device

Design Guide

Watch Faces

Video

DevBytes: Watch Faces for Android Wear

Watch faces in Android Wear leverage a dynamic digital canvas to tell time using colors, animations, and relevant contextual information. The Android Wear companion app provides watch faces with different styles and shapes. When users select one of the available watch faces on the wearable or on the companion app, the wearable device previews the watch face and lets the user set configuration options.

Android Wear enables you to create custom watch faces for Wear devices. When users install a handheld app that contains a wearable app with watch faces, they become available in the Android Wear companion app on the handheld device and in the watch face picker on the wearable device.

This class teaches you to implement custom watch faces and to package them inside a wearable app. This class also covers design considerations and implementation tips to ensure that your designs integrate with system UI elements and are power-efficient.

Note: We recommend using Android Studio for Android Wear development as it provides project setup, library inclusion, and packaging conveniences that aren't available in the Eclipse Android Developer Tools. This training assumes you are using Android Studio.

Lessons

Designing Watch Faces
Learn how to design a watch face that works on any Android Wear device.
Building a Watch Face Service
Learn how to respond to important events during the lifecycle of your watch face.
Drawing Watch Faces
Learn how to draw your watch face on a Wear device screen.
Showing Information in Watch Faces
Learn how to incorporate contextual information into your watch face.
Providing Configuration Activities
Learn how to create watch faces with configurable parameters.
Addressing Common Issues
Learn how to fix common problems when developing a watch face.
Optimizing Performance and Battery Life
Learn how to improve the frame rate of your animations and how to save power.