Google Provides Android Wear Preview, Debuts Samsung Gear Live

At Google I/O, a new Android Wear smartwatch was debuted: the Samsung Gear Live will be available for pre-order from the Google Play store today. Today was the first announcement of the watch, which will go on sale alongside the LG G Watch.

We got a preview of how Android Wear will work with Android powered smartphones. The majority of what we saw was stuff we already knew – Google Now will provide notifications as you need them, and you can activate apps with a touch or a voice command. A few different apps got a test run on stage, like the Eat24 app that asks if you want to order the same food you ordered around the same time last week. Another app, Allthecooks, lets you swipe through the different steps in a recipe, keeping the recipe on the phone moving step-by-step along with it. If you need to set a timer, you just need to tap the step with the associated time for a particular set – from there, a timer is automatically set.

You can also activate apps with a voice command. Lyft, for instance, can be called up by simply saying, “OK Google, call me a car.” Lyft will then activate on your smartphone and order a car to your exact location using your phone’s GPS functions. Then you’ll get updates as you wait, like how far away your driver is, and you’ll also be able to rate your driver, all right from your watch.

Crucial details about the availability of Android Wear watches were still left out. As of now, we’re still wondering how much the G Watch and Gear Live will be, though it’s very likely that we’ll find out as soon as the pre-order pages for those devices appear on the Play Store. When the Moto 360 was mentioned, it was said that it’ll be available for pre-order later this summer. The audience groaned audibly at not being able to pre-order today.

Check back later for more information about the G Watch and the Samsung Live as we learn more about them.