The major Android Wear 5.1.1 update is now officially rolling out to devices, bringing a number of neat new features to the table.
The biggest new feature the latest update has to offer is Wi-Fi support, which will allow smartwatches running Google's Android Wear to receive notifications and enable users to interact with them even if they don't pair the gadget to a smartphone via Bluetooth. If your phone is not nearby, for instance, your watch could still deliver important notifications even if it's no longer paired, due to Wi-Fi support.
Google announced the Android Wear update to version 5.1.1 a while ago, but it remained unclear at that point just which smartwatches will gain this neat new Wi-Fi support feature. Not all devices will support the treat, but the LG Watch Urbane, Motorola's Moto 360, the Sony SmartWatch 3, and the Samsung Gear Live are officially on the list.
While not all Android Wear manufacturers have made it clear so far whether their gadgets will gain Wi-Fi support with the latest update, Google shed more light on the matter in a new announcement on its product forums. The announcement lists the four aforementioned smartwatches from LG, Sony, Motorola, and Samsung, but gives no other details regarding other smartwatches. More gadgets may be on board with Wi-Fi support in the future, but for now only these four smartwatches have been confirmed to get the feature with the latest update.
This means that notable smartwatches are absent from the list, at least for now. Google's announcement makes no mention of whether the LG G Watch, the LG G Watch R, or the ASUS ZenWatch will receive Wi-Fi support with the new Android Wear 5.1.1, and the OEMs have made no comment either.
Other new features in addition to Wi-Fi support, meanwhile, will include an always-on screen, always-on apps, a new launcher and wrist gestures, the ability to draw emojis, heads-up notifications, the ability to pair a smartphone with more than one Android Wear smartwatch at a time, the ability to change the gadget's font size, and the ability to lock the watch's screen.
Android Wear 5.1.1 has started rolling out on Tuesday, May 19, and will gradually roll out to more devices soon. Once you get the update, drop by our comment section below and tell us what Android Wear device you use, and how it fares.
