
CHAPTER 1
How Does Android Wear Work?
By Michael Hahn, December 2014
The easiest way to learn how Android Wear works is to install the Android Wear companion app on your handheld
device, pair with an Android watch or emulator and try out a few examples. This site focuses on wearable app
development, so it starts by explaining how to set up a development environment that you can use to build and run
sample code provided by Android.
1.1 Set Up the Development Environment
To try out Android Wear in a development environment, perform the following tasks:
1. Install Android Studio.
2. Install the Android Wear system image and support packages using the Android SDK Manager.
• Android 5.0 (API 21)
• Android SDK Tools 24 or later
• Android Support Library 21 or later
• Android Support Repository 11 or later
• Android Wear ARM EABI v7a System Image 21 or later (for wearable emulator)
1.2 Set Up Your Handheld Device
1. Install the Android Wear companion app on your handheld device.
2. Start the Android Wear companion app.
The first time you launch the app, an onscreen message reminds you that Android Wear is not a notification
listener. Follow the onscreen instructions.
3. Enable USB debugging on your handheld device.
Your handheld device disables USB debugging by default, and the option to enable it can be hidden as
well. For Samsung Galaxy, you must open Options, select About Phone, and then click Build Number
seven times. This adds Developer Options to the Options menu, where you can enable USB debugging.
4. Connect your handheld device to the computer with a USB cable.
3
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