Google to release Android SDK for wearables

PanARMENIAN.Net - Google will release an Android-based software development kit for wearable devices, exec Sundar Pichai said, according to re/code.

The SDK will be available in two weeks, Pichai said during a talk at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Afterwards, a Google spokeswoman said Google is not planning a larger event around the release, but it is indeed happening.

Pichai did not address whether Google will be building its own smart watch, as many expect. He did, however, note that wearables is a broader category than just the wrist.

The wearable SDK will address how various sensors worn on the body could work in tandem, according to Pichai.

“When we say wearables we think about it much more broadly,” Pichai said. “It’s for partners and developers to figure out. It could be a jacket … with sensors — I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, Google hasn’t released full programmer tools for its existing wearable device Google Glass, though some are available via preview to developers.

As for bringing Android into another venue that’s getting smarter — cars — Pichai said he hoped that instead of cars being hardwired with a particular operating system, the technology would work similarly to Google’s Chromecast for TVs.

He said that millions of Chromecasts have been sold in the U.S. — the only place where they are available.

The product is about to launch internationally with localized content for various markets, as has been previously announced.