Google only just released its Android Wear SDK to developers today at I/O, but companies like PayPal, Soundwave, Pinterest, Eat24, Lyft and Allthecooks have already announced their first experiences for Android Wear.
Android Wear apps aren’t quite full-blown apps, but Google’s new SDK allows code to run directly on the wearable device, opening up custom interfaces, sensor control, data transfer and other experiences beyond simple notifications.
You won’t have to install separate Android Wear apps, as downloading an app on the Google Play Store will automatically send the complementary wearable app to your device and keep it up to date.
PayPal
This isn’t the first smartwatch app for PayPal, as it released an app for Samsung’s Gear 2 and Gear Fit devices earlier this year.
The upcoming PayPal Android Wear app will go out to the company’s beta testing community later this week. It will support the Moto360, the LG G Watch and other wearables as they are released.
With the app, you’ll be able to check-in to pay, redeem offers and check notifications. PayPal also says the app will support voice commands in some situations.
Soundwave
The Soundwave app for Android Wear will let you share songs you’re listening to with a single swipe across your watch. The idea is that you can use it to share the music you’re jogging to. You’ll receive notifications as your followers interact with the music. If you want to follow someone back on the service, you can just tap your Android Wear device.
Pinterest is using the Android Wear app to tap into places you’ve pinned. You can have your Android Wear device notify you whenever you’re near a location that you’ve saved.
For instance, you could add all the bars in your city that show World Cup matches so you know what your closest options are while out. The app can also ping you when you go by places your friends have pinned.
When the notification pops up, you’ll swipe through pages to see more info about the venue, and you can hit Navigate to switch over to Google Maps for directions.
Allthecooks
Social recipes app Allthecooks beams recipes to your watch. Swiping across each step of a recipe will keep your phone in sync with your culinary progress.
Eat24
Google showed off how it’s possible to order a pizza in 30 seconds with the Eat24 app. Tapping into a notification makes it easy to go through a history of previous meals and repeat an order.
Lyft
Lyft uses voice actions to let you request a car. The watch interface keeps you up to date with the progress of your ride, and then lets you rate your driver once you’ve arrived.
The great thing about Android Wear is that notifications from all of your apps will work from the start. While first batch of third-party apps shows off some of the neat things that developers can do with the new SDK, it’s still just scratching the surface. We can look forward to plenty more features from app makers when we get our hands on the first Android Wear devices next month.
See also: Everything Google announced at Google I/O 2014 in one handy list
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