Jetpack Compose offers more support for smartwatch app developers

In the second half of 2022, Google released the latest version of its Android development platform, Android Studio, aka Dolphin. Aside from a number of exciting improvements for phone and tablet developers, the new version of the toolkit also features Compose for Wear 1.0, the first stable release of its user interface for smartwatch app development.

Accessibility improvements

Accessibility is an important and challenging part of mobile development. Smartwatches in particular, because of the small screen are a place where accessibility enhances the experience for everyone. So it’s great to see practical accessibility improvements including making multi-picker screens more navigable with screen readers. InlineSlider and Stepper now have button roles, so that TalkBack recognizes them as buttons.

Android Studio also includes the new Wear OS Emulator Pairing Assistant, which makes it easier to manage and pair multiple Wear OS devices. The improved emulation toolbar better aligns to physical devices, making it possible to emulate palm gestures and other motions. There is increased support for launching a Wear OS app from the IDE. The PositionIndicator in Scaffold has also been improved, being positioned and sized so that it more accurately demonstrates the onscreen bounds, even when more semantic information is added to it.

Compose for Wear makes the coder’s job much easier. It makes the UI code much more intuitive to write and read. This improvement speeds up and streamlines the coding process, allowing faster prototyping and smoother collaboration on the code. The reduction in time needed for coding and design is significant, making for marked cost reductions and greater ease in meeting those tight deadlines.

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Atimi Software can help you develop a custom mobile app for any platform and device - phone, tablet, or wearable. We are a team of mobile app developers in Vancouver. Founded in 2000, Atimi quickly grew in reputation, and is now widely known as a company of app developers who can handle complex projects and deliver high-quality work. We have the distinction of having developed three of the first 100 apps to be listed in the App Store. After 22 years in business, we have completed over 900 projects for clients in 70 different industries - many of them Fortune 500 companies. Contact us