Android Wear v2.9 Changes: Dot-Style Indicator For Unread Notifications On By Default

Looks like Google is making an optional feature into a default one in an upcoming software update for Android Wear 2.0 devices. The dot-style indicator that’s optional with previous versions even on the recently rolled out Android Wear 2.8 is in the process of being tranformed into a standard feature on the watch faces of the smartwatch OS.

According to Android Police, Android Wear v2.9 is not going to come with huge changes to the nature of the Android Wear 2.0 OS by Google, but it will make the dot-style indicator displayed at the bottom of watch faces a default feature.

Because the dot-style indicator is going to be a default feature displayed on the watch faces, Google is introducing a way for Android Wear users to customize the indicator’s color. Users can alter the indicator’s appearance to match the color of the watch face so the two elements wouldn’t end up contradicting each other.

“Developers can customise the indicator's accent color via WatchFaceStyle.setAccentColor - the default color is white ... but developers can set the color for the ring around the dot to an accent color of their choice, to match the rest of the watch face,” Android Wear lead developer advocate Hoi Lam explained on the Android Developers Blog.

Though the dot-style indicator is going to be on by default when Android Wear v2.9 arrives, users will still have capacity to switch to the counter style unread notification indicator. This counter appears at the top of the watch face as part of the system tray. Users can also choose a custom location for this counter style.

Android Wear v2.9 is also going to improve the ComplicationDrawable class. This change will allow complications to ask for permissions when selected from the settings. Therefore, no custom code is needed anymore. Another upcoming tweak is going to make it easier for users to draw watch faces even when they contain large images or icons.

Hoi also assured developers and users that more improvements are coming to the Android Wear 2.0 OS. “Many of you have noticed a steady release of enhancements to Android Wear over the last few months since the launch of Wear 2.0. We are developing many more for the months ahead and look forward to sharing more when the features are ready,” Hoi said.