Google has decided to cast off Together from their Android Wear device. The company announces that Android Wear 2.0 and higher will be without the feature, the popular, handy, Android Wear device feature.
When Google pushed Android Wear version 1.5.0.308 to users, it made more than a software change. The company also announced that starting from Android Wear 2.0,Together will not be available on Android Wear devices. The tech giant said that they aren’t necessarily taking away Together from Android Wear users but that starting from Android Wear 2.0, most of the Together features are going into the update anyway.
What is Together?
Android Wear users will be quite familiar with Together, but if you haven’t had the chance to use an Android Wear device then you might not know about it. Together is (soon-to-be was) a feature that let Android Wear users link their devices with one another so that they could send little messages to one another using their watches.
These messages could be drawings, small updates, or any of the last ten pictures taken from the paired device. Users could also send stickers and emojis to one another.
Android Wear 2.0
Google’s announcement about Together’s departure said that most of the useful features of Together will be integrated directly to the Android Wear devices. This would enable users to connect to more people than before. Apart from sending emojis to one another, users will now be able to use keyboard, Smart Reply, as well as handwriting on their watch screens.
Little notes that you handwrite on your smart watch can be sent to your contacts. To send messages, you can swipe through a small keyboard, choose letters to form a message, or even pick one of three pre-written messages to make for a quick reply.
The official end date of Together is September 30. However, Android Wear 2.0 is not set to be launched on October 1. It is slated for a fall release as of now, but there is no official date for its release.
One downside of this change, however, is that people who are using first generation smart watches will not be provided the Android Wear 2.0 update. This is a loss for those users because not only will they be stuck on a lower version, they will also lose out on Together when it is officially taken off on September 30.
Google acknowledged the widespread popularity of Together in their statement. They said that they are grateful for the feedback users have provided for Together and that has helped them make Android Wear 2.0 even better.
