README.md
1
2Android WearHighBandwidthNetworking Sample
3===================================
4
5Sample demonstrates how to determine if a high-bandwidth network is available for use cases that
6require a minimum network bandwidth, such as streaming media or downloading large files. In
7addition, the sample demonstrates best practices for asking a user to add a new Wi-Fi network for
8high-bandwidth network operations if the bandwidth of currently available networks is inadequate.
9
10Introduction
11------------
12
13On Android Wear, a high-bandwidth network is not always available, as the platform manages network
14connectivity with the goal of providing the best overall user experience, balancing network
15bandwidth and maximizing device battery life. For use cases that require high-bandwidth network
16access, such as transporting large files or streaming media, we recommend that apps:
17
181. Check for an active network, and if there is one, check its bandwidth.
192. If there isn't an active network, or its bandwidth is insufficient, request access to an
20unmetered Wi-Fi or cellular network.
213. If a high-bandwidth network is still not avaiable, ask the user to connect to a new Wi-Fi
22network.
23
24You can use the [ConnectivityManager][1] class to check if an active network exists, if the active
25network has sufficient bandwidth for the desired network operation, and to request an appropriate
26high-bandwidth network.
27
28In addition to requesting a high-bandwidth network, you should also ensure that you are releasing
29bound networks and cancelling any ongoing network requests when they are no longer needed.
30
31This sample demonstrates all aspects of testing, requesting, and releasing network resources to
32ensure a high-bandwidth network is available. In addition, the sample demonstrates the ideal user
33experience for guiding the user through the process of acquiring a high-bandwidth network.
34
35To try all aspects of this sample, ensure that you have removed all saved Wi-Fi networks from your
36Wear device and that it is unplugged, as Wear devices may prefer high-bandwidth networks by default
37while plugged-in. Also, you may wish to put your phone in airplane mode or turn off Bluetooth to
38simulate the Wear device running standalone.
39
40[1]: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/ConnectivityManager.html
41
42Pre-requisites
43--------------
44
45- Android SDK 27
46- Android Build Tools v27.0.2
47- Android Support Repository
48
49Screenshots
50-------------
51
52<img src="screenshots/wear-1.png" height="400" alt="Screenshot"/> <img src="screenshots/wear-2.png" height="400" alt="Screenshot"/> <img src="screenshots/wear-3.png" height="400" alt="Screenshot"/>
53
54Getting Started
55---------------
56
57This sample uses the Gradle build system. To build this project, use the
58"gradlew build" command or use "Import Project" in Android Studio.
59
60Support
61-------
62
63- Google+ Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/105153134372062985968
64- Stack Overflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/android
65
66If you've found an error in this sample, please file an issue:
67https://github.com/googlesamples/android-WearHighBandwidthNetworking
68
69Patches are encouraged, and may be submitted by forking this project and
70submitting a pull request through GitHub. Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for more details.
71
72License
73-------
74
75Copyright 2017 The Android Open Source Project, Inc.
76
77Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more contributor
78license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with this work for
79additional information regarding copyright ownership. The ASF licenses this
80file to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not
81use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of
82the License at
83
84http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
85
86Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
87distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
88WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
89License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
90the License.
91