1page.title=Wear App Quality 2page.tags="wear","wearables","quality","guidelines" 3page.metaDescription=Wearables are smaller devices that are built for glanceability and require unique apps to provide just the right information at the the right time. 4page.image=/distribute/images/gp-wear-quality.png 5@jd:body 6 7<div id="qv-wrapper"><div id="qv"> 8<h2>Quality Criteria</h2> 9 <ol> 10 <li><a href="#ux">Design and Interaction</a></li> 11 <li><a href="#fn">Functionality</a></li> 12 <li><a href="#faq">Frequently Asked Questions</a></li> 13 </ol> 14 15 <h2>You Should Also Read</h2> 16 <ol> 17 <li><a href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/core.html"> 18 Core App Quality</a></li> 19 <li><a href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/optimizing-your-app.html"> 20 Optimize Your App</a></li> 21 <li><a href="https://material.google.com/patterns/notifications.html"> 22 Notifications</a></li> 23 </ol> 24</div> 25</div> 26 27<img src="{@docRoot}distribute/images/gp-wear-quality.png" style="width:480px;"> 28 29<p> 30 Android Wear aims to provide users with just the right information at just the right time. Great 31 Android Wear experiences are launched automatically, glanceable, and require zero or low user 32 interaction. Designing apps for wearables is substantially different than designing for phones or 33 tablets. There are different strengths and weaknesses, different use cases, and different 34 ergonomics to take into consideration. 35</p> 36 37<p> 38 The first step toward creating a great experience for users on Wear is to read the 39 <a href="{@docRoot}design/wear/index.html">Android Wear design guidelines</a>, which provides 40 instructions on how to build the best user experience for Wear apps. You should also review the 41 <a href="{@docRoot}training/building-wearables.html">Building Apps for Wearables</a> training, to 42 understand the basic implementation requirements for a Wear app. 43</p> 44 45<p> 46 This document helps you assess basic aspects of quality in your Wear app through a 47 compact set of functional and user interface quality criteria. 48 Make sure to check out the <a href="https://developer.android.com/wear/preview/index.html">Wear 2.0 preview</a> 49 documentation to get ready for the next version of Android Wear. 50</p> 51 52<p class="caution"> 53 <strong>Important:</strong> To ensure a great user experience, apps for wearables must meet 54 specific requirements for usability. Only apps that meet the following quality criteria will 55 qualify as an Android Wear app on Google Play. Qualifying as a Wear app will make it easier for 56 Android Wear users to discover your app on Google Play. 57</p> 58 59<p class="note"> 60 <strong>Note:</strong> For information about how to publish your Wear apps in Google Play, see <a 61 href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/wear.html">Distributing to Android Wear</a>. 62</p> 63 64<div class="headerLine"> 65 <h2 id="fn"> 66 Functionality 67 </h2> 68 69 70</div> 71 72<p> 73 These criteria ensure that your app is configured correctly and provides the expected 74 functional behavior. 75</p> 76 77<p class="caution"> 78 <strong>Important:</strong> To learn about how Wear 2.0 platform changes may affect 79 your apps, see the <a href="https://developer.android.com/wear/preview/index.html">Wear 2.0 preview</a> 80 documentation. 81</p> 82 83<p class="note"> 84 <strong>Note:</strong> The symbol ✘ is used in the table below to indicate 85 quality criteria that are not required for the corresponding Wear version. 86</p> 87 88<p class="table-caption"><strong>Table 1</strong>. Functional criteria. 89</p> 90 91<table> 92<tr> 93 <th style="width:2px;"> 94 Type 95 </th> 96 <th style="width:54px;"> 97 ID 98 </th> 99 <th> 100 Description 101 </th> 102 <th> 103 Wear 1.0 104 </th> 105 <th> 106 Wear 2.0 107 </th> 108</tr> 109 110<tr> 111 <td rowspan="3" id="general"> 112 General 113 </td> 114 115 <td id="WR-GL"> 116 WR-GL 117 </td> 118 <td> 119 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 120 Handheld app includes either notifications with wearable-specific functionality or a wearable 121 app that runs directly on the Wear device. 122 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/building-wearables.html">Learn how</a>) 123 </p> 124 </td> 125 <td> 126 ✔ 127 </td> 128 <td> 129 ✔ 130 </td> 131</tr> 132 133<tr> 134 <td id="WR-VF"> 135 WR-VF 136 </td> 137 <td> 138 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 139 App has Wear functionality that is visible to the user. 140 </p> 141 </td> 142 <td> 143 ✔ 144 </td> 145 <td> 146 ✔ 147 </td> 148</tr> 149 150<tr> 151 <td id="WR-BF"> 152 WR-BF 153 </td> 154 <td> 155 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 156 Wear functionality works as expected or as described in the app's Google Play Store listing. 157 </p> 158 </td> 159 <td> 160 ✔ 161 </td> 162 <td> 163 ✔ 164 </td> 165</tr> 166 167<tr> 168 <td rowspan="1" id="packaging"> 169 Packaging 170 </td> 171 172 <td id="WR-PK"> 173 WR-PK 174 </td> 175 <td> 176 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 177 Wearable apps that are dependent on a handheld app for functionality are packaged inside that 178 handheld app. 179 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/apps/packaging.html">Learn how</a>) 180 </p> 181 </td> 182 <td> 183 ✔ 184 </td> 185 <td> 186 ✘ 187 </td> 188</tr> 189 190<tr> 191 <td rowspan="3" id="functional-notifications"> 192 Notifications 193 </td> 194 195 <td id="WR-FW"> 196 WR-FW 197 </td> 198 <td> 199 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 200 Notifications with wearable-specific functionality use a {@code RemoteInput} or 201 {@code WearableExtender}. 202 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/notifications/index.html">Learn how</a>) 203 </p> 204 </td> 205 <td> 206 ✔ 207 </td> 208 <td> 209 ✘ 210 </td> 211</tr> 212 213<tr> 214 <td id="WR-FR"> 215 WR-FR 216 </td> 217 <td> 218 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 219 Notifications for messaging apps allow users to reply via voice input or quick responses. 220 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/notifications/voice-input.html">Learn how</a>) 221 </p> 222 </td> 223 <td> 224 ✔ 225 </td> 226 <td> 227 ✘ 228 </td> 229</tr> 230 231<tr> 232 <td id="WR-FG"> 233 WR-FG 234 </td> 235 <td> 236 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 237 Similar notifications are grouped together in a stack. 238 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/notifications/stacks.html">Learn how</a>) 239 </p> 240 </td> 241 <td> 242 ✔ 243 </td> 244 <td> 245 ✘ 246 </td> 247</tr> 248 249<tr> 250 <td rowspan="2" id="gestures"> 251 Gestures 252 </td> 253 254 <td id="WR-GP"> 255 WR-GP 256 </td> 257 <td> 258 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 259 Full-screen activities use long press for the sole purpose of prompting to quit. 260 <br/> 261 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/ui/exit.html">Learn how</a>) 262 </p> 263 </td> 264 <td> 265 ✔ 266 </td> 267 <td> 268 ✘ 269 </td> 270</tr> 271 272<tr> 273 <td id="WR-GD"> 274 WR-GD 275 </td> 276 <td> 277 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 278 If the app disables the swipe-to-dismiss gesture in a full-screen activity, it responds to the 279 long-press-to-dismiss gesture in that activity. 280 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/ui/exit.html">Learn how</a>) 281 </p> 282 </td> 283 <td> 284 ✔ 285 </td> 286 <td> 287 ✘ 288 </td> 289</tr> 290 291<tr> 292 <td rowspan="1" id="watchface"> 293 Watch Face 294 </td> 295 296 <td id="WR-WF"> 297 WR-WF 298 </td> 299 <td> 300 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 301 Apps that include watch faces use the official Watch Face API. 302 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/watch-faces/index.html">Learn how</a>) 303 </p> 304 </td> 305 <td> 306 ✔ 307 </td> 308 <td> 309 ✘ 310 </td> 311</tr> 312 313</table> 314 315 316<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3> 317 318<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13" data-query= 319"collection:distribute/essentials/wearqualityguidelines/functionality" 320data-sortorder="-timestamp" data-cardsizes="6x2" data-maxresults="6"> 321</div> 322 323<div class="headerLine"> 324 <h2 id="ux"> 325 Visual Design and User Interaction 326 </h2> 327 328 329</div> 330 331<p> 332 These criteria ensure that your app follows critical design and interaction patterns to provide a 333 consistent, intuitive, and enjoyable user experience on wearables. 334 335</p> 336<p clase="note"> 337 <strong>Note:</strong> The symbol ✘ is used in the table below to indicate 338 quality criteria that are not required for the corresponding Wear version. 339</p> 340 341<p class="table-caption"><strong>Table 2</strong>. Visual criteria. 342</p> 343<table> 344 345<tr> 346 <th style="width:2px;"> 347 Type 348 </th> 349 <th style="width:54px;"> 350 ID 351 </th> 352 <th> 353 Description 354 </th> 355 <th> 356 Wear 1.0 357 </th> 358 <th> 359 Wear 2.0 360 </th> 361</tr> 362 363<tr> 364 <td rowspan="3" id="layout"> 365 Layout 366 </td> 367 368 <td id="WR-LS"> 369 WR-LS 370 </td> 371 <td> 372 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 373 App user interface is formatted appropriately for square displays. App content fits within 374 the physical display area and no text or controls are cut off by the screen edges. 375 <br/> 376 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/ui/layouts.html">Learn how</a>) 377 </p> 378 </td> 379 <td> 380 ✔ 381 </td> 382 <td> 383 ✔ 384 </td> 385</tr> 386 387<tr> 388 <td id="WR-LR"> 389 WR-LR 390 </td> 391 <td> 392 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 393 App user interface is formatted appropriately for round displays including devices with an 394 inset (or "chin") at the bottom of the screen. App content fits within the physical display 395 area and no text or controls are cut off by the screen edges. 396 <br/> 397 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/ui/layouts.html">Learn how</a>) 398 </p> 399 </td> 400 <td> 401 ✔ 402 </td> 403 <td> 404 ✔ 405 </td> 406 407</tr> 408 409<tr> 410 <td id="WR-TC"> 411 WR-TC 412 </td> 413 <td> 414 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 415 App text is large and glanceable with a suggested minimum size of 16sp. 416 (<a href="{@docRoot}design/wear/style.html#Typography">Learn how</a>) 417 </p> 418 </td> 419 <td> 420 ✔ 421 </td> 422 <td> 423 ✔ 424 </td> 425</tr> 426 427<tr> 428 <td rowspan="1" id="launcher"> 429 Launcher 430 </td> 431 432 <td id="WR-LN"> 433 WR-LN 434 </td> 435 <td> 436 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 437 App launcher string is the app name, not a command phrase. 438 (<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/intent-filter-element.html">Learn how</a>) 439 </p> 440 </td> 441 <td> 442 ✔ 443 </td> 444 <td> 445 ✘ 446 </td> 447</tr> 448 449<tr> 450 <td rowspan="5" id="notifications"> 451 Notifications 452 </td> 453 454 <td id="WR-NC"> 455 WR-NC 456 </td> 457 <td> 458 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 459 App displays confirmation animations when appropriate. 460 (<a href="{@docRoot}design/wear/patterns.html#Countdown">Learn how</a>) 461 </p> 462 </td> 463 <td> 464 ✔ 465 </td> 466 <td> 467 ✔ 468 </td> 469</tr> 470 471<tr> 472 <td id="WR-NR"> 473 WR-NR 474 </td> 475 <td> 476 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 477 Notification cards have the app icon visible at the top right edge. The one exception is if the 478 notification card has single-action controls, for example a media playback card. 479 <br/> 480 (<a href="{@docRoot}design/wear/style.html#Assets">Learn how</a>) 481 </p> 482 </td> 483 <td> 484 ✔ 485 </td> 486 <td> 487 ✘ 488 </td> 489</tr> 490 491<tr> 492 <td id="WR-WI"> 493 WR-WI 494 </td> 495 <td> 496 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 497 Notification actions have a white icon, action title, and transparent background. 498 <br/> 499 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/notifications/creating.html#ActionButtons">Learn how</a>) 500 </p> 501 </td> 502 <td> 503 ✔ 504 </td> 505 <td> 506 ✔ 507 </td> 508</tr> 509 510<tr> 511 <td id="WR-PB"> 512 WR-PB 513 </td> 514 <td> 515 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 516 Notification photo backgrounds are used only to convey information, not to brand a card. 517 (<a href="{@docRoot}design/wear/style.html#Branding">Learn how</a>) 518 </p> 519 </td> 520 <td> 521 ✔ 522 </td> 523 <td> 524 ✘ 525 </td> 526</tr> 527 528<tr> 529 <td id="WR-PR"> 530 WR-PR 531 </td> 532 <td> 533 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 534 Notification photo backgrounds have a resolution of at least 400x400. 535 (<a href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/notifications/creating.html#AddWearableFeatures">Learn how</a>) 536 </p> 537 </td> 538 <td> 539 ✔ 540 </td> 541 <td> 542 ✘ 543 </td> 544</tr> 545 546<tr> 547 <td rowspan="1" id="googleplay"> 548 Google Play 549 </td> 550 551 <td id="WR-GS"> 552 WR-GS 553 </td> 554 <td> 555 <p style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> 556 App includes at least one Wear screenshot in its Play Store Listing. 557 (<a href="https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/1078870?hl=en">Learn how</a>) 558 </p> 559 </td> 560 <td> 561 ✔ 562 </td> 563 <td> 564 ✔ 565 </td> 566</tr> 567 568 569</table> 570 571 572<h3 class="rel-resources clearfloat">Related resources</h3> 573 574<div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13" data-query= 575"collection:distribute/essentials/wearqualityguidelines/visualdesign" 576data-sortorder="-timestamp" data-cardsizes="6x2" data-maxresults="6"> 577</div> 578 579<div class="headerLine"> 580 <h2 id="faq"> 581 Frequently Asked Questions 582 </h2> 583</div> 584 585<p style="margin-top:30px;"> 586 <strong>After I submit my app for Android Wear review, how will I find out if my app does not meet 587 all the requirements for Wear?</strong> 588</p> 589<p> 590 If your app does not meet the usability requirements described on this page, the Play Store team 591 will contact you through the email address specified in the <a href= 592 "https://play.google.com/apps/publish/">Google Play Developer Console</a> account associated with 593 the app. 594</p> 595<p class="caution"> 596 <strong>Caution:</strong> Make sure your app meets the <a href="#fn">functionality 597 requirements</a>, otherwise your app will not be considered a Wear app and will not be reviewed 598 for Wear <a href="#ux">design and interaction</a>. 599</p> 600<p class="note"> 601 <strong>Note:</strong> For information about how to publish your Wear apps in Google Play, see <a 602 href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/wear.html">Distributing to Android Wear</a>. 603</p> 604 605 606<p style="margin-top:30px;"> 607 <strong>If my app does not meet the Wear requirements, will my new or updated app still appear on 608 Google Play for phones and tablets and still be installable on wearables?</strong> 609</p> 610<p> 611 Yes. The requirements described above only determine whether your app will be identified as an 612 Android Wear app on Google Play and easier for Android Wear users to discover. If your app is not 613 accepted as a Wear app, it will still be available to other device types, such as phones and 614 tablets, and it will still be installable on wearables. 615</p> 616
