Posted by John Zoeller – Developer Relations Engineer, and Caroline Vander Wilt – Group Product Supervisor
New Put on OS options allow ‘standalone’ watches for teenagers, unlocking new potentialities for Put on OS app builders
In collaboration with Samsung, Put on OS is introducing Galaxy Look ahead to Youngsters, a brand new children expertise enabling children to discover whereas staying related with their households from their smartwatch, no cellphone mandatory. This launch unlocks new alternatives for Put on OS builders to succeed in youthful audiences.
Galaxy Look ahead to Youngsters is rolling out to Galaxy Watch7 LTE fashions , with options together with:
- No cellphone possession required: This expertise permits the watch and its related apps to function on a completely standalone foundation utilizing LTE, and when obtainable, Wifi connectivity. This consists of calling, texting, video games, and extra.
- Collection of kid-friendly apps: From gaming to well being, children can browse and request installs of Instructor Accredited apps and watch faces onGoogle Play. Along with approving and blocking apps, dad and mom may also monitor app utilization from Google Household Hyperlink.
- Keep in contact with parent-managed contacts: Dad and mom can guarantee safer communications by limiting textual content and calling to authorized contacts.
- Location sharing: Gives peace of thoughts with location sharing and geofencing notifications when children depart or arrive at designated areas.
- College time: Limits watch performance throughout scheduled hours of the day, so children can focus whereas at school or finding out.
Constructing children experiences with standalone performance lets you attain each standalone and tethered watches for teenagers. Apps like Math Tango have already created nice Put on OS experiences for teenagers. Take a look at the video under to learn the way they constructed a wealthy and interesting Put on OS app.
Our new kids-focused design and content material rules and developer steering are additionally obtainable at the moment. Take a look at a few of the highlights within the subsequent part.
New rules and pointers for growth
We have created new design rules and pointers to assist builders reap the benefits of this chance to construct and enhance apps and watch faces for teenagers.
Design precept: Energetic and enjoyable
Construct participating wholesome experiences for kids by together with activity-based options.
An excellent instance of that is the Odd Squad Time Unit app from PBS KIDS that encourages youngsters to stand up and be bodily lively. By utilizing the on-device sensors and power-efficient platform APIs, the app is ready to present a enjoyable expertise all day and nonetheless keep battery lifetime of the watch from wakeup to mattress time.
Word that whereas experiences must be catered to children, they need to additionally comply with the Put on OS high quality necessities associated to the visible expertise of your app, particularly when crafting contact targets and font sizes.
Content material precept: Thoughtfully crafted
Contemplate adjusting your content material to make it not solely applicable, but additionally consumable and intuitive for youthful children (together with these as younger as 6). This consists of each audio and visible app parts.
Tinkercast’s Two Whats?! And a Wow! app makes use of age-appropriate vocabulary and enjoyable characters to help of their instructing. It’s an ideal instance of how a developer ought to account for studying comprehension.
Improvement pointers
New Put on OS children apps should adhere to the Put on OS app high quality pointers, the rules for standalone apps, and the brand new Youngsters growth information.
Reduce impression on gadget battery
Reduce occasions that have an effect on battery life over the course of 1 session. Youngsters use watches that present necessary security options for his or her dad and mom or guardians, which depend upon the gadget having sufficient battery life. Under are greatest practices for decreasing battery impression.
✅ DO design for offline use instances so that youngsters can play with out incurring network-related battery prices
Select a growth surroundings
To develop kid-friendly apps and video games you should use Compose for Put on OS, our advisable strategy for constructing UI for Put on OS, in addition to Unity for Android.
We advocate Unity for growing video games on Put on OS in case you’re acquainted and cozy with its workflows and capabilities. Nonetheless, for video games with only some animations, Compose Animation must be adequate and is best supported inside the Android surroundings.
Remember to take into account that some Put on OS high quality necessities might require customized Unity implementations, equivalent to assist for Rotary Enter.
Originator’s MathTango showcases the pliability and richness of growing with Unity:
Creating Watch Faces
Creating watch faces for teenagers requires the usage of Watch Face Format. Watch faces ought to adhere to our content material and design rules talked about above, in addition to our high quality requirements, together with our ambient mode requirement.
The next examples show our Content material Precept: Interesting. The content material is related, participating, and enjoyable for teenagers, sparking their curiosity and creativeness.
The Crayola Pets Watch Face comes with an ideal number of customization choices, and demonstrates an informative and nice watch face:
The Marvel Watch Faces (Captain America proven) present a enjoyable and helpful step monitoring characteristic:
Youngsters expertise publishing necessities
Builders seeking to get began on a brand new children expertise might want to preserve a number of issues in thoughts when publishing on the Play Retailer.
- Age and Content material Score: Youngsters apps must be configured within the Play Retailer to fulfill the age and content material necessities applicable to their performance
- Utilizing Watch Face Format: Solely watch faces that are constructed with Watch Face Format can be made obtainable for teenagers
Increase your attain with Put on OS
Prepare to succeed in a brand new technology of Put on OS customers! We have created all-new pointers that can assist you construct participating experiences for teenagers. Right here’s a fast recap:
- Deal with enrichment and age-tailoring
- Be certain that it really works with Standalone, and control the battery
With the Put on for Youngsters expertise, builders can attain a completely new viewers of customers and be a part of the subsequent technology of studying and enrichment on Put on OS.
Take a look at the entire new experiences on the Play Retailer!