Wi-Fi And Gesture Support Coming To Google Android Wear Platform

With the rest of the important information we've needed to know about Apple's Watch coming out yesterday, it seems appropriate that we'd be hearing some fresh rumors out of Google today.

A source close to The Verge says that in its next update to Android Wear, Google will be enabling Wi-Fi, so that things like notifications and Google Now cards will work without a Bluetooth connection. Bear in mind, though, that with Wi-Fi active all of the time, it will impact battery-life.

In the near-future, another couple of updates will land. The first involves gesture control, which will allow you to flick your wrist in order to navigate through messages or Now cards. Further, the UI will also be getting some tweaks, ultimately making it easier to access some common features.

We're not quite sure when either of these updates will land, but it does seem likely that the first one (Wi-Fi) will come within the next month. Many Android Wear devices already have Wi-Fi functions - they're simply not active - so you might not have to worry about purchasing a new device in order to take advantage of that functionality.