New wave of Android apps coming to wearable devices

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Google will allow Android developers to start creating apps for smartwatches and other wearable devices

Google has announced that it will release a software development kit (SDK) for use with wearable devices, making it easier for developers to create Android apps for smartwatches and other gadgets.

Speaking at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Texas on Sunday, Google executive Sundar Pichai said the SDK, which will be released in two weeks, will "lay out a vision for developers of how we see this market working”.

Following the launch of a range of new smartwatches from Samsung and Sony at Mobile World Congress last month, Google is rumoured to bedeveloping its own smartwatch in collaboration with LG, which also makes its Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 smartphones.

However, the new SDK will not only be for smartwatches. Pichai said that it will be up to the developers themselves to decide which devices to focus on.

"When we say wearables we think about it much more broadly,” said Pichai, according to a report in re/code. “It’s for partners and developers to figure out. It could be a jacket with sensors – I don’t know.”

The company's existing wearable device, Google Glass, is already available to some developers on a preview basis, although Google has not yet released a full set of programmer tools for the augmented-reality glasses.

Google is also working on bringing Android apps to connected cars, using a device similar to Google’s Chromecast, (which allows users ro relay content from their phones to their TVs). This could allow users to bounce information from their Android smartphone onto their dashboard display, according to Pichai.

He added that millions of Chromecasts have been sold in the US. The product is due to launch internationally, with localised content for various markets, in the coming weeks.

Last week, Apple announced a new system called CarPlay, which is designed to make it easier to access certain iPhone features while in the car, including making calls, using the Maps app, listening to music and replying to messages.