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Google workaround enables paid apps to be installed on Android Wear powered smartwatches

By Alan Friedman

Published: Jul 09, 2014, 3:16 AM

Google workaround enables paid apps to be installed on Android Wear powered smartwatches

Just the other day, we told you that due to the failure of paid apps to extract the encrypted .apk files, these apps could not be installed on your Android Wear flavored smartwatch. The problem did not affect free apps, which were being installed correctly on these intelligent timepieces. Google, though, has come up with a workaround that will allow developers of these paid apps, to make sure that their handiwork can be installed on these wearables.

Google is telling these code jockeys, that they have to change the name of the directory in which the wearable APK is placed. A future update to the Android SDK build tools will make it so this manual update isn't necessary. The bottom line is that developers need to place the wearable APK in the res/raw directory instead of the assets/ directory.

If you are a developer, it would behoove you to take a minute of your time to check out the sourcelink and make the required changes. Otherwise, you're basically not going to see any business from Android Wear users.

source: AndroidDevelopers via AndroidCentral

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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