docs/html/distribute/googleplay/wear.jd

page.title=Distribute to Android Wear
page.image=/design/media/wear/ContextualExample.008_2x.png
meta.tags="wear", "publish", "quality"
page.tags="wear", "publish", "googleplay"
page.metaDescription=Distribute your apps, games, and content to Android Wear.

@jd:body

<div id="qv-wrapper"><div id="qv">
<h2>How to Participate</h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="#understand_guidelines">Understand the guidelines</a></li>
<li><a href="#develop_app">Develop a great app for Wear</a></li>
<li><a href="#test_app">Test for Wear App Quality</a></li>
<li><a href="#opt_in">Opt-in</a></li>
<li><a href="#track_review">Track your review</a></li>
</ol>

<h2>You Should Also Read</h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App Quality</a></li>
<li><a href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/core.html">Core App Quality</a></li>
</ol>

</div></div>

<p>
  If you've got a great app, Android Wear and Google Play can help you bring it to users. While all
  apps are able to send basic notifications to Android Wear devices, you can go much further.
  Extend your apps to support custom Wear interactions and offer a refined, engaging user
  experience across all Wear devices. If your apps meet core app quality guidelines on handsets and
  provide a high-quality experience for Android Wear devices, Google Play will showcase your apps
  for easy discovery.
</p>

<p>
  To get started, review the sections in this document to learn how to distribute your Wear apps
  to users through Google Play. Be sure to read <a
  href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App Quality</a> for information on
  the usability and quality standards that your apps should meet. When your app is ready, you can
  opt-in for designation as an Android Wear app from the Developer Console.
</p>

<h2 id="how_to_participate">
  How to Participate
</h2>

<p>
  Google Play lets you make your Wear apps more discoverable for Wear users. You can develop and
  publish using your existing Developer Console account and your current distribution and pricing
  settings. It's easy to participate — the sections below outline the process.
</p>

<h3 id="understand_guidelines">
  1. Understand guidelines and requirements
</h3>

<div style="float:right;margin:1em 0 1.5em 2em;">
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-wear-process.png">
</div>

<p>
  To prepare for a successful launch on Android Wear, start by reviewing the guidelines for
  creating great app experiences on Wear. See the <a href="{@docRoot}design/wear/index.html">Android
  Wear design guidelines</a> for ideas on extending your app for Wear and details on design and
  usability.
</p>

<p>
  As you get started designing your Wear experience, make sure to read and understand the quality
  criteria for Wear apps. Only apps that are usable on Wear will be designated as Wear apps on
  Google Play — your apps can participate if they meet a set of basic quality criteria. See <a
  href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App Quality</a> for details.
</p>

<h3 id="develop_app">2. Develop a great app for Wear</h3>

<p>
Once you have read the guidelines, the next step is to develop your app. The following sections
describe how to start building a great app experience for Wear.
</p>

<h4>Design first</h4>

<p>
  Android Wear aims to provide users with just the right information at just the right time. Great
  Android Wear experiences are launched automatically, glanceable, and
  require zero or low user interaction. Although all apps can send basic notifications to Wear
  devices without any modification, great apps built for Wear are refined to offer a polished and
  high-quality experience, work on different screen layouts, and deliver a compelling feature set
  for users.
</p>

<p>
  As you consider your Wear app, review the <a href=
  "{@docRoot}training/building-wearables.html">developer documentation</a> and <a
  href="{@docRoot}design/wear/index.html">usability guidelines</a> and plan on utilizing them to the
  greatest extent possible. You can design a great notification experience for users with the APIs
  provided in the SDK and support library. You may also choose to build an app that runs directly
  on the wearable.
</p>

<h4>Package your app</h4>

<p>
  We recommend that you deliver your Wear experience as part of your existing app for phones,
  tablets, and other devices, using the same package name and store listing. This lets users
  upgrade to your Wear experience seamlessly and also lets you take advantage of the reviews and
  ratings you’ve earned in your app for phones and tablets. For wearable apps that depend on an
  app for functionality, you should always package it within that app. To learn how, read <a
  href="{@docRoot}training/wearables/apps/packaging.html">Packaging Wearable Apps</a>.
</p>

<h4>Test on a variety of devices</h4>

<p>
  Throughout design and development, it's important to have suitable devices on which to prototype
  and test your user experience. It's highly recommended that you acquire one or more Android Wear
  devices or develop with different emulator configurations and set up your testing environment as
  early as possible. It’s important that you optimize your design on both square and round layouts.
</p>

<h3 id="test_app">3. Test for Wear App Quality</h3>

<p>
  Your Wear apps should be designed to perform well and look great on Android Wear, and they should
  offer the best user experience possible. Google Play will showcase selected high-quality Wear
  apps for easy discovery. Here’s how you can participate and deliver an Android Wear app that
  users will enjoy:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>Meet Core App Quality guidelines
    <ul>
      <li>Follow <a href="{@docRoot}design/index.html">Android Design
      guidelines</a>. Pay special attention to using <a href=
      "http://www.google.com/design/spec/material-design/introduction.html">material
      design</a> in your app.
      </li>

      <li>Test your apps against the <a href=
      "{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/core.html">Core App Quality
      guidelines</a>.
      </li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>Meet <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App
  Quality</a> criteria
    <ul>
      <li>Follow our best practices for <a href="{@docRoot}training/building-wearables.html">
      Wear app development</a></li>
      <li>Make sure your app meets all of the <a href=
      "{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App Quality</a> criteria</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ul>

<h3 id="opt_in">4. Opt-in to Android Wear and publish</h3>

<p>
  When you've built your release-ready APK and tested to ensure that it meets all of the <a
  href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App Quality</a> criteria, upload it
  to the Developer Console. Update your store listing with Wear screenshots and set distribution
  options as needed. If you aren't familiar with how to prepare for launch on Google Play, see the
  <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/publish/preparing.html">Launch Checklist.</a>
</p>

<p>
  Before you publish to users, you may opt-in to Android Wear from the <strong>Pricing and
  Distribution</strong> section of the Developer Console. Opt-in means that you want your app to
  be made more discoverable to Android Wear users through Google Play, and that your app meets <a
  href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App Quality</a> criteria.
</p>

<p>
  After you've opted-in and saved changes, you can publish your app as usual. In addition, Google
  Play submits your app for review against the <a
  href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App Quality</a> criteria and
  notifies you of the result. See the next section for details on how to track the approval status
  of your app.
</p>

<p>
  If your app meets all <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App
  Quality</a> criteria, Google Play makes it more discoverable to Android Wear users. Your app is
  also eligible for higher-visibility featuring in app collections and promotions.
</p>

<p>
  Note that opt-in and review do not affect the availability of your app in the Google Play Store
  &mdash; your app is available as soon as you publish.
</p>

<p>
  Here are the steps to opt-in to Android Wear in the Developer Console:
</p>

<ol>
  <li>Make sure your app meets all <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App Quality</a> criteria
  </li>

  <li>Add Wear screenshots to the app’s store listing
  </li>

  <li>In the <strong>All Applications</strong> page, click the app you want to opt-in.
  </li>

  <li>Under <strong>Pricing and Distribution</strong>, scroll down to find <em>Android Wear</em>
  and the opt-in checkbox.
  </li>

  <li>Click the checkbox next to <em>Distribute your app on Android Wear</em>.
  </li>

  <li>Click <strong>Save</strong> to save your Pricing and Distribution changes.
  </li>
</ol>

<div style="padding-top:1em">
  <img style="border:2px solid #ddd;" src="{@docRoot}images/gp-wear-opt-in.png">
  <p class="caption">
    <strong>Opt-in for Wear:</strong> Include your app in Android Wear by opting-in from the
    Developer Console.
  </p>
</div>

<h3 id="track_review">5. Track your review and approval</h3>

<p>
  If your app meets the technical and quality criteria for Android Wear, as described above, your
  app will be made more discoverable for users on Android Wear. If your app doesn’t meet the
  criteria, you’ll receive a <strong>notification email sent to your developer account
  address</strong>, with a summary of the areas that you need to address. When you’ve made the
  necessary adjustments, you can upload a new version of your app to the Developer Console.
</p>

<p>
  At any time, you can check the review and approval status of your app in the Developer Console,
  under <em>Android Wear</em> in the app's <strong>Pricing and Distribution</strong>
  page.
</p>

<p>
  There are three approval states:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    <em>Pending</em> — Your app was sent for review and the review is not yet complete.
  </li>

  <li>
    <em>Approved</em> — Your app was reviewed and approved. The app will be made more discoverable
    to Android Wear users.
  </li>

  <li>
    <em>Not approved</em> — Your app was reviewed and not approved. Check the notification email
    for information about why the app was not approved. You can address any issues and opt-in and
    publish again to initiate another review.
  </li>
</ul>

<p>To understand how your apps are evaluated, please see the <a href=
"{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/wear.html">Wear App Quality</a> document. </p>


  <h3>Related resources</h3>

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  </div>