Skip to main content

Google enables workaround for paid Android Wear apps

Android Wear hands on
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Two days ago, we reported on the Android encryption bug that prevented paid Android Wear apps from being installed onto the Android Wear-powered smartwatches currently available, the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live. Fortunately, in a post on its Developers blog, Google introduced a workaround to the problem.

“The workaround is to place the wearable APK in the res/raw directory instead,” according to Google. In other words, as highlighted by the four steps necessary for the workaround to take effect, this is not something that should be done by the technically unsound among us. For those unfamiliar with HTML, it might be a good idea to simply wait for an update.

Recommended Videos

The problem lies in Google’s app encryption measures. These measures, meant to dissuade pirating, encode paid apps with a device-specific key. Unfortunately, the bug prevents the system from properly extracting the Android application package (APK). Because of this, the installer assumes there is nothing to install and aborts the process.

There is no word from Google on when it will issue an update to rectify the situation, but it would be a good idea to keep an eye out for one in the near future.

Topics
Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
Here’s every Pixel phone that can download Android 16 Developer Preview 1
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL next to the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Even though Android 15 launched only recently, Google is already moving on to Android 16, which is much earlier than is typical. And if you have a Pixel device from the past couple of years, you can get the Android 16 Developer Preview 1 right now.

Typically, when Google releases a beta for Android, the Pixel lineup gets it first before any other phones. When Google announced Android 16 earlier today, we didn’t know exactly which Pixel models would be able to get the Developer Preview. But Google just revealed which models can run Android 16, and two of them are a bit surprising.

Read more
Google just announced Android 16. Here’s everything new
The Android 16 logo on a smartphone, resting on a shelf.

No, that headline isn't a typo. A little over a month after Android 15 was released to the masses in October, Google has already announced Android 16 and begun rolling out its first developer beta of the newest Android version.

If this seems like a much earlier release than usual, that's because it is. We typically expect the first developer beta of the next Android update to arrive in February. For Android 16, however, Google has pushed the timeline up by a few months and launched Android 16 Developer Preview 1 in mid-November.
Why Android 16 is launching so much earlier

Read more
Google’s Pixel Weather app just got two new features. Here’s how they work
The Pixel Weather app on a Google Pixel 9.

The Pixel Weather app has been the focus of a lot of attention lately as Google revamps the user experience and adds more features. Now, there's more good news: two of those promised functions — the Pollen count card and immersive vibrations — are newly available, at least for some users.

Thanks to "immersive weather vibrations," the Pixel Weather app vibrates to match the animated backgrounds it displays, with intensity levels that mirror the precipitation amount (because it's not just rainfall), according to 9to5Google. Of course, if you don't like the feature, you can disable it in the account menu.

Read more