Configure your phone app for Watch Face Push

For the canonical marketplace, the phone app is the predominant way in which the user interacts with the app.

Set a watch face

When the user selects a watch face in the phone app, there are two parts to the subsequent flow to set the watch face:

  1. Installation: Install the watch face using Watch Face Push, initiated through MessageClient. This step is straightforward, using either addWatchFace or updateWatchFace, triggered using MessageClient from the phone to the watch.
  2. Activation: Set the installed watch face as active. This step has several possible paths, depending on the permission state:
    • There may be no action needed. The marketplace may already have control of the active watch face.
    • There may be no user intervention needed. The app has the necessary permissions to set the active watch face, and can do so directly using setWatchFaceAsActive().
    • There may be guidance needed, either as to how to accept permission requests, or how to manually set the watch face using a long-press gesture or through a companion app.

Installation response

To facilitate the Activation phase, the Installation phase should return the following information from the watch to the phone:

  • The outcome of the installation attempt
  • The result of isWatchFaceActive() - to determine whether the app already has the active watch face.
  • Whether setWatchFaceAsActive() has already been called in the past - the Wear OS app should track and persist this information locally. This API call can only be used once.

Activation

Following the installation, the response may indicate that the app already has the active watch face. However if it does not, then the app may choose to show a button to set watch face as active.

Scenario 1: All attempts to set the active watch face are exhausted

If the response from installation indicated that setWatchFaceAsActive() had already been called in the past, then the button should lead to an education screen on the phone, showing the user how to touch & hold on the watch face to manually set it to the one they want.

Scenario 2 - Try to set the active watch face

The phone should instruct the watch to check for the necessary SET_PUSHED_WATCH_FACE_AS_ACTIVE permission:

  • If the user has already granted it, proceed to calling setWatchFaceAsActive().
  • If the user has previously denied the permission, the watch should communicate this back to the phone, where an education screen can be shown explaining the need for the permission and how to manually grant it.

  • If the permission has not been requested before, the watch should instruct the phone to show an educational moment guiding the user on how to accept permissions on the watch, and the watch should proceed to request the permission.

    • If the user grants the permission, the watch should then call setWatchFaceAsActive().
    • Otherwise the watch should instruct the phone to show an education screen explaining the need for the permission and how to manually grant it.