Android Device Manager, Google’s less-snappily-named equivalent to Find My iPhone, is finally available on Android Wear.
Now you should never not be able to find your smartphone – so long as you’ve got your smartwatch on.
Simply stating the command, “OK Google, Start. Find my phone” into your Android Wear timepiece will make the connected phone ring at full volume. Whaddya know about that, it was down the back of the sofa all along!
The feature is rolling out automatically over the next few weeks in an Android Wear update.
There are a couple of caveats to it, though. First of all your phone has to be connected to either your carrier or wi-fi, and second of all it will only ring – the Android Wear version does not yet have the capability to pinpoint your phone via GPS.
Naturally this means that this new feature is going to be most useful when you’re simply turning the house upside down trying to find the thing – not when you’re 15 stops deep on the night bus home from the bar and suddenly realise that your phone is missing.
For those situations you can still use the browser-based Android Device Manager site which does offer GPS tracking, amongst other features.
It’s a little surprising that its taken almost exactly a year to release this feature, as it’s certainly one of the most useful Android Wear has to offer, but we’re just glad that it’s finally here. Expect more to come on this front from Google in the near future.
