Why Developers Should Start Thinking for HoloLens App Development?

2015 will remain the most memorable year because new inventions including Apple Watch, Microsoft’s HoloLens, Windows 10, Concept of Universal Apps, Augmented Reality Apps & Games and much more. 2015 is considered as Golden Year for Microsoft as we are constantly hearing news from the company. And the biggest news is a launch of HoloLens – an augmented reality device.

HoloLens is a black magic that takes you to the different world or the world of your own choice. Microsoft has introduced a new set of holographic APIs for developers to make app development easier.

Making apps for HoloLens is entirely a new experience for developers. This means that they have to learn new paradigm to create an app for a device which is not existed yet. Still, they must “yes” to HoloLens App Development – here is why.

1. Reason No. 1

HoloLens is made up of Windows Core and UAP – extremely easy for app developers to master the languages, namespaces, and APIs. WPF, Silverlight, and .Net Developers can also easily master the tricks of HoloLens App Development.

The easiest way to get started with HoloLens app development is – quickly join the Windows Insider Program. Thereafter, register for Build 2015 to learn the basics of design and development and to get regular updates of Microsoft.

2. Reason No. 2

Hologram delivers everything related to virtual world. For both, users and developers, it’s something new and completely different that is worth to give a try. Developers require creating apps delivering virtual experience along with keeping users aware of existed physical products to avoid collisions. That means – a mixed reality which keeps users connected with both real world and digital life. Developers must take the challenge to know their ability of whether they can create an app like that or not.

3. Reason No. 3

HoloLens is a commodity you can take a hold on. You are free to create any solution for it by mixing Microsoft products like sharepoint server, Microsoft Office with VSTO or anything else that drive true value to your users. This device will make your solution unique and cool at the same time. You can build something for new brands, for entertaining customers, or for helping users to ease their task.

Concluding

First, with Microsoft, you started learning custom parts and controls of sharepoint. Later, you started learning Visual Studio tools for office. With all of your knowledge and experience, you created great solutions to please your users. This time, you have to take another Microsoft challenge for the sake of your users. HoloLens will reach to users, but it prove to be worthy only if your solutions fill this device with amazing apps. Your users are key reason for you to say “yes” for HoloLens App Development.

What does it mean to make Games for Microsoft’s HoloLens?

It’s not a computer, no tablet, no ipad and not a smartphone; it’s an augmented reality device – HoloLens – a completely new experience for mobile game developers. This time you are not challenged to build an ecommerce or enterprise app, this time you are challenged to build an augmented reality game. This time you have to put all your focus, efforts and skills on windows game development or I can say windows 10 game development.

Hololens is not a touchscreen device, so you can’t build a touch-based game. Tilting is not there so you can’t build a tilting based game. Then what? How a game would be build for HoloLens?

How it works? What does it based on?

HoloLens work on three basic signals: voice, gesture and gaze. It is obvious that you have to build games working on these three signals. Let’s see how a game works like this.

Voice-based Game

During initial app days, Pocket Gems published a voice based game named All Talk. At that time, it was a unique game because it was not based on any touch, but on voice. In this game, Player A gives a clue to Player B and Player B has to recognize what Player A wants to say. For e.g. Player A says cane, his voice will be recorded and go to Player B. Player B is allowed to hear the voice for 30 seconds and he will guess the word and say something related to cane like Sugar.

This is the best example of building a voice-based game for HoloLens. Game developers can build a game similar to All Talk where group of HoloLens wearers can play online. There would be no need for voice recording as the game would be played in real-time.

Some more examples of voice-based games are: an online group can play Antakshri (an Indian song singing game), knowledge based question and answer game, truth or dare, etc.

Gesture-based Game

Minecraft is a best example to explain how great a gesture-based game could be. The below video will explain you in-depth.

You can see here a man is building a whole virtual world with extreme ease using various hand gestures. This can be a biggest boost to gaming world.

Minecraft is just a beginning, in terms of gesture, game developers can go as far as they want. Imagine a virtual gun fired with the help of gesture or a steering wheel of car driven with the help of gestures. And many possibilities are there when it comes to build an adventurous game. You can enhance it more by including voice. For e.g. it’s a game of fighting between soldiers. They can command each other with voice and fire guns with gestures.

Gaze-based Game

A gaze-based game should be an eye tracking game where you have to use your eyes to do the things. This could be like a puzzle game where you are using your eyes to find the hidden things and switch to next level. Can You Escape is a similar kind of Android game. Next example would be: you can use your eyes to control virtual characters or objects. For e.g. you can find where your enemies are and shoot them with your gun.

In Conclusion

If game developers combine all the three signals, they can end up with making a great game. They can make an adventurous game. For e.g. a fighting game between two countries. A player has to track enemies with his eyes, command others with his voice and fire the enemies with its gestures.

Android Wear Apps: Current Evolution and the Future

Google has already presented its vision of future by releasing Android Wears: Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch. Android wear works as an extension of your smartphone, enable you to receive your smartphone notifications directly in your smart watch. You can take part in Google’s future vision by giving a try to these smart watches. Both the devices are made of simple hardware, offering notification services.

Android wear is just an initiation of wearable technology while the future is something more than that. At present, we are living at the very beginning stage of wearable technology. Looking at which we can expect a lot in the near future. Let’s have an eye on current evolutions of wearable technology and your expectations from the future.

What Android Wear Apps Can Offer You Now

If you wish to have an experience with Android wear, you need a smartphone with Android 4.3 or higher version. You can get the latest version of Google play services and an Android Wear Device either from Eclipse or Android Studio.

Android wear is basically a notification device, delivering you notifications – pops-up in your smartphone. For this, you have to pair your Android wear device with an Android smartphone via Bluetooth.

With Android wear, Google released a tricky feature where app builders don’t need to create any function that make the notifications get appear on smart watch. Whenever any notification arises in your smartphone, your android wear will automatically display it on the screen. What developers can do is they can create bigger app icons for smart watches; add utility buttons to it and other minor changes. They can build a voice input similar to Ok Google by increasing the capacity of smart watch easily.

Most important functions can take place in android app development is syncing of data between two devices – Android wear and Smartphone. Android Wear can efficiently manage the transfer of data with the help of Layer API available in it. API can help Android wear apps to listen the behavior occurring in the smartphone apps.

The real home of Android Wear apps is smartphone not smartwatch. But some apps can only be used via Android wear not by smartphone. Also, users are unable download apps directly using smart watch; they have to download them first from smartphone.

Surely, Android wear apps can take the advantages of Android SDK, but in limits as it doesn’t support Android APIs like wireless printing, WebKit, Android widgets, USB support and application data backup.

Android Wear: The Future

Current landscape of Android wear is truly limited. These limitations might remind you the memories of those phones which were used only for calling. Here also, Android wears can only be used for notification purpose. But similarly like the entrance of smartphone that removed all the limitations of traditional phones, Android wear will exist in the near future, breaking the limitations of current one.

Long-battery life is the first demand of Android wear users. Future Android wear devices might enter with long battery lives, ensuring users to wear the smart watch for a day without charging.

Further, users want a smart watch free from reliability on a smartphone. Well, it’s a dream of Google to create an independent, smart watch and the dream will soon come true, if we look at the rapid pace of mobile innovation.

You will notify a lack of sensors and radio chips in current Android wear devices. But in the future or in upcoming years, you will see them powered by the functions you love to play with. Like music player, workout tracking, health monitor, web browsing, callings, and lots more, beyond your imagination.

Conclusion

Of course, Android wear is a functional device, but we can’t compare it with a smartphone or also can’t name it a leading one due to its limitations. What android wear app development contains at present clarifies the vision of what it possesses in the future. During the year, Android wear will turn into a functional smart watch in a same manner desired by all or may be beyond than that. Long battery life, independent from a smartphone, useful sensors, music player, etc., soon will enter to smart watch, making it a leading device in wearable technology.

Related: Everything you need to know about Wearable Technology !

How “Android Wear” will impact the wearable technology market

One of the recent blogs from Flurry indicates the rise of mobile app addicts who tap on an app more than 60 times a day. The other strata of users is not lagging behind either. Smartphones have invaded our lives and people have started to recognize it too. A recent video called ‘Look Up’ is currently doing rounds in the web that depicts intrusiveness of smartphone in our lives. But it seems like if any one of the tech biggies has taken it seriously its google and their answer to this seems to be a wearable device from the android team of the company. It called the Android Wear.

Android wear is a round shaped watch that is focused to make your life easy without asking too much attention from your side unlike the smartphone. Google has released the developer preview for the device and has also come out with a video.

According to Gartner the market for wearable devices will become worth 5 billions and it includes many devices from various manufacturers. However, if google is coming out with own device, there got to be something special about it. Till date, whenever we thought about a wearable device, we could not think it without the smartphone. Infact, smartphone makes the best out of a device because it can run an immersive app to control the device.

This is what Google is trying to disrupt with android wear. Apps will be developed exclusively for android wear and the device can intuitively add value to the user’s life. by taking into consideration factors such as location, local time, user behavior etc. Hence, if you have an android device you may let your fingertips rest and avoid your eyes to get hooked onto the smartphone screen.

Based on location, the device can also suggest you nearby locations and lead you to find it efficiently. The device will also prompt you about the latest or an important news/fact about any particular location. Unlike the smartphone, that needs to be taken out of the pocket, the message consumption in android wear will be instantaneous with gesture based swipe and quick voice commands.

If we consider this with the existing, smartphone dependant devices, the android wear comes out at top due to its notable agility. On to it, android OEMs have been inflating the screen size every quarter, making these devices a difficult choice for purposes that demands agility. No one would be comfortable running in the park with a 5 inch phone. It is difficult.

In a market with smartphone dependant wearable devices the android wear can immediately strike beneficial to a lot of users. It will provide an agile alternative to help you manage your daily activities of life which otherwise requires more effort when done through a smartphone, or a smartphone controlled device that requires close vicinity to a smartphone.

Author’s Bio: Openxcell technolabs is an experienced company that makes mobile apps for wearable devices. Visit www.openxcell.com for more details.