The ASUS ZenWatch 1 & 2 have been recently updated to Android Wear 1.4, which is based on 6.0.1 Marshmallow. We’re going to take a quick look at one of the cool new features: expanded gesture control. The new gestures allow you to navigate through the entire watch without using the touchscreen.
First, make sure that the watch is fully up to date in the Settings > About > System updates menu. Once up to date, the Settings > About > Versions section will list Android OS as version 6.0.1.
Before attempting the below gestures, make sure that the ZenWatch is awake by either shake-weighting it or by tapping the touchscreen. These gestures are slightly exaggerated for demonstration purposes. As you learn the gestures, you’ll be able to trigger their actions with smaller and more refined movements.
- Scroll down by flicking your wrist away from you and then slowly turn it back towards you. You can then repeat the motion to keep scrolling down through cards or menus.
2. Scroll up by performing the opposite of the scroll down gesture. Slowly turn your wrist away from you and then quickly flick it back towards you. You can then repeat the motion to keep scrolling up through cards or menus and if you perform this action from the watch face, you’ll open the notification panel.
3. Select a menu item, an app, or the action being presented on the card. To do this, hold your arm in front of you and pretend your favorite game-show host just asked you a question that you definitely know the answer to (hit that buzzer!), and then bring your arm back to the original position. If you perform this action from the watch face, you’ll open the apps menu.
4. Go Back to the previous menu or cancel voice actions before they take effect. To do this, hold your arm in front of you and pretend that you’re going to slap yourself in the face with a backhand, except only go about 2% of the way, then bring your arm back to the original position.
5. Return to the watch face by shake-weighting the ZenWatch 2 from any screen. Also, pat yourself on the back for the extra exercise you just put in.
With these five gestures, you can now quickly and efficiently navigate the ZenWatch 1 & 2 one-handed!