Developers will have deeper access to Glass hardware, offline services and new app components
Google is taking a big step towards increasing third-party app development for Google Glass with a sneak peek at the upcoming Glass Development Kit, or GDK. Developers wanting to make apps and services for Glass currently have to work with a limited Mirror API, but the GDK is going to take things to the next level. In a brief video that’s just over a half hour, Googler Timothy Jordan gives an overview of what’s to come with the GDK in the near future.
The three big features on display here are offline apps, real time services and deeper access to the Glass hardware for developers. Once the GDK is available, developers will have more freedom to bring up cards in the “live” area of Glass (currently reserved for Google Now-type cards), have “immersive” apps that make use of all gestures normally reserved for system-level tasks and have their apps launched from the regular “OK Glass” voice command.
The video shows a few great examples such as an app for real-time tracking of your bike rides, a heads-up display of statistics for golfers as they move through a course and even games. But the real promise here is the ability for thousands of new developers to have access to the GDK and create new things nobody has done yet. A big part of the GDK is how similar it is to the current Android development process, which should lower the barrier to entry.
If you’re interested in the future of Google Glass and apps for the platform, you’ll really want to watch this preview of the GDK. An early look at the GDK will be available in the next few weeks for developers, and all of the apps shown off in the video above will be available for any Glass owner to load via the MyGlass app later today.
More: Google Developers