Smart watches are one of the newer devices for which, in the absence of existing
solutions, its users can develop new applications themselves. Often these are used
in connection with a mobile phone but since there are several mobile operating
systems, it is necessary to adapt the accompanying applications both on smart
watches and on mobile phones. Flutter is a tool known for its ability to develop
applications for multiple platforms or operating systems simultaneously, but this
tool is relatively new. As a result, the use of the Flutter tool for developing
apps for smart watches, is still relatively poorly documented. The purpose of
this thesis is to analyze the Flutter tool and test its usability in my own simple
application for smart watches that serves as a complement to an existing mobile
application.
In my thesis, I first explain the basics of the Android and Wear OS operating
systems and the differences in the application development process for both
platforms. I also describe all the tools used, such as Android Studio and Flutter,
setting up a working environment, and the process of developing my smartwatch
app. In the second part of the thesis I describe the application for tracking shared
expenses and its development. The end result is a working application, but with
somewhat limited functionality. This is due to poor or non-existent support for
important functionalities for smart watches, such as the connection to the companion
application on the mobile phone and the development for some of the
additional user interface surfaces of the smart watch.
In its current version, I consider the Flutter tool unsuitable for independent
development of smartwatch applications. I find it potentially useful for embedding
content into applications developed in a native environment.
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