CES 2024has so far played host to a handful of announcements. In customary fashion, there was no dearth of products we didn’t see coming,in addition to some weird ones. While most of the demos at the event were hardware-related, there were a fewsoftware announcementsthat caught our attention. We can now add one more to the list, and this one’s probably more exciting than a few others we’ve seen at the trade show up to this point.
A recently uploaded Wear OS app called WowMouse instantly transforms your smartwatch into a fully functioning mouse that works entirely through a series of air gestures and finger taps. The app is developed by Finland-basedDoublepoint, who are stationed at CES booth60637. Popular Twitter/X handleSnazzy Labsgot a preview of the app on a Samsung Galaxy Watch model, presumably theWatch 4.
Thedocumentationpublished by Doublepoint (viaMishaal Rahman) mentions that this Wear OS app and its gesture-based functionality can be used on Android, Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and iPadOS devices. It works on smartwatches running Wear OS 2 or above, with the caveat that “some aspects of the app may not work on all devices.” Meanwhile, the app is currently incompatible with the Google Pixel Watch andWatch 2, which is a bummer.
However, listed among the compatibility list are the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 5,Galaxy Watch 6, the TicWatch E3, and TicWatch Pro 3. So if you have either of these wearables and any of the eligible “host devices” mentioned above (with Bluetooth HID), you should be good to go. The best part? The app is completely free to download and has no in-app purchases.
Once set up, it works fairly well and only requires the user to tap their index finger against the thumb to register a left click on the host device. Each successful click is reflected on the wearable’s screen with a simple flash, which is also a nice touch. The Settings page lets you make some adjustments, like choosing which hand the watch is on, among other things. Meanwhile, Apple Watch models cannot be used as a mouse due to the lack of Bluetooth HID, per Doublepoint. As for future plans, the company seemingly wants to license this tech to third-party manufacturers.
There’s certainly some merit in turning your smartwatch into a proper wireless mouse, even if it requires installing a separate app. This particular feature has some similarities with Apple’s double tap function, which debuted withWatch Series 9last year. But in Apple’s case, the double tap feature is used to perform on-device actions like answering or rejecting a call, responding to a message, etc, and not as a cursor for another device.
