Google's New Smartwatches Are Already Facing A Big Problem With Downloading Apps

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samsung gear live smartwatch

Steve Kovach/Business Insider

Samsung's Gear Live smartwatch.

New smartwatches running Android Wear, Google's version of Android made for wearable computers, can't download paid apps from the Play Store, according to a new blog post from Google.

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Tech blog Android Police spotted the problem on Tuesday, reporting that it couldn't install paid apps on watches running Android Wear.

The issue, as it turns out, involves a security measure in which the Play Store encrypts paid apps to prevent piracy.

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That feature, however, also made it impossible to extract and install these paid apps on Android Wear devices, according to Android Police.

Google has since issued a workaround to resolve the issue. Developers behind these paid apps now have to manually package the wearable APK, which Google explains in full on the Android Developer Blog.

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In short, it means that developers that charge for their apps now have to do a little extra work to get their apps to work on Google's smartwatch platform.

The bug was spotted before these devices have reached the hands of most consumers. The LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live just went on sale this week. Motorola's Moto 360 watch should launch in a few months.