Documentation

Last updated: 2026-06-04

Most "can I do X?" questions have a one-line answer plus a pointer. That's what this page is, grouped by surface. If yours isn't here, check the Glossary or open an issue in the dev portal.

Display & rendering ​

QA
Can I draw arbitrary pixels?No. The display surface is a container-based model - text, images, and lists. See Display & UI System.
Can I render full-color content?No. The G2 display is monochrome green, 4-bit (16 shades). Source assets must be greyscale; the hardware tints them.
Can I show video / animated GIFs?No native support. You can simulate animation by sequencing textContainerUpgrade or updateImageRawData calls - BLE bandwidth (~10–30 KB/s) limits practical frame rate.
Can I overlay containers (z-order)?Yes - declaration order controls overlap. Later containers render on top.
Can I use my own font?No. The glasses render with a fixed system font. Sizing/spacing follows Design Guidelines.
What size is the canvas?576×288 monochrome green pixels. See Overview.
Can I render emoji?No. Use Unicode geometric / box-drawing characters instead. See Glossary.

Input & sensors ​

QA
Can I read raw IMU sensor data?Yes. IMU_DATA_REPORT events stream at configurable rate. See Device APIs → IMU. A units table is still TBD.
Can I capture audio from a specific microphone?Currently mono only. Per-mic capture + DOA angle reporting is on the roadmap (multi-mic expansion).
Can I trigger haptics on the glasses or R1?No. No haptic actuator.
Can I detect when the glasses are being worn?Yes. Wearing-detection events fire on put-on / take-off. See Device APIs.
Can I read battery level?Yes. Device info API exposes battery percentage. See Device APIs.

Networking ​

QA
Can I fetch() arbitrary URLs?No. The domain must be in your app.json network whitelist. See Networking.
Does the network whitelist bypass CORS?No. Whitelist is necessary but not sufficient - remote API still needs Access-Control-Allow-Origin.
Can I open a WebSocket?Yes - same whitelist rules. Expect drops when the WebView backgrounds. See Background & Lifecycle.
Can I open a deep link in the system browser?TBD. Currently no window.open(url, '_system') equivalent. Track via the dev portal.
Can I receive push notifications?No. Plugins are foreground-only on the glasses. The phone app receives notifications and may surface them in its own UI.
Can I make network calls while backgrounded?No. WebView is suspended on background; in-flight requests stall. Plan for resume. See Background & Lifecycle.

Storage & state ​

QA
Can I use localStorage?Yes - survives suspension, kill, and update. Cleared on uninstall.
Can I use IndexedDB or OPFS?Yes, but quotas are not yet documented. Treat as "best-effort, persistent." Deep-dive coming.
Does state sync between the phone and the glasses?No - app state lives in the WebView on the phone. The glasses are a render target, not a state store.
Can I share state between two of my apps on the same device?No. Storage is sandboxed per package_id.
Can I read/write the user's media library or files?No. Pure WebView sandbox. No file system, no media, no clipboard.

Packaging & submission ​

QA
Can I publish without a developer account?No. Account at hub.evenrealities.com is required. See Sign in.
Can I roll back a released version?No. Fix-forward only. See Submission Flow.
Can I commit my API key to the .ehpk?No - anyone with the released .ehpk can extract bundled contents. Move keys behind a server-side proxy. See Submission Flow.
Can I edit app.json after submission?Not after Submitted state. Edit metadata in Draft / Test only.
Can I publish a hotfix without going through review?No. Every version goes through the same review path. Hotfix versions are usually approved faster but not bypassed.
Can I ship to specific countries / regions?Not currently. All Released versions are globally visible.
Can I price my app?TBD. No paid distribution yet.
What's the maximum .ehpk size?Practical cap is currently ~10 MB - larger packages still upload but degrade install UX over BLE.

Testing ​

QA
Can I test on the simulator alone?For UI/logic work, yes. For backgrounding, real permissions, or BLE timing, you need hardware. See Testing Modes.
Can I share a build with a teammate?Yes - via Beta groups in the dev portal. They install from the phone app's Beta tester section.
Can I automate sim testing in CI?Yes - the simulator exposes an HTTP API. See Headless Testing.
Can I install two of my own apps side-by-side?Yes. Each has its own package_id, its own container, its own state.
Can I see device logs from real hardware?Console output appears in the phone app's dev console when in Developer Mode. See Enable Developer Mode.

Languages & locales ​

QA
Which languages are supported in supported_languages?Currently: en, de, fr, es, it, zh, ja, ko.
How are translations selected at runtime?Device locale → first match in supported_languages → first item if none match.
How do I localize my UI strings?TBD - Internationalisation page coming. For now, switch on bridge.getDeviceInfo().locale.
Can I add a locale not in the supported list?No. Submission validation rejects unknown locales.

Privacy & permissions ​

QA
Does my app see the user's name / email?Only with the user-info permission, and only what they consented to share.
Does my app see other apps' data?No. Strict per-package_id sandbox.
Does my app see ambient audio when not actively capturing?No. Capture only fires while audioControl(true) is held and the user has granted the mic permission.
Can my app access the camera?No - there is no camera on the G2. Privacy-by-design.

Misc ​

QA
Can I build with React / Vue / Svelte?Yes - the SDK is framework-agnostic. The boilerplate uses vanilla TS for size; bring whatever framework you prefer.
Can I use TypeScript?Yes - it's the recommended path. The SDK ships full type definitions.
Can I use ESM imports?Yes - the SDK is ESM-first. Vite handles bundling.
Can I use AI tooling (Claude Code) to develop?Yes - there's a dedicated AI Tooling section with the skill catalog.