The idea of having a screen full of icons, representing independent apps, that need to be opened to experience them, is making less and less sense. The idea that these apps sit in the background, pushing content into a central experience, is making more and more sense. That central experience may be something that looks like a notification centre today, or something similar to Google Now, or something entirely new.
The primary design pattern here is cards. Critically it’s not cards as a simple interaction design pattern for an apps content, but as containers for content that can come from any app. This distinction may appear subtle at first glance, but it’s far from it.
I really love this cards metaphor that has been catching on lately; specifically, Google Now. And with the Smartwatch 2.0 era just coming around the corner, I think we'll be seeing this new design paradigm really start to blossom.
Remember, back in 2008 when the iTunes App Store was first introduced, nobody had any idea that we'd eventually have apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Uber. I'm really stoked to think how wearable device user interfaces will evolve.