Although the official rollout of Wear OS 3 hasn’t yet been completed, Google has already announced Wear OS 4. The platform will have cloud backups with the new OS, which is also designed to extend battery life.
Given that the Pixel Watch is now available, it makes it reasonable that Wear OS is receiving some attention. However, the upgrade to Wear OS 4 is a little unexpected. Yes, it has been two years since Google announced its partnership with Samsung to completely redesign the sometimes overlooked Wear OS platform. However, the switch has been difficult, and Wear OS 3 didn’t really start to catch on until the second half of 2022.
The good news is that Wear OS still has time to tidy up its affairs. Even though the Wear OS 4 developer preview and emulator are now live, users won’t be able to purchase it until “later this year.” Wear OS 4 will, as previously mentioned, increase battery life and, at long last, enable Android users to back up and restore their watches without performing a factory reset. (Yes, it’s 2023, but Wear OS watches can’t yet do this.) Text-to-speech and other new and enhanced accessibility capabilities will be included in the next OS.
Two of Wear OS 3’s greatest problems might be greatly improved with better battery life and backup capabilities. The Pixel Watch’s battery lasted only about a day throughout testing. The Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 from Samsung have likewise performed mediocrely, however, battery life has improved since the devices’ introduction. To suggest that any Wear OS 3 watch can currently manage a multi-day battery life is still a stretch. The absence of cloud backups, meanwhile, has been a problem for years.
Additionally, Samsung and Google collaborated to develop Watch Face Format, which facilitates the process for developers to produce watch faces for the platform. The main benefit appears to be that watch faces created in this manner will use less power when running Wear OS 4.
In terms of apps, Google is working to expand the Play Store and bring more Google services to the wrist. Gmail and Google Calendar will be supported on Wear OS first. For Gmail, that entails having the option to reply to emails using a wristband. Users will be able to check their schedules, browse events and RSVP, and modify task statuses using Calendar.
The Home app for Wear OS now has better smart home integration. These features include improved device abilities, such as the ability to control media and alter lighting and animated camera notification previews. The smartphone app’s favourites can also be accessed by users right from their wrists.
The big news about third-party apps is that WhatsApp will release its first-ever wearable app in the “coming weeks.” And accepting WhatsApp calls is part of that. Three new Tiles, or widgets, focused on podcasts, your heavy rotation, and Spotify DJ will also be released by Spotify. An exercise streak tile will also be added by Peloton, which last year made Wear OS software available.
It is reasonable that Google would like to sustain its wearable momentum. 2022 was a turning point for Wear OS 3. In addition to Samsung released its Galaxy Watch 5 series, Montblanc releasing the Summit 3, and Fossil starting to roll out updates to its Wear OS 2 watches, Google finally debuted the Pixel Watch. Additionally, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon W5 Plus platform along with a brand-new, more potent chipset.
Despite this, a lot of questions will still need to be resolved in the upcoming months. However, the most pressing query is possible whether Google will manage this transfer more easily than Wear OS 3’s shift.
It’s not yet known what hardware will be able to operate or upgrade to Wear OS 4. Only watches with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform or Samsung’s custom chipset were able to upgrade when Google and Samsung first announced the switch to Wear OS 3. Users of Mobvoi are still waiting to learn when the new TicWatch, which runs the W5 Plus and Wear OS 3, as well as Wear OS 3 updates for older TicWatches, will be available. Complicating matters, third-party watch manufacturers like Fossil and Montblanc are also awaiting Google Assistant support for their Wear OS 3 watches.
Olagoke Ajibola is a creative writer and content producer with an eye for details and excellence. He has a demonstrated history of telling stories for TV, Film and Online. Aside from being fascinated by the power of imagination, his other interest are travel, sport, reading and meeting people.
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