Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Wear OS 5 will bring the long-awaited grid-based app launcher to the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2. Many Wear OS smartwatches already offer a grid view for their app launcher, but this feature isn’t part of the stock Wear OS experience. Wear OS 5 will also add …
Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Fossil is holding a massive sale on its Wear OS smartwatches. Originally priced around $300, these watches are now being sold for a mere $79 each. Fossil had previously announced its exit from the smartwatch market. Fossil’s smartwatch era is officially extinct. After announcing its departure from the smartwatch …
TL;DR Google has confirmed it will announce Wear OS 5 during Google I/O 2025. The company plans to discuss the new features that will come with the OS. An OS update is coming to Android TV and Google TV. Google I/O, the event where Google tends to unveil new hardware and software, is scheduled for …
TL;DR A dev has figured out how to play Genshin Impact on Wear OS smartwatches, thanks to easy sideloading ability and game streaming from the cloud. The process involves sideloading Genshin Impact Cloud onto the smartwatch in supported regions. Android users these days have a better selection of great smartwatches to choose from, thanks to …
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority TL;DR The Shazam Wear OS app has received a significant update. Shazam on Wear OS can now identify songs without the phone app. If the smartwatch is not connected to the internet, the app can now record the song and perform a match when an internet connection is re-established. Shazam, …
For the past few years, I’ve been avoiding using third-party watch faces on my Galaxy Watch and Pixel Watch because they’re just frustrating all around. Most third-party watch faces are slow, heavy, and poorly designed, and it’s tough to find one that works well. Worse yet, they often drain the battery very fast, they don’t …
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority The Wear OS landscape is gaining traction with more names in the field than ever, including Google’s own smartwatch line. We’re only a few months out from the next round of major Wear OS device launches (looking at you, Samsung), and I’m already eager to see what a potential Wear …
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority TL;DR Google and Samsung introduced the new Watch Face Format as part of the Wear OS 4 update. This new method allows developers to create watch faces that involve no executable code, leaving the processing to Wear OS to handle. On dual-chip smartwatches, Wear OS will run the watch face …
TL;DR A new leak has showcased the specs, renders, and pricing of the Xiaomi Watch 2. The Xiaomi Watch 2 is expected to come with the Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 SoC and Wear OS with Google apps. Separately, Xiaomi has confirmed the showcase of a watch at MWC 2024, which we presume is a …
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 TL;DR Samsung has been spotted working on support for Wear OS 5 based on Android 14, while Google has been spotted working on Wear OS 6 based on Android 15. This indicates that Google could be switching to an annual update cycle for Wear OS, similar …