Summary
- Material You, Google’s unified design language, could soon be extended to Wear OS, adding dynamic theming with customizable color options.
- Dynamic theming in Wear OS will apply the same colors as the watch face but also allow for manual color theme selection.
- The upcoming March 2024 Pixel Feature Drop could potentially bring dynamic theming to the Pixel Watch, but other brands may take longer to support Material You.
Material You, Google’s unified design language, is used across all its products and services, including Gmail, Android, and Drive. Over the last few years, the company has given almost all its services a Material You make over, with Dynamic theming adding a splash of colors. However, Wear OS has been the only exception, though signs of Google working on bringing Material You to its smartwatch platform have been circulating since May 2023. It now appears that dynamic theming for Wear OS is almost ready for release.
The folks at 9to5Google tore down the latest “Wear OS” app and found a notification indicating the imminent rollout of dynamic theming.
New theming options are here!
Your system theme now automatically matches the colors of your watch face!
Try changing your watch face or selecting a color theme in settings.
From the notification, it is clear that dynamic theming in Wear OS will work like on phones. The system will use the same color as the watch face, but there will also be an option to select a color theme manually. Do note that the OS will only pull colors from the watch face that support the Wear Watchface API and are made using the Watch Face Format.
Once released, you should find the Material You theming options in Wear OS 4 under Settings > Watch face & style.
Once rolled out, the Material You theming options in Wear OS 4 will be located under Settings > Watch face & style.
The report also details the various system UI color options you can choose from:
- Almond
- Pomelo
- Champagne
- Limoncello
- Lime
- Pear
- Mint
- Jade
- Spearmint
- Sky
- Sapphire
- Flamingo
- Melon
- Dandelion
- Aqua
- Lilac
Given the notification’s wording, it’s possible that Google could roll out dynamic theming on the Pixel Watch with the upcoming March 2024 Pixel Feature Drop.
There were rumors that Wear OS might automatically pull in colors from the phone’s wallpaper for dynamic theming. However, there are no signs of Google offering such a deep Material You integration between its two OS platforms.
Also, remember that even when Google rolls out Material You with Dynamic theming for Wear OS, the best Android smartwatches will not immediately support it. Companies like Samsung and Mobvoi have their skins running on top of Wear OS, and it could take a while for them to add support for Material You. The Pixel Watch and Watch 2 should likely be the first wearables to get the theming option.
Additionally, the 9to5Google folks found new code suggesting the Wear OS launcher might get a grid view app drawer. For years, the OS has had a simple list view, displaying the icons of all the installed apps.
An alternative view would be welcome, as it could allow you to see multiple app icons simultaneously. A string references the grid view as a “three_column_grid_launcher.” This feature appears to be in an early stage of development and could take a while to roll out.
Jessica Irvine is a tech enthusiast specializing in gadgets. From smart home devices to cutting-edge electronics, Jessica explores the world of consumer tech, offering readers comprehensive reviews, hands-on experiences, and expert insights into the coolest and most innovative gadgets on the market.
