Photo : Google Earlier this year, I got a little annoyed when Google renamed Android Wear to Wear OS because even though Google’s intention to make its smartwatch OS less platform specific was good, it kind of felt meaningless without any new software or hardware features to improve how Wear OS actually works Advertisement But then, at Google I/O 2018, things started to look up when Google showed off new functions for the Google Assistant in Wear OS that helped it predict your questions and operate more like the friendly AI helper you’re used to in other Google products. But still, that was just the beginning, because now Google has another update for Wear OS that should help tie a lot of those separate features together in a more streamlined and accessible way. Gif : Google In the new update, the Google Assistant in Wear OS will try to use GPS and other bits of relevant info to provide useful tips before you ever even think to ask, like popping up a warning if it notices there’s traffic on the way to work, or telling you what the weather is like on the other end of a plane flight. Gif : Google Google has also improved the integration of Google Fit—which just got a big update last week—into Wear OS so that now, your smartwatch can keep better tabs on your health and fitness, which is quickly becoming one of the most important jobs of a modern smartwatch. And to make sure you don’t slack off, Wear OS will now surface tips from Google Fit to help keep your wellness goals in mind, while also giving you easier access to workout logging by simply swiping left from the home screen. Gif : Google Advertisement In fact, it seems Wear OS’ interface has been thoroughly streamlined to help cut down on the number of extra taps and swipes needed to access your smartwatch’s most important apps and features. After the update, you’ll be able to swipe up to flip through multiple notifications at once, swipe left to get to Google Fit, swipe right for the Google Assistant, or swipe down to reach shortcuts for Google Pay, ‘Find my phone,’ and more. But what’s even more promising is that between improved integration with recently updated Google apps, the timing of a big Qualcomm smartwatch announcement on September 10th, and all the rumors about an upcoming Pixel Watch, I’d be a little shocked if we didn’t see the debut of Google’s first homegrown smartwatch sometime later this fall. Advertisement The new Wear OS update and features should roll out sometime over the next month, with the exact timing depending on who made your specific wearable, which version of Wear OS its currently running, and which country you’re in.<doc-sep>Google Google / Ron Amadeo Google Google Google / Ron Amadeo Google Google Google Ahead of the IFA 2018 tech expo in Berlin, Google is announcing a major upgrade to Wear OS. The release doesn't have a catchy name (it should be labeled "Wear OS 1.6" on the about screen), but nearly every major interface of Wear OS is changing. Ahead of the announcement, I got to see the new release in person for a few minutes, so I can explain how things work a bit. The new Wear OS design prioritizes actionable notifications, proactive (Google Now-like) information cards, and Google Fit information. The all-new layout seems faster and less swipe-heavy, and it makes the OS feel more like the regular phone version of Android. Notifications are one of the most important parts of a smartwatch OS, and Wear OS has seen a big improvement here. First, the heavily paginated style of old Wear OS/Android Wear releases is dead. In days gone by, you would get one notification per screen, so if you had five notifications, that meant five vertical swipes to read them all. The process was slow and a lot of work. Now—like regular Android—notifications live in a single panel that you can freely scroll through. With no pagination, all the momentum-based scrolling tricks are at your disposal—fling to get to the bottom, or give the panel a medium-power flick to scroll past multiple notifications at once. The new design feels way faster. Just like Android on a phone, each notification can be swiped away horizontally to dismiss it. Tapping on a notification will expand it in line, showing automatically generated smart replies that can be sent with a single tap or action buttons like "Archive" and "Reply" for Gmail. At the bottom of the expanded notification is an "open app" button. Advertisement A new layout puts important screens a swipe away from the main watch face. Just like in Wear OS now, you can pull down the Quick Settings panel from above or scroll down to see your notifications, but now the Google Assistant lives to the left of the watch face while Google Fit lives to the right. Before, horizontally scrolling would only switch watch faces—now the watch-face picker lives under a long press. Assistant gets an assist The Google Assistant has been revamped with a focus on proactive notification—essentially Google Now cards. Previous versions of Android Wear would weave them into the notification panel, but now, just like on an Android phone, the Google stream lives in a separate area to the left of the home screen. On Wear OS, the stream lists things like the weather, calendar info, traffic information to your favorite places, and information from your Gmail account like reservations and package tracking info. Like the notification panel, this is a large single list, making it easy to scan through with a flick. In each Google Now card, you'll occasionally see "contextual action chips"—tappable buttons that suggest relevant related commands you can give to the Google Assistant. Discovering all the things you can say to Google's voice assistant isn't easy, so these buttons aim to nudge you out of your command comfort zone and teach you more voice commands. After announcing a revamped Google Fit last week, Wear OS gets the revamped fitness rings baked into the OS. Just scroll to the right screen to check your progress. It lists your "Move Minutes" and the harder-to-earn "Heart Points," and it gives you a button to jump right into an activity. With just about every major interface getting an overhaul, I think calling this release something like "Wear OS 3.0" would have made sense. Google says the update doesn't have a name, though, which makes it just another entry in the confusing, difficult-to-track line of Wear OS updates. Android Wear—before the Wear OS rebrand—started at 1.0, had a major release with version 2.0 , and made it all the way to 2.9. When the rebrand to Wear OS happened, the version numbers on the "About device" screen reset to version 1.0 , and the counting started over. The current version (before this overhaul) is Wear OS 1.5. New Wear OS versions get released every month with a +0.1 increment, so next month's release with this new interface should be version Wear OS 1.6. Wouldn't it have been easier and clearer to keep incrementing the Android Wear numbers? The new Wear OS seems like a solid upgrade. It's faster to navigate and puts more important information at your fingertips. Decent smartwatch hardware still remains a major issue for Wear OS, though. Google says there are more than 50 Wear OS devices on the market today, but nearly all of them are hamstrung by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100. Qualcomm's smartwatch SoC is not only two years old, but it is built on manufacturing technology from 2013. Samsung and Apple both have competing smartwatch platforms and can produce their own smartwatch SoCs that blow away Qualcomm's offerings, so no matter how good Google's software is, it's hard to imagine a competitive Wear OS product existing without a major new SoC. Advertisement I was told every device with at least "Android Wear 2.0" will be updated to this new version of Wear OS, which should cover just about every watch released in the past year and a half. As for a release date, Google's blog post says it will "begin rolling out these new features over the next month." Listing image by Google<doc-sep>
Google’s Wear OS is evolving. The wearable device operating system has been crying out for an overhaul for some time, and following the release of a revitalized Google Fit app, Wear OS is also receiving a small but meaningful update. The update is now rolling out for all eligible watches, so expect your Wear OS device to be pinged with the update soon. If you’re not sure if your watch is getting the update, we’ve updated this post with a list of the watches that definitely won’t be updated. We’ve also had a chance to play with the new update on the Fossil Q Venture HR smartwatch, so that’s the place to go if you’re interested in seeing our thoughts on the new update. Easier, faster access Perhaps most welcome of all among the changes is a new notification system, which Google says makes it easier to browse, dismiss, or interact with incoming alerts. Swipe up in the new notification stream to show all your notifications in one go, with quick replies available with a tap, including the pre-made smart replies. We’re interested to see how this works, as it doesn’t sound drastically different to Wear OS’s current way of delivering notifications, but in Google’s screenshots and animations, it looks a lot neater and more concise. A downward swipe displays shortcuts to often used features including Google Pay and Find my Phone, although it’s not clear whether these can be manually added, are fixed shortcuts, or generated by usage. Google Assistant is closer to hand in the updated Wear OS. Swipe right to see contextual alerts, such as flight status and hotel details, and smart suggestions will also arrive here with updates related to these situations, like weather and directions. The Assistant will also learn your behavior and provide helpful daily reminders, plus suggest features you’ve never used. Following on from the new Google Fit app, Wear OS also incorporates changes to Fit, which is now integrated as a swipe in from the left. You can see current activity levels based on Move Minutes and Heart Points, and it’s also possible to start a new workout from this screen too. In the screenshots, the circular progress dials seen in the new Google Fit app appear on the watch, in a similar fashion to Apple’s Activity rings on the Apple Watch. This update is rolling out as of September 28, but Google also warned that features will vary depending on not only the watch, but also on the phone’s operating system. This suggests some older versions of Android may not run all the features we’ve described. An update of Wear OS also comes at an interesting time, as rumors swirl about a Pixel smartwatch, and the impending arrival of a new Qualcomm chip designed for wearables, replacing the aging Snapdragon Wear 2100. Watches that won’t get the update Almost all Wear OS watches will get the update, but there are five that wont. It’s based on the watches that received Android Wear 2.0 and the ones that didn’t. Here’s a list of the watches that won’t get the redesign, according to 9to5Google: LG G Watch Samsung Gear Live Moto 360 (2014) Sony Smartwatch 3 Asus ZenWatch (1st-gen) Updated on September 28, 2018: We’ve added the news that the update is rolling out. Editors' Recommendations