Wear OS

Wear OS (also known simply as Wear[7] and formerly Android Wear) is a version of Google's Android operating system designed for smartwatches and other wearables.[8][9][10] By pairing with mobile phones running Android version 6.0 "Marshmallow" or newer, or iOS version 10.0 or newer with limited support from Google's pairing application,[11] Wear OS integrates Google Assistant[12] technology and mobile notifications into a smartwatch form factor.

Not to be confused with Fitbit.
Wear OS

The Fossil Q Venture (Gen 4) with Wear OS
DeveloperGoogle
Written inC (core), C++, Java[1]
OS familyUnix-like
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source with closed source components[2]
Initial releaseMarch 18, 2014 (2014-03-18)
Latest releaseWear OS 3.5 (based on Android 11) / XXU1DUJA (USA and International) / ZCU1DUJB (China) / October 2022 (2022-10)
Marketing targetSmartwatches
Available in93 languages

Azərbaycan - Azerbaijani
Bosanski - Bosnian
Català - Catalan
Čeština - Czech
Dansk - Danish
Deutsch (Deutschland) - German (Germany)
Deutsch (Österreich) - German (Austria)
Deutsch (Schweiz) - German (Switzerland)
Eesti - Estonian
English (Australia) - English (Australia)
English (Canada) - English (Canada)
English (Ireland) - English (Ireland)
English (New Zealand) - English (New Zealand)
English (Philippines) - English (Philippines)
English (South Africa) - English (South Africa)
English (United Kingdom) - English (United Kingdom)
English (United States) - English (United States)
Español (España) - Spanish (Spain)
Español (Estados Unidos) - Spanish (United States)
Euskara - Basque
Filipino - Filipino
Français (Belgique) - French (Belgium)
Français (Canada) - French (Canada)
Français (France) - French (France)
Français (Suisse) - French (Switzerland)
Gaeilge - Irish
Galego - Galician
Hrvatski - Croatian
Indonesia - Indonesian
Íslenska - Icelandic
Italiano - Italian
Latviešu - Latvian
Lietuvių - Lithuanian
Magyar - Hungarian
Melayu - Malay
Nederlands (België) - Dutch (Belgium)
Nederlands (Nederland) - Dutch (Netherlands)
Norsk bokmål - Norwegian Bokmål
O‘zbek - Uzbek (Latin)
Polski (Polska) - Polish (Poland)
Polski (Silesian) - Polish (Silesian)
Português (Brasil) - Portuguese (Brazil)
Português (Portugal) - Portuguese (Portugal)
Română - Romanian
Shqip - Albanian
Slovenčina - Slovak
Slovenščina - Slovenian
Srpski - Serbian (Latin)
Suomi - Finnish
Svenska - Swedish
Tiếng Việt - Vietnamese
Türkçe - Turkish
Türkmen dili - Turkmen
Ελληνικά - Greek
Беларуская - Belarusian
Български - Bulgarian
Кыргызча - Kyrgyz
Қазақ тілі - Kazakh
Македонски - Macedonian
Монгол - Mongolian
Русский - Russian
Тоҷикӣ - Tajik
Українська - Ukrainian
ქართული - Georgian
Հայերեն - Armenian
עברית - Hebrew
اردو - Urdu
العربية - Arabic
فارسی - Persian
नेपाली - Nepali
मराठी - Marathi
हिन्दी - Hindi
অসমীয়া - Assamese
বাংলা (বাংলাদেশ) - Bangla (Bangladesh)
বাংলা (ভারত) - Bangla (India)
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ - Punjabi
ગુજરાતી - Gujarati
ଓଡ଼ିଆ - Odia
தமிழ் - Tamil
తెలుగు - Telugu
ಕನ್ನಡ - Kannada
മലയാളം - Malayalam
සිංහල - Sinhala
ไทย - Thai
ລາວ - Lao
မြန်မာ (Unicode) - Burmese (Unicode)
မြန်မာ (Zawgyi) - Burmese (Zawgyi)
ខ្មែរ - Khmer
한국어 - Korean
日本語 - Japanese
简体中文 (中国) - Simplified Chinese (China)
繁體中文 (台灣) - Traditional Chinese (Taiwan)
繁體中文 (香港) - Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)

Language list as of Wear OS 3.0
Package managerAPK via Google Play
Platforms32-bit ARM, MIPS, x86
Kernel typeMonolithic (modified Linux kernel)
UserlandBionic libc,[3] shell from NetBSD,[4] native core utilities with a few from NetBSD[5]
Default
user interface		Graphical (Multi-touch)
LicenseApache License 2.0, Linux kernel patches under GPLv2[6]
Official websitewearos.google.com

Wear OS supports Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi,[13] 3G, and LTE connectivity, as well as a range of features and applications. Watch face styles include round, square and rectangular. Hardware manufacturing partners include Asus, Broadcom, Fossil, HTC, Intel, LG, MediaTek, Imagination Technologies, Motorola, New Balance, Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei, Skagen, Polar, TAG Heuer, Suunto, and Mobvoi.[14]

In the first six months of availability, Canalys estimates that over 720,000 Android Wear smartwatches were shipped.[15] As of 15 March 2018, Wear OS had between 10 and 50 million application installations.[16] Wear OS was estimated to account for 10% of the smartwatch market in 2015.[17]

History and compatibility
Logo for Android Wear, the previous name of the operating system

The platform was announced on March 18, 2014, along with the release of a developer preview. At the same time, companies such as Motorola, Samsung, LG, HTC and Asus were announced as partners.[18] On June 25, 2014, at Google I/O, the Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch were launched, along with further details about Android Wear. The LG G Watch is the first Android Wear smartwatch to be released and shipped. Motorola's Moto 360 was released on September 5, 2014.

On December 10, 2014, an update started to roll out, adding new features including a watch face API and changed the software to be based on Android 5.0 "Lollipop".[19]

The LG G Watch[20] and Samsung Gear Live[21] started shipping in July 2014, while the Motorola Moto 360,[22] began shipping in September 2014. The next batch of Android Wear devices, which arrived at the end of 2014, included the Asus ZenWatch,[23] the Sony SmartWatch 3,[24] and the LG G Watch R.[25] As of March 2015, the latest Wear OS devices are the LG Watch Urbane,[26] and the Huawei Watch.[27]

On August 31, 2015, Google launched a Wear OS app for iOS version 8.2 or newer, allowing limited support for receiving iOS notifications on smartwatches running Wear OS.[28] As of September 2015, only the LG Watch Urbane and Huawei Watch are supported, but Google announced support for more smartwatch models.[11][29]

In March 2018, Android Wear was rebranded as Wear OS. It was stated that the renaming "better reflects our technology, vision, and most important of all — the people who wear our watches."[30] In September 2018, Google announced Wear OS 2.0, which made the personalized Google feed (replacing Google Now) and new fitness tracking platform Google Fit accessible from the watch face, and redesigned the notification area to use a scrolling pane rather than pages, and support automatically-generated smart replies (as on Android Pie).[31][32] In November 2018, the underlying platform of Wear OS was upgraded to a version of Android Pie.[33]

In January 2021, Google completed its acquisition of wearables manufacturer Fitbit; upon its announcement of the purchase in November 2019, Google's head of hardware Rick Osterloh stated that it would be "an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market."[34][35]

Wear OS powered by Samsung

In May 2021 at Google I/O, Google announced a major update to the platform, internally known as Wear OS 3.0. It incorporates a new visual design inspired by Android 12, and Fitbit exercise tracking features. Google also announced a partnership with Samsung Electronics, who is collaborating with Google to unify its Tizen-based smartwatch platform with Wear OS, and has committed to using Wear OS on its future smartwatch products. The underlying codebase was also upgraded to Android 11.[36][37] Wear OS 3.0 will be available to Wear OS devices running Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 system on chip, and will be an opt-in upgrade requiring a factory reset to install.[38]

Features

Wear OS can synchronize notifications from a paired device, and supports voice control with the "OK Google" hotword along with gesture-based input.[39] Wear OS integrates with Google services such as the Google Assistant and Google mobile services (including Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Wallet), as well as third-party watch apps from Play Store.[40][41] From the watch face, the user can swipe up to access their notifications, down to access a quick settings panel, from the left to view their personalized Google feed, and the right to view Google Fit.[39] Via Google Fit and similar applications, Wear OS supports ride and run tracking, and devices containing heart rate sensors can perform a reading on-demand, or at intervals throughout the day.[42] The watch can control media being played on streamed on paired devices.[41][40]

Version history

Android Wear
Android Wear version Android OS version Release date New features Notes
4.4W1 4.4 KitKat June 2014
  • Initial release
 Announced at Google I/O 2014
4.4W2 4.4 KitKat October 2014
  • Offline music playback over Bluetooth[43]
  • Watch GPS support (for watches with built-in GPS)[44]
  • New music control UI[45]
1.0 (5.0.1W)[46] 5.0.1 Lollipop December 2014
  • Official watch face API
  • Sunlight mode (brightness boost)
  • Theater mode
  • Settings shade from top
  • Battery stats in Android Wear app
  • Recently used actions added to the top in drawer
  • Ability to undo dismissed notification
 This version changed the numbering scheme to be independent from the underlying Android OS version.
1.1 (5.1.1W1)[47] 5.1.1 Lollipop May 2015
  • Wi-Fi support (for watches with built-in Wi-Fi)
  • Drawable Emojis (as response to messages)
  • Heads up notifications
  • Pattern lock screen
  • Ability to change font size
  • Add swipe left from watch face to access app drawer
  • Always on apps
  • More wrist gestures
1.3 (5.1.1W2)[48] 5.1.1 Lollipop August 2015
  • Interactive watch faces
  • Google Translate for Wear
1.4 (6.0.1W1)[49] 6.0.1 Marshmallow February 2016
  • More wrist gestures
  • Speaker support for watches with built-in speaker
  • Send voice messages directly from the watch
1.5 (6.0.1W2)[50] 6.0.1 Marshmallow June 2016
  • Brought back restart watch option
  • Added Android security patch level to About screen
2.0 (7.1.1W1)[51] 7.1.1 Nougat Feb 2017[52]
  • Revamped UI with Material Design, darker colors, and a more circular user interface for round watches.
  • Standalone apps with Google Play Store on watch
  • Complications for watch faces
  • Built-in keyboard
  • Handwriting recognition
  • Stackable notifications
  • Smarter notifications
  • Cellular Support

[53]
2.6 (7.1.1W2)[54] 7.1.1 Nougat Nov 2017
  • Text size of notifications adapts to message length
  • New download progress indicator
  • New complication for launching previously-used app
2.6 (7.1.1W3, 8.0.0 W1)[55] 8.0 Oreo Dec 2017

Brings Android 8.0 Oreo features to smartwatches

  • Notification vibration strength setting
  • Touch lock option for wet conditions
  • Support for 7 new countries/languages
  • Notification Channels
  • Battery saving background limits
2.7 (7.1.1W4, 8.0.0 W2)[56] 8.0 Oreo Dec 2017
  • Improved typefaces and font weights
  • Complications now work with Talkback
  • Text size of notifications adapts to message length
  • Swipe down in Quick Settings to see connection type (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or mobile)
  • Download progress notifications
  • Recent App complication
  • Better prevention of accidental side-swipe and long-press gestures
2.8 (7.1.1W5, 8.0.0W3)[57] 8.0 Oreo Jan 2018
  • Improved notification glanceability with a new layout which shows more of the user's message at a glance
  • Darker background for better readability and less battery usage
2.9 (7.1.1W6, 8.0.0W4)[58] 8.0 Oreo Feb 2018
  • New notification preview complication which allows you to preview messages
  • Improved glanceability in notification cards with longer titles

Wear OS
Wear OS version Android OS versions Release date New features Notes
1.0[59] Android 8 Oreo March 2018
  • Rebranding to Wear OS[60]
  • Expand Google Pay Support in more countries
 Version number reset to "1.0".

Wear OS App version: 2.10[61]

1.4 Android 8 Oreo July 2018
  • Faster Google Pay startup
  • More glanceable design for events and appointments
  • Time zone sync bug fix[62]
 Wear OS App version: 2.14[63]
2.0 Android 8 Oreo September 2018
  • Swipe actions for faster access to Google Assistant and Google Fit[31]
  • Google Assistant feed with proactive personalized information
  • New design for quick toggles and notifications stream
  • New music controls with physical button support
  • Bolder font in the app launcher
 Wear OS App version: 2.18
2.2 Android 9 Pie H MR1 November 2018 New features for System version H MR1:
  • Brings Android 9.0 Pie features to smartwatches
  • Enables Battery Saver mode to only display the time once the battery falls below 10%
  • Improves restoring the state of previously used apps
  • Watches now enter a deep sleep mode after 30 minutes of inactivity
  • Holding down the power button now provides options for shutting down or restarting the watch
 Wear OS App version: 2.20
2.6 Android 9 Pie H MR1 May 2019
  • Tiles functionality when swiping left, providing access to next calendar events, weather forecast, heart rate, news headlines and timer functionality.[64]
 Wear OS App version: 2.24
2.7 Android 9 Pie H MR1 June 2019
  • Bugfixes
 Wear OS App version: 2.25
2.9 Android 9 H MR1 July 2019
  • Notifications
 Wear OS App version: 2.26
2.17 Android 9 Pie H MR1 April 2020
  • New 'Wash hands' timer regarding coronavirus.
  • New UI and Tiles for Google Fit
 Wear OS App Version: 2.35
2.23 Android 9 Pie H MR2 December 2020 Changes in System H MR2:[65][66]
  • CPU core improvements: app launch and boot time up to 20% faster
  • SysUI improvements: more intuitive controls for managing different watch modes and workouts
  • Increased performance with the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 and 4100+ platforms
  • Improved LTE support
  • Simplified pairing process
  • Better battery life
  • Support for an increased numbers of Tiles
  • New Weather Tile
  • Ability to turn off Long Press Power Button to activate Google Assistant
  • Ability to set the screen off time limit
  • New screen brightness layout
  • YouTube Music App
  • Google Fit: Workouts & Breathe Tiles + New home screen & New Sleep features
  • Social share and challenge
 Wear OS App version: 2.41
3.0 Android 11 August 2021 Brings Android 11 features to smartwatches
  • New UI design

-Health features to Google Fit:

  • Stress management
  • Compatible ECG app
  • Skin temperature
  • SpO2 levels
  • Sleep tracking
  • Wake up

-Hardware improvements:

  • Long battery life with Bluetooth improvements (up to a week)

-Social integration:

  • Social challenges
 Incompatible with Wear OS App
OEM companion app required[67]
3.5 Android 11 October 2022
  • Integration with Fitbit
  • Improved Google Assistant
  • Added new watch faces

Removed:

  • Compatibility with iPhones

    See also

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