Wear OS 5, the following replace to the favored Android watch platform, will arrive later in 2024. Announced at Google I/O 2024, the replace will give attention to three key areas: Battery life enhancements, new watch faces, and a horde of latest health options.Â
While Wear OS 4 added performance like simpler watch transfers, new apps, and a brand new Watch Face Format, Wear OS 5 appears to focus extra on optimization, making your present Android watch last more and plugging the gaps the place the final OS fell quick.Â
We’ll clarify each Wear OS 5 function Google has revealed to date, which Android watches we anticipate to replace to Wear OS 5, and the whole lot else you must know.Â
Wear OS 5: New options
Google’s Wear OS 5 announcement described a protracted record of upcoming options. We could uncover extra function updates when it launches, however this information gave us lots to start out with.Â
For starters, Wear OS 5 could have “efficiency enhancements,” such that “working a marathon consumes as much as 20% much less energy.” This could or will not be as a result of Hybrid Wear OS interface relegating well being sampling to the co-processor, or else different behind-the-scenes modifications.Â
Google’s Watch Face Format launched in Wear OS 4 may also add new “Flavors.” Users selecting a watch face may also be capable to decide between totally different colours and issues for every watch face, together with some new issues like “Goal progress” that present your share completion in the direction of a objective like 10,000 steps.Â
Google will make this new XML WFF the default choice for Wear OS 5, limiting uploads of different codecs like AndroidX beginning in early 2025. Your previous watch faces will nonetheless work and obtain updates, however will not get entry to new issues.Â
Wear OS builders will discover different backend modifications that may hopefully make Wear OS apps extra user-friendly and dynamic. In explicit, Google says these apps will “guarantee your app works optimally throughout the vary of system sizes and font scales.” Now that you will discover Android watch shows wherever from 1 to 1.5 inches, devs have to make their apps look good throughout the board.Â
On the health aspect, the Wear OS background system for monitoring information (Android Health) is getting new working kind measurements: Ground Contact Time, Stride Length, Vertical Oscillation, and Vertical Ratio. Fitness apps could have the choice to share information like this to and from Health Connect within the background for the primary time, in addition to pull information out of your total exercise historical past — not simply the final month.
Wear OS 5 watches will assist “debounced objectives,” which is a elaborate manner of claiming athletes can set a exercise objective like “hold my coronary heart charge between 130–160bpm for half-hour” and have the watch warn them after a brief delay in the event that they fall out of vary. At the second, Wear OS 4 watches buzz your watch the second you are out of vary, resulting in false positives and irritated runners.Â
One UI 6 Watch
Samsung has but to disclose many concrete info about One UI 6 Watch. A Samsung Wear OS 5 take a look at construct was noticed in early May, however we do not know any specifics besides that it will be based mostly on Android 14 and arrive alongside the Galaxy Watch 7 this summer season.Â
We do know Samsung, like Google, will give attention to health updates. This January, Samsung revealed its “My Vitality Score” replace arriving to the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy Watch 6 this summer season. It’ll mix your sleep, exercise, coronary heart charge, and HRV information to find out your power stage and readiness to work out.Â
Plus, Samsung will generate “Booster playing cards” that “present perception into the ‘why’ behind your well being readings,”
This information does not solely apply to Wear OS 5 for the reason that Galaxy Ring will create this information too, and you’ll see all of it in your smartphone. But we assume One UI 6 Watch will make your Vitality Score or Booster Cards seen on the watch as Tiles or watch face issues.
Wear OS 5: When does it arrive?
Google guarantees that Wear OS 5 will launch “later this 12 months,” which means someday in 2024. It has but to vow a selected launch date. The Wear OS 5 developer preview went dwell on May 15.Â
Samsung sometimes launches its One UI Watch spinoff of Wear OS in the summertime alongside the most recent Galaxy Watch. Wear OS 3 and 4 arrived in August 2021 and 2023, respectively, although solely on Samsung watches. We suspect Wear OS 5 will roll out alongside the Galaxy Watch 7 in August 2024.
However, the “inventory” model of Wear OS 5 will not arrive till October 2024, when the Pixel Watch 3 launches.Â
Last-gen fashions will seemingly obtain the replace quickly after the newer fashions; final 12 months, the primary Pixel Watch acquired Wear OS 4 5 days after the Pixel Watch 2 launch, whereas the Galaxy Watch 5 bought it a few weeks after the Watch 6.Â
Outside of Google and Samsung, the opposite Wear OS manufacturers haven’t got a public replace schedule. Some firms take months, if not years, earlier than updating their watches to new variations. Mobvoi, for instance, remains to be engaged on leaping its Ticwatch Pro 5 collection to Wear OS 4, so Wear OS 5 may very well be a methods off for some, if it arrives in any respect.
Wear OS 5: Eligible watches
These are the present Wear OS watches confirmed to obtain the replace, plus our greatest guess of the discharge month:
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 (August)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 (August)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (August)
- Google Pixel Watch (October)
- Google Pixel Watch 2 (October)
- OnePlus Watch 2 (Unknown)
In addition, the upcoming Galaxy Watch 7 and Pixel Watch 3 ought to launch with Wear OS 5.
Samsung watches will get 4 main Wear OS updates, so the Galaxy Watch 4 ought to get yet one more replace in 2025 after Wear OS 5. Google guarantees three years of OS updates, so Wear OS 5 may very well be the Pixel Watch 1’s final function replace.
The OnePlus Watch 2 has two assured OS updates; we will hope for a speedy Wear OS 5 replace this fall, however haven’t any precedent to check in opposition to.Â
As for watches presently working Wear OS 3.5 just like the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro and TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro, we imagine they will obtain Wear OS 4 however haven’t any ensures about Wear OS 5.Â
Due to obtain Wear OS 5
The Galaxy Watch 6 is the perfect Android watch in the marketplace at the moment, with 4 years of promised Wear OS updates, stable 40-hour battery life, a snug design, and glorious pace. This summer season, it’s going to get enhanced battery life efficiency and the brand new “My Vitality Score,” making it even higher.
