Summary
- Wear OS is thriving post-Samsung partnership, with Wear OS 5 set to bring major battery life improvements.
- Wear OS 5, based on Android 14, introduces enhanced developer features and more complications for Watch Face Format.
- Fitness apps on Wear OS 5 will access new data types, promising longer battery life and refined user experience.
Wear OS has seen a massive resurgence since Google partnered with Samsung to launch Wear OS 3 in 2021. The subsequent releases and launch of wearables like the Galaxy Watch 5 and Pixel Watch have helped the platform flourish and attract new developers. Like Android, Google rolls out yearly Wear OS updates as well. Last year’s Wear OS 4 introduced a new Watch Face Format, improved power efficiency, and enhanced text-to-speech. To continue the platform’s impressive growth and to fix some of its pain points, Google has announced Wear OS 5 at I/O 2024 with significant battery life improvements.
Google is not fully revealing all the changes in the next major Wear OS platform release just now. But it highlights in its announcement that Wear OS 5 will bring battery life optimizations to your smartwatch. The company says you will see up to 20% less power consumption when tracking an outdoor marathon compared to Wear OS 4. Hopefully, this means your Wear OS watch should get a decent battery life boost once it gets the Wear OS 5 update.
Furthermore, fitness apps will have access to more data types, such as stride length, group contact time, and vertical oscillation. None of these are radical new features, but these improvements should help further refine the Wear OS experience. Plus, longer battery life is always a welcome improvement, especially on smartwatches.
Wear OS 5 will be based on Android 14
Google will base Wear OS 5 on Android 14, with the release packing some major developer-facing changes. This includes the next version of the Watch Face Format, which will support new complications, like weather, goal progress, and more. The limited complications support was a major issue with the current iteration of Watch Face Format, so it is good to see Google fixing it.
Google is releasing a Developer Preview of Wear OS 5 for developers to try. Since installing DPs on a Pixel Watch is much more complicated than on a Pixel phone, you should stay away from taking the build for a spin.
Wear OS 5 could launch with the Galaxy Watch 7 in July and then on the Pixel Watch 3 later this year before its availability expands to other Wear OS watches.
