7 ways Google’s Wear OS is catching up with Apple’s Watch OS

Apple has long reigned supreme in the smartwatch arena, but Google’s Wear OS has always been an alternative for Android users. WearOS’ popularity has waxed and waned throughout its existence, but lately, there has been a lot of interest and excitement from Google and Samsung. While there may not be as diverse a set of smartwatches as there used to be, the smartwatches that are around make great Android phone companions. WearOS may not be at parity with watchOS, but there are areas where Google has made strides towards parity with Apple.

7

Powerful chips improve the experience

One significant leap in the past few years is the hardware powering WearOS. The introduction of the Snapdragon Wear W5+ Gen 1 platform brought a performance increase to the platform. Lag and sluggishness, which were once common complaints about WearOS smartwatches, are largely a thing of the past. This translates to smoother animations, faster app loading times, and a more responsive user interface.

WearOS now feels more snappy and closer to the snappy experience of watchOS. Another benefit of the newer chips is increased power efficiency, which increases battery life, another common complaint that has mostly disappeared.

6

Collaboration leads to better hardware

While there used to be a large diversity of smartwatches running WearOS, many of them had cheap hardware. This made WearOS feel like a less premium platform than watchOS and made users feel less positive about it. A few years ago, when Google decided to improve the platform, it created a partnership with Samsung so that both companies could collaborate on the platform, which has been a game-changer.

Both Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series and Google’s Pixel Watch series have injected premium hardware quality and design into the ecosystem. These devices sport stylish and premium hardware, better displays, and a robust set of sensors, better matching what people expect from Apple Watches.

5

Better personalization

Being able to customize a UI makes a user feel more in tune with it. Apple Watch users have enjoyed a personalized experience since nearly the beginning, but WearOS has not had the same level of customization.

Google changed that and added Material You theming, as seen on Android, to WearOS. This means that users can now select a color palette to match their aesthetic, which brings dynamic theming to much of the watch’s UI, including the faces and settings menu. This level of personalization brings WearOS closer to the tailored experience that Apple Watch users enjoy, and in some areas, exceeds it.

4

Better integration of Google services

Most WearOS users likely use several services in addition to their smartwatch and phone. Google’s services are deeply integrated into WearOS, providing a seamless experience for Android users that has become better with time.

Google Assistant is available on WearOS and offers powerful task and question-answering capability, often surpassing Siri’s capabilities in many tasks. Google Maps provides turn-by-turn navigation on your wrist with vibrations to tell you when to turn. Google Pay allows convenient contactless payments without pulling anything out of your pocket. You can look at your emails on Gmail, take notes through Google Keep, and more.

This deep integration takes much of what makes Google’s services great on a phone and puts them on your wrist, often leading to a better user experience than Apple equivalents.

3

Growing app library

A large complaint from WearOS users is that few apps are available on the platform. While the Wear OS app ecosystem may not match the volume of watchOS, it’s improving with a growing number of quality apps. Major apps like Spotify, Strava, and Google Keep are now available, with experiences optimized for the wrist and useful tie-ins to your phone.

Google is also making it easier and more attractive for developers to create apps for the platform. While WearOS may not be at parity with watchOS, there have been many strides in the right direction.

2

Improved health and fitness tracking

While smartwatches are supposed to be an extension of your phone, they are often more useful as fitness trackers with some additional capability. Each generation of WearOS devices is equipped with increasingly advanced health sensors, which enable capabilities such as ECG and blood oxygen monitoring.

While the Apple Watch has long been a leader in this area, and is recognized as a fairly robust health device, WearOS devices are catching up in accuracy and feature sets. While not all smartwatches use the same health tracking app, Fitbit and Samsung Health have advanced health tracking capabilities and are getting closer and closer to matching what Apple Watches offer.

1

UI usability enhancements

Smartwatches need a UI that makes sense to make them useful on a small scale. While WearOS has had issues with usability in the past, there have been advancements to make the OS easier and more sensible to use.

It recently refined its notification management system, making it easier to triage and respond to messages from the wrist. LTE/cellular connectivity is becoming more prevalent and desired, since it allows for standalone functionality without relying on a smartphone. There has also been a push to make the UI more swipeable with tiles and menus to make it easier to navigate. Some WearOS watches have rotating crowns or bezels that add additional layers of navigation functionality. These improvements make for a better user experience that stands out from watchOS.

A solid competitor

While Apple Watch remains the market leader, WearOS is making significant strides in closing the gap. With hardware improvements, software refinements, and a growing app ecosystem, WearOS is becoming a compelling alternative for users seeking a powerful and feature-rich smartwatch experience. As part of the growing app ecosystem, there are some great WearOS apps that can improve the user experience.