Wear OS

Wear OS (formerly Android Wear) is a closed-source Android distribution designed for smartwatches and other wearable computers, created and developed by Google. Wear OS is designed to pair with mobile phones running Android (version 6.0 "Marshmallow" or newer) or iOS (version 10.0 or newer), providing mobile notifications into a smartwatch form factor and integration with the Google Assistant technology.

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

The operating system was first released in 2014 as Android Wear, and took its current name in 2018. Analysts estimate that over 720,000 Android Wear smartwatches were shipped in 2014, the year of its launch. By mid-October 2022, the Wear OS app had more than 50 million downloads. Wear OS was estimated to account for 17.3% of the smartwatch market in Q3 2021, behind Apple's 21.8%. As of 2025, Samsung accounts for the majority of Wear OS devices sold, due to its switch back from Tizen to Wear OS in 2021.

History and compatibility

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. 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".

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

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. As of September 2015[update], only the LG Watch Urbane and Huawei Watch are supported, but Google announced support for more smartwatch models.

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." 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). In November 2018, the underlying platform of Wear OS was upgraded to a version of Android Pie.

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."

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. 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.

Features

Wear OS can synchronize notifications from a paired device, and supports voice control with the "OK Google" hotword along with gesture-based input. 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. 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. 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. The watch can control media being played or streamed on paired devices.

Version history

Android Wear

Wear OS

Wear OS 1 and 2

Wear OS 3 and later

See also

• List of Wear OS devices
• Android
• Android Auto
• Android TV
• AsteroidOS
• Google Glass
• watchOS
• Facer.io

Notes

External links