While Google's inability to turn Wear OS (formerly known as Android Wear) into a mainstream hit in the Apple-dominated smartwatch landscape is well-documented and oft-discussed, the search giant wants you to know that there are now "five times as many" devices in circulation based on its wrist-friendly software platform compared to just two years ago.
Two years ago, of course, was when Wear OS 3.0 saw daylight with an absolutely unprecedented list of upgrades and improvements (developed in partnership with Samsung), so we probably shouldn't act shocked that version 4 is now official and officially slated for a public debut "later this year."
Until then, you can give the Wear OS 4 developer preview a try on Google's official emulator, but only if you know exactly what that kind of experience entails and what you should expect from it.
Handy new features from some of the world's most popular apps
Given that Android Wear was born nearly a decade ago, it's pretty shocking to think how many relatively basic things Wear OS still cannot do and what apps and services (even from Google itself) the platform doesn't properly support just yet.
To its credit, Big G is finally looking to add Gmail and Google Calendar to Wear OS this fall to allow Pixel Watch users to quickly respond to emails, as well as check their schedules, RSVP to events and update task statuses, all directly from their wrists.
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With Wear OS 4, you'll also no longer need anything but your intelligent timepiece to remotely unlock your door and check who rang your Nest doorbell from an enhanced Google Home app.
Moving to third-party products and services, arguably the biggest new app coming to Wear OS in 2023 is Facebook's hugely popular and increasingly controversial WhatsApp messaging platform. This is actually set to launch its "first-ever smartwatch app" as early as the next few weeks, letting you securely (yeah, right) start a new conversation, reply to messages by voice, and answer calls without requiring any smartphone interaction whatsoever.
Three new Spotify tiles are also in the pipeline to further enhance your music listening experience from your wrist, with a Peloton tile focused on tracking your workout streak and helping you more easily reach your fitness goals coming in Wear OS 4 as well.
More openness, more freedom, more battery life
What's everyone's number one complaint about basically all of the best smartwatches on the market today? Endurance times between battery charges, that's right. Well, Google appears to have heard you loud and clear, promising to bring "stronger battery life" with the next Wear OS update... without going into any details whatsoever for the time being.
A "faster and more reliable" text-to-speech experience also sounds like it could quell a lot of concerns regarding the platform's general accessibility, and then there's backup and restore support, which believe it or not is not yet a thing on Wear OS but will become so in the near future to help you easily and securely move your personal stuff from one watch to another.
There is no official sign of the rumored Pixel Watch 2 just yet.
Speaking of devices, it's certainly interesting that Google has let the I/O 2023 opportunity pass without teasing or mentioning the second-gen Pixel Watch in any way, and it's also worth pointing out that Samsung seems way less involved in the development of Wear OS 4 than version 3, doing more or less its own thing with One UI Watch right now.
Don't get us wrong, the Galaxy Watch 6 family will undoubtedly be based on Wear OS... at its core, but something tells us Samsung and Google's wrist UIs will look even more different in the fall than they already do.
Meanwhile, considering the incredibly sluggish Wear OS 3.0 rollout for non-Google smartwatches, you should probably not expect to see Wear OS 4 make its way to Mobvoi's existing TicWatches or Fossil devices very soon... if ever. Hopefully, there will be new timepieces released running Wear OS 4 out the box at some point this year.
Watch faces! Watch faces everywhere!
Samsung, by the way, is helping Google with an important aspect of Wear OS 4, namely the Watch Face Format initiative aimed at allowing developers and designers to easily create "high-quality and power-efficient" new watch faces. That's a big step forward for the platform's customization and openness, adding to all the other crucial improvements across many equally crucial areas.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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