Put on OS is the software program platform that powers the Samsung Galaxy Watch sequence, Google Pixel Watch lineup, and plenty of smartwatches from Fossil, Mobvoi, and different manufacturers. The newest model debuted on the Galaxy Watch 6 sequence, however now it is going to ship with the Pixel Watch 2, and Google says it is coming to different watches quickly.
Google introduced that the Put on OS 4 replace is “now steady,” which is a little bit of an odd assertion when it has been obtainable on the Galaxy Watch 6 sequence for 2 months—was it unstable prior to now? The just-announced Pixel Watch 2 from Google can have Put on OS 4 put in out of the field, and the unique Pixel Watch will get an replace to Put on OS 4 “later this yr.” The corporate says different watches will obtain the replace quickly, however there aren’t any particular dates or an inventory of supported fashions.
The Put on OS 4 replace makes use of a brand new Watch Face Format, developed by Google and Samsung, which permits builders to extra simply create customized watch faces for smartwatches. Watch faces created with the brand new expertise “don’t have to fret about code optimizations or battery efficiency.” There’s additionally higher help for animations in app tiles, because of a brand new Jetpack library that app builders can check out.
The replace additionally means that you can migrate a smartwatch from one telephone to a different with out performing a full manufacturing facility reset on the watch. On watches that “help cloud backup,” which incorporates the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2, some quantity of app knowledge is retained within the switch. Most individuals most likely aren’t switching their main smartphone regularly, however everytime you do want to alter telephones, Put on OS 4 will make your smartwatch setup much less of a ache.
Underneath the hood, Put on OS 4 relies on Android 13, which is an improve from the Android 11 codebase that powered Put on OS 3. Most of the options added in Android 12 and 13 do not affect smartwatches, however these updates did embrace some useful privateness modifications and efficiency enhancements.
Fossil, Mobvoi, and different Put on OS smartwatch producers have not confirmed when their watches will get an replace to Put on OS 4. The replace can also be obtainable for builders within the Android Studio emulator.
Supply: Android Builders Weblog
