There are many reasons why Google’s Wear OS as a smartwatch platform is so frustrating. It lacks the advanced health features you see from other carrier manufacturers, and almost all available watches still rely on outdated chips, and Google has historically not been the best at delivering timely updates. Recent attempts to resolve everything have been encouraging, yet pretty minor. However, an Android developer blog note that third-party tiles are coming to Wear OS, and for once I’m excited about the possibilities.
Google tiles introduced back in 2019 in one of the most important updates of the Wear OS platform. The sweepcapable widgets were long overdue at that time, considering that Samsung has been offering something similar for years. The only problem was you were limited to Google’s own tiles and it was just OK at its best. It was a better experience, but one that still lags behind in the competition.
Open tiles to third parties are great on two levels. First, you can swap a Google tile for a better one of your preferred program. Google Fix? No, Thank you. Ideally you would get a Strava tile or something less basic. This will of course depend on these companies paying attention to Wear OS again. This brings me to my second point: allowing developers to create their own tiles can encourage them to create for the Wear OS platform.
One of the few strengths Wear OS had over Samsung’s Tizen OS was a more robust app ecosystem. And then competing platforms started to take the lead. Spotify has signed a standalone deal with Garmin and Samsung, but on Wear OS it remains a glorified remote control. Hell, even Google place Wear OS second when it was a YouTube Music app for the Apple Watch first. It was October, and here we are in March 2021 with no sign of a Wear OS version. Why shshould developers give OS OS preference if Google does not?
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If it is customary Tiles lead to greater interest in Wear OS and Google builds third party ecosystem, then Wear OS can have a fighting chance. WI have yet to see how Wear OS will perform on a watch powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100/4100 + SoC. Unlike the offers from Apple and Samsung, Wear OS watches already beat with old processors. Right now, only the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 has the latest chip, and while Mobvoi watches are good, they are not exactly the most eye-catching smartwatch brand.
The leap from the 3100 chip – which is currently in most Wear OS watches – to the 4100 chip seems to be more substantial than the jump from 2100 to 3100. It promises 85% faster performance, 25% more battery and better LTE connectivity – all of which can give more creative experiences on your wrist.
Then there is the fact that Google recently closed on the acquisition of Fitbit. While the two companies will be working separately – for now – we’ve already seen Google Assistant come with Fitbit watches. This is not out of the question for Fitbit’s expertise to find its way to Wear OS.
Maybe this’s why we’re heard rumors that Samsung is considering it to launch its own Tizen OS software for Wear OS. If even a little of it is true, this would indicate that Google has real plans for its most neglected platform. There is certainly no way Samsung would abandon all the advanced health features it introduced with the Galaxy Watch 3 if Wear OS could not support the transition. (Currently, the best Wear OS watches you can do are to monitor your heart rate. Some has built-in GPS.)
There is a chance that even with custom Tiles, developers will not get involved because they do not think it’s worth it. At the moment, personal Tiles is in alpha test via the Jetpacks Tile Library, and Google said the new options will be available to users later this spring when it ‘rolls'[s] the corresponding update of Wear OS platform out. Many things have to go right, but for Wear OS it does not feel like a total ruin for the first time in a long time.