A List of All Wear OS Smartwatches
Just in case you’re curious about what Wear OS smartwatches have been released thus far – This page is a resource page containing a list of all Wear OS smartwatches at a glance.
A Brief History of Wear OS
It started as Android Wear in March 2014 when Google announced the new platform for smartwatches and other wearables with the likes of Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and Asus named as partners. It didn’t take too long before the first sets of Android Wear smartwatches were rolled out by the aforementioned brands. The Asus Zenwatch and the Samsung Gear Live were among the then pioneers.
Fast forward to March 2018 when Google renamed the platform from Android Wear to Wear OS (sounds more awesome) and perhaps what looks like a turning point, a revolution in the history of Wear OS that has seen the platform undergo series of updates that so far has improved user’s experience significantly.
The change in the name had few intentions, one of them was to have a name that’s also central to iPhone users as it was on record that out of every 3 Wear OS activated, 1 was for an iPhone.
Although a vast majority of smartwatch brands prefer the Wear OS platform, that doesn’t really translate into higher sales. In fact, Apple according to this report by Counterpoint Research continued to dominate the smartwatch market with slight growth upwards which further strengthens their position, while Samsung and Fitbit trail second and third spots respectively, with Wear OS accounting for less than 10% of the total sales.
Wear OS Features
By pairing with compatible devices Wear OS integrates a number of really interesting features into your smartwatch helping make the device more useful. Features, the Wear OS brings to your watch includes;
- Telling the Time
- Notifications
- Google Assistant
- Google Fit
- Control Music/Find my Phone
Telling the time is the primary job of the Wear OS. While this might sound a bit too basic or perhaps awkward, but in reality, it’s one feature you might end up using even more often. Moreover, telling time is the basic function of a watch.
There’re hundreds of watch faces to choose from on Google Play store. You’re most likely to find a swanky watch face of your choice.
Keeping you connected to what matters to you is one of the basics that Wear OS offers. From a simple swipe that shows up notifications at a glance in a rather more stylish manner that lets you see more at a glance to being able to set what notifications should beam to your watch.
Good to know that notification features work just as great on iOS devices as it does on Android devices.
Wear OS also integrates the much improved Google Assistant into your watch which off course helps you in carrying out a slew of tasks using your voice simply by saying “Ok Google”.
It’s also good to know that the Google Assistant works great with iOS devices, and even better, is that you can set defaults from the companion app as per which app is actually used in carrying out a task.
While there’re quite a number of apps that can help you manage your fitness goals, the Google Fit app is central to the Wear OS platform. Google Fit uses sensors in a watch to track steps, distance, calories, and even more, managing your fitness goals. You learn more about Google Fit
Wear OS also brings with it a control feature that enables a smartwatch control music on your phone and as well could be very helpful in finding your misplaced phone by buzzing it.
These are some of the features the Wear OS platform integrates into a smartwatch, there are more. Check out all Wear OS features.
How to Setup Wear OS
Setting up Wear OS on either Android or iPhone is pretty much a straight forward process that should take less than 2 minutes. For Android and iOS devices, the process is almost similar.
- It starts by first ensuring your watch is compatible with your phone
- Turn on your watch.
- On your phone, open the Wear OS app.
- Tap set it up.
- From your watch, follow the onscreen instructions to choose a language and accept terms of service.
- From your phone, follow the onscreen instruction until you notice the name of your watch.
- Tap the name of your watch.
- You will find a code on both your watch and phone which should be same, tap pair to connect.
- To finish, follow the onscreen instructions.
Check out the
Wear OS help page for other setup instructions
Wear OS Versions
Following the name change to Wear OS we have seen series of updates in the last 12 months; Wear OS 2, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 and then, surprisingly Google skipped a few numbers to pop up with Wear OS 2.6.
Wear OS 2.6 is the latest version and it’s already rolling out on many Wear OS smartwatches of which the Gen 4 Sport and Ticwatch pro have both received the update.
Wear OS 2.6 brings some changes to the table;
- One of those is a new complication that allows you to access your most recent app. You can add this feature by simply tapping on the complication area you want to add it to.
- Secondly, the latest version now adds a download indicator that shows download progress – A long-overdue feature that should have been here all the while, but it’s good we can see how much progress is made with the next download.
- The size of the text for notifications now changes based on how much is being shown on the screen at once.
- Before now, Wear OS users have companied about accidental swipes and gestures, Wear OS 2.6 fixes those problems.
- Wear 2.6 also features the ability to see Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular icons in your Quick Settings page which enables faster access to these items.
If you’ve not already received the latest update on your watch you can download it from the Play Store.
List of Wear OS Smartwatches
The following list contains all Wear OS smartwatches that have been released so far.
If you think there’s a missing product, please indicate in the comment section. Moreover, we will update this list continuously as new Wear OS smartwatches are released.
[table id=listofwearossmartwatches /]
Conclusion
Although, Wear OS smartwatches might be lagging behind in total number of smartwatch units sold, it’s clearly a platform with much potential.