Wear OS made a strong comeback after Google partnered with Samsung in 2021 to revive the previously neglected watch platform. This was followed by Wear OS today, with more and more brands like Xiaomi or OnePlus switching to the OS.
However, despite the regular improvements made by Google, Wear OS has some not entirely understandable limitations and missing features that have been available for years on the Apple Watch or within Android itself. Here are 5 features that Wear OS should have that copy a competitor’s OS.
Voice typing on the device
Typing on the small screen of a smartwatch isn’t an entirely pleasant experience compared to typing on a mobile phone. While suggested and pre-prepared responses are helpful, they aren’t suitable for all situations. Wear OS While it supports voice input, it doesn’t have a voice typing feature on devices like the Apple Watch Series 9 or Watch Ultra 2. On this watch, because the speech processing is done locally, speech-to-text conversion works much faster.
Latency is a big issue with smartwatches because they have to send data to the phone for processing. Voice input on the device completely bypasses processing on the phone, which significantly speeds up the conversion of speech to text.
Voice typing support on the watch with Wear OS should make text input easier. Plus, thanks to it you wouldn’t have to pick up your phone to answer every incoming message.
Convenience store mode synchronization between devices
If you’re using a Pixel Watch with a non-Pixel smartphone, your Store Mode plan won’t automatically sync between the two devices. The same is true if you’re using a Galaxy Watch with a non-Samsung phone.
Watch with Wear OS However, all of these Android phones are supported by operating systems, which makes this limitation even more annoying and frustrating. It’s an arbitrary software restriction that manufacturers seem to implement to promote their products. There is no such limitation with Apple.
A single application for health
The Health app on the iPhone is a key reason why using the Apple Watch is such a rewarding experience. Thanks to it, users have a perfect overview of all their health metrics, as it automatically alerts them to changes in their walking, sleeping, or other health areas. Wear OS unfortunately lacks a unified health tracking app, leading to an inconsistent user experience.
With Wear OS, you have to use the device manufacturer’s companion app to track your health or activities. For example, with the Pixel Watch the Fitbit app is “built in,” or the Galaxy Watch, Samsung Health app, and OnePlus Watch 2’s OSalud apps. Many users would no doubt appreciate it if all Wear OS watches had a single app that provided a consistent health and activity tracking experience.
Most useful mosaics
Tiles on the Wear OS are a great way to quickly view or access important information, such as smart home device control, calendar appointments, weather, step counts, and more. Wear OS can be navigated via tiles by swiping left or right on the watch face.
While the tiles are great, Google should take a cue from the Smart Stack feature in watchOS and change them so they can dynamically change their position. If you were at the gym, for example, Wear OS would automatically move Fitbit’s workout tiles and YouTube Music to the top of the list for quicker access; if you were at work, the system would move the Contacts tile up based on your usage pattern, and so on.
Gesture for easy one-handed use
S Apple Watch Series 9a Apple Watch Ultra 2 Apple introduced an ingenious double-tap gesture (well, thumb and thumb). This gesture lets you answer incoming calls or control music playback, among other things. So you don’t always have to grab the screen with your other hand for normal everyday tasks.
Samsung introduced the same gesture with the Galaxy Watch7 and the Watch Ultra, and on other Wear OS-powered watches like the Pixel Watch or OnePlus Watch 2, however, this useful feature is no longer available. All the more reason to buy the new watch from the Korean giant (another is the ability to customize the quick panel).
Galaxy WatchYou can buy 7 and Ultra here
