What it is advisable know
- Forward of Google I/O subsequent month, Google revealed a preliminary schedule for developer classes.
- A type of classes is a preview for Put on OS 5, and it serves as the primary official affirmation from Google {that a} Put on OS improve is coming this 12 months.
- The outline for the “Constructing for the way forward for Put on OS” session features a few early particulars about what the improve will deliver.Â
Google I/O 2024 is shortly coming to the forefront, because the occasion will begin in a couple of weeks and will deliver new {hardware} and software program bulletins from Google. The corporate gave us our first actual thought of what to anticipate when it launched a preliminary I/O 2024 schedule on Thursday, April 25. That schedule contains an early affirmation {that a} Put on OS improve is coming quickly.
There are 4 principal classes for occasions at Google I/O this 12 months: cellular, net, ML/AI, and cloud. One of many cellular classes is titled “Building for the future of Wear OS,” and it explicitly lists Put on OS 5 — the unreleased model of Put on OS beforehand anticipated to come back this 12 months — as its focus. Again in January, references to Put on OS 5 had been noticed in an Android 14 construct, hinting that an improve was on the horizon.Â
Nonetheless, there was no official affirmation from Google that Put on OS 5 could be launched within the close to future. Whereas we anticipate to listen to about upcoming Android updates at Google I/O, Put on OS upgrades are sometimes launched on a staggered and inconsistent schedule. That is why Google’s announcement has extra significance than a typical Google I/O software program announcement and bodes properly for the way forward for Google’s wearable ecosystem.Â
What we find out about Put on OS 5 to date
Surprisingly, Google gave somewhat bit away about Put on OS 5 within the description for its preview session. “On this discuss, we’ll uncover the brand new options of Put on OS 5,” Google says. “This contains advances within the Watch Face Format, and methods to design and construct for the growing vary of gadget sizes.”
The Watch Face Format was launched a few 12 months in the past alongside Put on OS 4, and Google explains that it “can be utilized to construct watch faces straight, or it may be built-in into creation instruments, permitting designers to create watch faces with out having to write down any executable code.” It shifted a lot of the burden of making a customized watch face — akin to optimization, updates, and bug fixes — off of particular person builders and onto the Put on OS platform. Moreover, it added a constant UI for modifying watch faces throughout first and third-party choices.Â
This offers watch face designers numerous methods to customise their choices, and pairs properly with the Watch Face Studio from Samsung, which can be utilized to create XML-formatted watch faces within the Watch Face Format.
So, Google’s discuss updating the Watch Face Format in Put on OS 5 might deliver new options and choices to your favourite watch faces. There is perhaps new methods to indicate issues, adapt a watch face’s look situationally, or add new design instruments. That is all simply hypothesis, however Google clearly has new methods obtainable within the up to date Watch Face Format that might be showcased at I/O 2024.Â
The one factor we do know for positive is that the Watch Face Format, or watch face design software program, might be up to date to assist builders construct for various smartwatch sizes. Google says as a lot within the description for the Put on OS 5 showcase, and it is not precisely shocking. Rumors are swirling that Google will lastly add a brand new, bigger Pixel Watch dimension later this 12 months within the Pixel Watch 3 collection. It solely is sensible that it desires to ensure Put on OS watch faces will look nice on all Pixel Watch fashions.
We have come a great distance since Google’s neglect of Put on OS
Overlook particular options — it is a huge achievement that we’re getting a Put on OS 5 improve this 12 months in any respect. Put on OS units are firmly hitting their stride, with Samsung releasing wonderful Galaxy Watch fashions and Google becoming a member of in with the Pixel Watch over a 12 months in the past. In that context, it is simple to neglect how feeble your entire Put on OS platform was just some years in the past.Â
Wanting again at Google’s Put on OS boards, you’ll find numerous examples of early Put on OS customers describing the unsure way forward for the platform and points that had gone unresolved for months or years. One submit from 2020 requested, “Is Google abandoning Put on OS?” and obtained assist from different Put on OS customers earlier than it was locked and replies had been disabled. The difficulty cited within the submit? Google had developed a YouTube Music app for watchOS, however not Put on OS. It is an ideal microcosm of the issues that plagued the darkish days of Put on OS.Â
Now, it is rebounding, and Put on OS 5’s launch this 12 months stands out as the begin of a constant annual launch schedule for Google for main model updates. That might put it on par with Apple’s watchOS launch schedule and could be nice information for Put on OS customers. The {hardware} obtainable in Put on OS watches is sort of good in 2024, due to chips just like the Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1, however the software program nonetheless lags behind Apple Watch fashions in some ways. Now, with Google seemingly going all-in on Put on OS with its associate Samsung, which may be altering for good.Â
