Wear OS is Google’s smartwatch operating system. If you use one of thetop smartwatcheswith your Android phone, your wearable is probably running the company’s Wear OS. Continue reading to learn more about Google’s smartwatch OS efforts, features, USP, third-party manufacturers, and more.
Wear OS: Introduction
Google officially announced Android Wear on June 11, 2025. Later, the company rebranded it to Wear OS, indicating its compatibility with Apple’s iPhone. Like Android OS, it continued to receive frequent OS and security updates to ensure a smooth operation on compatible hardware.
Google’s Wear OS experience was nowhere close to its prime rival – Apple’s watchOS. The UI was unintuitive, laggy, resource-hungry, and left a lot to be desired for early adopters. Besides, it was missing Android’s biggest partner – Samsung. The South Korean giant was busy offering a Galaxy Watch portfolio with an in-house Tizen OS.
Things turned around in 2021 when Google joined with Samsung to co-develop Android 11-based Wear OS 3.0. It delivered a breath of fresh air to Google’s smartwatch efforts with a slick new UI, a 30% performance boost, smooth app switching, better efficiency, and Fitbit-inspired health-tracking features. It paved the way for Google’s first wearable – the Pixel Watch.
What’s the latest Wear OS version?
Since its introduction in August 2021, Wear OS 3.0 has received several feature updates: Wear OS 3.2 (February 2022) and Wear OS 3.5 (October 2022). Google introduced integration with Fitbit, improved Google Assistant, fresh watch faces, and more.
The latestWear OS 4.0brought another major overhaul to the smartwatch OS. Based on Android 13, Wear OS 4.0 delivered a new Material You UI, animated tiles, built-in backups, improved battery life, better golf tracking, and more.
Why should you buy a Wear OS smartwatch?
Here are the top reasons to pick up a smartwatch running the Wear OS.
Wear OS ecosystem
Like Android, Google allows OEM partners to create their own smartwatches with Wear OS. You can choose from a long list of smartwatches from traditional Android hardware partners like Samsung, Google, and OnePlus (the 2nd generation).
you may also go with the usual watchmakers like Mobvoi, Tag Heuer, Casio, Montblanc, and others. Unlike the Apple Watch, the Wear OS ecosystem offers more choices without compromising the core software experience.
You can pick a Galaxy Watch to stay in the Samsung ecosystem, a fitness-focused wearable, stylish-looking hardware from one of the fashion brands, or extend your budget for a smartwatch from luxury brands.
Platform features
Wear OS is an obvious choice if you use an Android phone as your primary device. Since Google develops and maintains both Android and Wear OS, they sync well to exchange relevant information.
For instance, you can receive incoming notifications and messages and manage your calls on compatible models. You can also manage smart home devices like lights, fans, power switches, and more with Google Assistant commands.
Fitness tracking is also well-sorted on Wear OS smartwatches. You can track your steps, run distance, heart rate, and ECG on selected models like the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. You can also check other health features.
Always-on display is another neat add-on to glance over relevant info quickly. You can also wake up the screen with a wrist movement and check your newest messages.
Apps support
Another advantage of using Wear OS is the rich app support. Since it’s the second most popular smartwatch OS, Wear OS supports major apps, including Telegram, WhatsApp, Spotify, Google Maps, Todoist, and more.
10 best Wear OS apps to install on your smartwatch
Looking for some apps to load up on your fancy new wrist computer? We’ve got you covered
Which devices run Wear OS?
All the flagship smartwatches from Samsung and Google run the Wear OS system. Mobvoi also offers a couple of smartwatches, the TicWatch E3 and TicWatch Pro 5, with Wear OS out of the box.
OnePlus is another major OEM that’s expected to board the Wear OS train with the OnePlus Watch 2 launch.
Do Wear OS smartwatches work with an iPhone?
Smartwatches running Wear OS 3.0 are compatible with an iPhone running iOS 15 or higher. However, supported apps and platform features may vary. Wear OS supports notification mirroring and apps like YouTube Music.
Wear OS final shows promising signs
Although Wear OS was off to a rocky start, it’s finally getting back on track thanks to Google’s close partnership with Samsung. If you have a smartwatch running Wear OS or plan to get one in the future, check our dedicated post to learn thetop tips and tricks.
While you’re at it, don’t be surprised if you run into severalWear OS glitches. Google has done a tremendous job improving Wear OS over the last few years, but it still has several rough patches that need to be ironed out in the upcoming updates.
