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Google Is Revamping the Wear OS Smartwatch UI (theverge.com) 38

Posted by BeauHD from the new-and-improved dept.
Google is bringing a new user interface to Wear OS, along with a new feed of information from Google Assistant, faster access to Google Fit, and a more information-dense view of your notifications. The Verge examines all these new changes one by one: The most important change is the one you see above: a feed of information from Google Assistant. It's designed to show you relevant info about your day, like calendar details, package-tracking info, and the weather. Next are notifications, which operate basically the same as before. They still mostly mirror what's on your phone. Dismissing a notification on your watch will do the same on your phone, and many apps will allow you to quick reply with suggested chips. But the best feature here is that Google is going back to a more information-dense display that puts all your notifications on a single, scrollable pane instead of having them fill the entire screen one by one.

Swiping left will now take you to the new Google Fit interface, which shows the two new rings that Google is has created to track your health. One is "move minutes" and the other is "heart points." Last but not least, swiping down takes you to a slightly revamped Quick Settings pane, which adds two oft-requested buttons: one for finding your phone and another for Google Pay. More (but perhaps not enough) Wear OS watches come with NFC now, and the Google Pay button will make sure that the chip is on and ready to pay when you walk up to the point-of-sale terminal.
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Google Is Revamping the Wear OS Smartwatch UI More

Google Is Revamping the Wear OS Smartwatch UI

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  • Add some useful functionality. Seriously, make it actually useful for something. Right now it's not even a good timepiece.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      What's better than new functionality? Better design for the functionality you use most.

      I was an early adopter of smart watches, but I quickly came to the conclusion that I'd rather do most of the things they do on my phone. I wear an analog dive watch because it's superior for the most common task -- telling the time. The rotating bezel is useful for a lot of impromptu timing tasks where I don't want to take my phone out.

      That's not a concern for my kids, because they never don't have their phone out. Di

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AvitarX ( 172628 )

      I'm really hoping for an old AI.

      Version 1.x was awesome. Slightly interactive notifications and an accessory to my phone.

      Then people cried that you couldn't type on it and they made it terrible. Ffs, all of the sudden they pushed me to the play store on the watch.

    • having a smart watch since about a year, there some things besides the time which are really nice and I use regularly - map while running - two factor authentication - stopwatch - check on email - weather - alarm There is room for improvement. like the annoying bugging if the phone is not nearby (like when running). One should be able to download and keep certain frequently used map areas for example.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Sad to say, Samsung is kicking Google's tail in the smart watch category with crap Tizen built on crap Enlightenment toolchain, which is nonetheless better than Android for a watch. One word: native.

    • Except that I have no interest in the Samsung walled garden. Bixby is garbage, and the main reason why "Tizen watches use less battery" is that you can't drain your battery if you have no useful apps.

      I'm looking forward to new Wear hardware later this year. I stopped buying ALL Samsung hardware because they keep pushing that Tizen garbage, and all their special samsung services too. I already have Google. I don't need Samsung's "Me too" crap.

      • the main reason why "Tizen watches use less battery" is that you can't drain your battery if you have no useful apps.

        Wrong, it's because there is no JIT.

        • Wrong, it's because there is no JIT.

          JIT does not do what you think it does. Since KITKAT Google have used ahead-of-time compilation with ART. The JIT compiler was introduced in Nougat to compliment ART to constantly improve runtime performance something you want on a wearable.

          • Since KITKAT Google have used ahead-of-time compilation with ART. The JIT compiler was introduced in Nougat to compliment ART to constantly improve runtime performance something you want on a wearable.

            JIT does not do what you think it does. Why would you JIT already-compiled code?

    • Agreed. And if Tizen ever gets any traction Google might have a real competitor to Android. Almost all of Samsung's products with Smart technology now run Tizen except for their phones. With all of the sh!t moves Google is pulling these days I'm distancing myself from as much of their ecosystem as I can. I have a Wear OS watch and a Pebble 2 and the Pebble 2 is my go to. Wear OS just tries too hard to be a smaller version of Android. I thought not having an Android based wearable would be a disadvantage but

      • Agreed. And if Tizen ever gets any traction Google might have a real competitor to Android.

        If they would rewrite Enlightenment in C++ or reawaken the QT port then I would view it as a viable alternative to Android. Otherwise it looks unlikely to get a whole lot of traction outside Samsung. But in that context I do not deny that it is effective, and certainly a better choice than Android for a watch.

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