At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Google unveiled several updates aimed at improving the Wear OS smartwatch platform. The most notable change is a revamp of how notifications are handled, which Google says will significantly improve battery life.
The new notification system takes advantage of the dual processors used in Wear OS devices – an application processor for power-hungry tasks, and an ultra-low power co-processor for basic functions like step counting. Under the new system, notification processing will be offloaded to the co-processor, allowing the main processor to remain asleep longer.
This change was implemented specifically for the newly announced OnePlus Watch 2. OnePlus claims the watch will achieve up to 100 hours of battery life thanks to the more efficient notification system. Google’s Bjorn Kilburn said other Wear OS devices will also be able to take advantage of the “hybrid interface for bridged notifications” in the future.
Beyond notifications, Google also unveiled Google Wallet support and public transit directions in Google Maps for Wear OS. Users will soon be able to store passes for transit, events, the gym and more right on their wrist. Additionally, they’ll be able to look up real-time transit schedules and get turn-by-turn walking directions – no phone required.
The announcements show Google remains committed to incrementally improving Wear OS, despite its ongoing fragmentation issues. Most devices aside from Samsung‘s Galaxy Watches still run Wear OS 3 instead of the newer Wear OS 4. And major player Fossil recently announced plans to exit the smartwatch market altogether.
Still, by tackling pain points like subpar battery life, Google hopes to make its smartwatch platform more appealing to both users and device makers going forward. The coming months will reveal whether these efforts are enough to spur renewed interest and adoption.
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