– Wear OS 7 introduces standardized 2×1 and 2×2 widgets that unify Android and Wear OS widget experiences, replacing Tiles in many cases.
– Widgets promise lower power consumption and longer battery life, with some AI features reserved for future devices.
– Third-party widgets are already available (e.g., Spotify and WhatsApp), demonstrating cross-app functionality and greater widget availability.
Wear OS 7 announced with new widgets and powersaving goals
Wear OS 7 was announced a week ago. In addition to the approximately 10 percent lower power consumption and AI features, most of which will only be available on future smartwatch models, the widgets are probably the biggest innovation of the next generation smartwatch operating system. In the video embedded below, Google now explains some more details about these widgets.
Widget formats mirror Android and aim for consistency
As already announced, these widgets are available in two formats – 2×1 and 2×2. These formats are already familiar from Android widgets, and this is no coincidence, as Google’s aim is for widgets on Android and Wear OS 7 to look the same and offer the same functionality. With this change, uses should feel right at home when buying a smartwatch like the Google Pixel Watch 4 ($309 on Amazon).
Standardization and developer benefits
This should also save developers time and effort, which should ultimately ensure that more widgets are available than was previously the case with Tiles. Smartwatch platforms should also be standardized in this way, as the new widgets can not only replace full-screen tiles, but can also be integrated into the widget system of the Samsung Galaxy Watch8.
First third-party widgets introduced
Google has already introduced four widgets from third-party apps, including a Spotify widget that displays the current music playback including album cover, as well as a WhatsApp widget that displays the pictures of six selected contacts so that chats with these people can be accessed directly from the widget. The widgets differ not only visually, but also technically from Tiles, and should consume far less power, thus contributing to the announced longer battery life of Wear OS 7.