Wear OS
Wear OS 4 Beta Program coming soon for Pixel Watch
Google is working on a new version of the smartwatch software, Wear OS 4. Obviously, the next Wear OS version will have some new features and improvements that make the smartwatches better. Ahead of the official release, some Pixel Watch users can test Wear OS 4 features by joining the “Wear OS Beta Program”.
The source page reveals two devices for the Wear OS Beta program that are Google Pixel Watch Bluetooth/Wi-Fi and Pixel Watch 4G LTE Bluetooth/Wi-Fi.
To join the program, you will probably have to do the same thing as for phones and just click an “Opt-in” button for your watch. Then you will get the update soon.
Furthermore, the “Your eligible devices” section has been reworded to “Android Devices” instead of “Phones.” That means the Pixel Tablet and Fold, which might come with Android 14 Beta 4, will be there too. However, we can expect a new carousel/section for Wear OS when the program starts.
Aside from this, Samsung also offers smartwatches and uses its own version of Wear OS called One UI Watch. However, several Galaxy Watch users already testing the latest One UI Watch 5 software based on Wear OS 4.
Google Maps has updated its Wear OS Tile to enhance navigation for wearable device users. The fresh update introduces a direct shortcut to the map view to make it easier for users to access maps and transit information quickly.
With the new update, the Search button has been replaced with a Map button, allowing users to access the map view directly. This view not only shows locations but also serves as a simple compass, a feature not available on the Pixel Watch.
Previously, the Google Maps app Tile included a Search button that opened the app’s main feed and showed recent searches and nearby points of interest on Wear OS devices. But now, you can directly go to the map view.
Users can tap on locations for details and see transit stop schedules. To exit the map view, there’s a close button on the left side. This new change enhances the user experience on Wear OS devices, providing more efficient ways to navigate.
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Google’s upcoming developer conference, Google I/O 2024, is expected to introduce Wear OS 5. This new version is anticipated to bring significant improvements to the platform, focusing on user experience and app development.
Based on Android 14, Wear OS 5 will include a redesigned Watch Face Format. This format aims to optimize watch faces to make them more efficient and adaptable to various screen sizes. This is especially relevant as the market sees an increase in smartwatch dimensions, highlighted by rumors of a larger Pixel Watch 3 model.
For developers, Wear OS 5 is set to offer enhanced tools that simplify the process of creating apps for different watch sizes. While details are still forthcoming, the update hinted at in the I/O schedule suggests that Wear OS 5 will be a significant step forward in the evolution of Google’s wearable technology for a better smartwatch experience.
Aside from this, Google will soon release an OS-level upgrade to Android TV and Google TV to explore user experience improvements. Also, the integration of Compose for TV and Android Studio tools is ready to simplify the creation of visually appealing TV apps.
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Google‘s Wear OS 4 devices are getting a new text-to-speech (TTS) engine, which promises to be faster and more reliable than the previous version. The new TTS engine is designed to work well on low-memory devices, such as the Pixel Watch and the Galaxy Watch 6, which have only 2 GB of RAM.
The new TTS engine of Wear OS 4 supports over 50 languages, with seven of them pre-loaded in the system image including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. Users can also download other languages when they connect their watch to Wi-Fi and charge it.
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According to the information (via 9to5Google), the new TTS engine can synthesize speech in about 10 seconds after the device is booted, and apps can pre-load it if they need immediate access. The speed improvement is due to the use of smaller and more efficient machine learning (ML) models for prosody.
The new TTS engine can be integrated into Wear OS apps using the same Android APIs as before. It can be used for various purposes, such as accessibility services, exercise coaching, navigation, and reading-aloud notifications. However, Google mentioned that the TTS engine is not meant for long texts, such as articles or podcasts.
