Since last year, the future of smartwatches for Android devices began to look promising. With Google introducing Wear OS, it ushers in a new era of true smartwatches that can finally compete with the Apple Watch with watchOS.
However, Wear OS 3 is still limited to a few watches such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 and Watch5, the Mont Blanc Summit 3, and the Pixel Watch. Older watches such as Fossil, TicWatch from Mobvoi that were promised to receive Wear OS 3 until today still haven't received the update.
After the launch of the Pixel Watch, Google seems to be getting ready. The watch will receive updates for up to three years, and Wired asked Bj̦rn Kilburn, director of product management for Wear OS Рthe Wear OS operating system will receive a new version every year.
If now it's Wear OS 3, next year it's Wear OS 4. But it could be the same version number, for example the Galaxy Watch5 with Wear OS 3.5 this year instead of Wear OS 3.0. Then, older watches with Snapdragon Wear 4100 and 4100+ processing chips are confirmed to still receive this new generation operating system update at the end of next year.
After updating, all watches need to be reformatted and users need to download a new app from the watch manufacturer as Wear OS 3 no longer supports Wear OS apps. The Wear OS app will be used by watches in China only.