What you need to know
- Google has set new requirements for all Wear OS apps.
- By August 31, 2023, Wear OS apps must target the latest version and be updated with the new Wear OS 3 requirements.
- Google lists new requirements for apps in Wear OS 3, including black backgrounds, activity indicators, and more.
Wear OS 3 has been around for a while, and with more smartwatches receiving the latest version of Google’s wearable OS, the company is setting some new ground rules for developers.
In a blog post on Tuesday, Google announced that new requirements for Wear OS apps will go into effect on August 31, 2023. Based on Wear OS 3.
Google Product Manager Ishaan Aggarwal writes:. “In addition, updates to publishing requirements improve discovery and display of Wear OS apps in the Google Play Store.”
This blog post lists some of the requirements that your app must meet before the August 31st deadline. These include UI changes that help your app better fit the Wear OS 3 design language. This includes displaying time over black backgrounds and apps, except for certain dialogs or confirmation screens.
Apps should also provide an activity indicator at the bottom of the watch face, within the app launcher, and on the associated app tile.
image 1 of 3
The full list of requirements includes navigation, visual quality, accessibility, and other changes to tiles, as well as performance and Google Play listing guidelines.
Apps for Wear OS watches that do not meet the requirements by the August 31st deadline will be undiscoverable by all Google Play users whose devices are running Android OS versions newer than the app’s target API level. ”.
The Pixel Watch is one of the best Android smartwatches you can buy. Thanks to Fitbit integration, it has an eye-catching sleek design, great performance, optional LTE connectivity, and great health and fitness features.
