Google is making its Wear smartwatch OS even smarter (GOOGL)

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Google plans to revampWear OS, its smartwatch operating system (OS), through an update that will enhance the functionality and design of Wear OS smartwatches, which the company plans to roll out over the next month.

The news marks Google's first major overhaul to its smartchwatch OS since rebranding Android Wear as Wear OS this past March. Google Wear Smartwatch

The improved Wear OS will help users better navigate their smartwatches and fast-track access to information and suggestions through Google Assistant:

Notifications will be smarter and more convenient. Users will now be able to swipe up on the device to browse through a stream of notifications. This represents a significant improvement from the current version as notifications are paganized — meaning users have to swipe five times to view five notifications. The new notification design also offers built-in smart replies and suggestions for opening other features like Google Pay. This enables Wear OS watch owners to more easily access apps and respond to messages, for example.
Google Assistant will intuitively present personalized information and suggestions. By swiping right, users will be able to view a feed of predictive, personalized information provided by Google Assistant based on their location, notifications, calendar events, and other information. For example, if a user is headed to the airport, Assistant might present their flight status and suggest a restaurant near their hotel, which the user can tap on to learn more about. The improved Assistant design is reminiscent of the visual snapshot feature on Android smartphones, which will help to make the Assistant experience more consistent across devices.

Google’s redesign makes Wear OS more competitive in the smartwatch market as the updates place its OS on par with its competitors'.

For example, Apple’s watchOS 4 already allows users to browse through a vertical list of notifications, and the company is planning on enabling personalized suggestions from Siri with watchOS 5, which is expected to roll out this fall.

And Samsung’s Tizen 4.0 smartwatch OS, currently available on the Galaxy Watch, provides users with a daily briefing feature, similar to Wear OS’ new Assistant feature.

Smartwatch OS vendors will likely continue to take steps to provide the best user experience to stay ahead of the growing smartwatch market — global smartwatch shipments are expected to double from 44 million in 2018 to 89 million in 2022, according to IDC.

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