Google's Wear OS 3 Confirmed Watch Upgrade List Is Alarmingly Small
The announcement of Wear OS 3 created much excitement and hype around the smartwatch platform, but upgrading might not be possible for many.
Google has revealed the list of current smartwatches that will be eligible to upgrade to Wear Os 3, and it's a very small list. Previously, it was thought that the new addition to Wear OS - birthed from a partnership between Samsung and Google - would be widely available upon release. While the update was supposed to be a new dawn for Wear OS, incorporating everything amazing about Google's software and Tizen, and bringing it to the current line of Android watches, that idea might be far from the reality when it comes to upgrading.
Back in May of this year, Google announced the development of the next upgrade to Wear OS. The focus of the upgrade was to improve on everything great about both Tizen and the current Wear software, combining them and creating a smoother and faster operating system. Google understood that current Android smartwatches lacked somewhat in terms of performance, not only due to the hardware itself but the software as well. Across the board, the new Wear OS is supposed to change Android smartwatches for the better.
However, the dream of a better operating system may come at a hefty price. Specifically, the cost of a brand new smartwatch. Google has now confirmed that the Wear OS 3 upgrade will only be available on select current smartwatches, such as Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, TicWatch Pro 3 Cellular/LTE, and the TicWatch E3, as well as newer TicWatch wearables. The company also mentioned that Fossil watches due to launch later in the year will be on the list. That list is very small and may come as a shock to a lot of users who either just bought a new Android smartwatch, or those who purchased one more than a year ago. Either way, unless their smartwatch is one of the few mentioned, it might be the case that they won't see an upgrade without purchasing a new Wear device.
The time-frame given for when Wear OS 3 will start rolling out is "mid to second half of 2022," according to Google. If a user happens to have one of the supported TicWatch devices, there is going to be a further caveat to upgrading the device. Google mentioned that in order to get Wear OS 3, the device will need to be fully reset. This is most likely due to the complete overhaul taking place under the hood and the supposed number of changes that need to take place. While not yet available, Mobvoi and future Fossil users will need to be ready to reset their devices in order to make the software update. Google is also very much aware that a lot of users may not want to upgrade to the new Wear platform. For that reason, it has decided to make Wear OS 3 an opt-in upgrade, meaning if a user doesn't want it, they won't need to have it.
Another interesting note is that Google is committing to two years of updates for those with a device that won't be eligible for the Wear OS upgrade. That time period starts from the launch of the device, not when it was purchased. Google is also promising the new app experiences found in Gboard and Google Play to everyone, even if they don't opt in. For the few who have a device capable of upgrading, expect a notification sometime in 2022. For those wanting all the new features and flare of Wear OS 3 (and don't have an eligible device), it looks like the purchase of a brand new Android smartwatch might be required.
Source: Google