- Google Maps on Wear OS gets new public transportation directions
- Google Wallet Passes Are Finally Available on Wear OS, Too
- OnePlus Watch 2 pioneers a new notification system to save battery
If you own a Wear OS smartwatch, Google just revealed some new features coming to your wrist, including a handy new Google Maps feature to make your trips a little smoother.
Announced during MWC 2024, which also saw the arrival of watches like OnePlus Watch 2 and Xiaomi Watch 2, the new public transport directions for Google Maps on Wear OS will allow you to see the departure times of your bus, train or ferry on your doll. .
Previously, searching for a destination in Google Maps on Wear OS only showed options for driving, biking, and walking. But now not only will you get public transportation routes without using your phone, but Google Maps will also give you compass-guided directions to your destination.
This isn't the only update Wear OS just received at MWC 2024. Google also finally made Wallet passes, which include things like boarding passes, gym memberships, concert tickets, and loyalty cards, available in the Wear OS watches.
While this is something Apple Watch owners have had for years, it means that Wear OS watch owners will finally be able to see any tickets they've added to their Google Wallet on their wrist, including the QR codes that will be scanned. at the entrance.
Finally, as The Verge reported, the new OnePlus Watch 2 pioneers a new built-in notification system that could dramatically improve battery life on future Wear OS watches. OnePlus' new wearable is the first to offload notification processing to the watch's microcontroller unit (MCU), rather than the application processor (AP).
According to Bjorn Kilburn (Google's vice president of Wear OS), this means that owners will be able to view and dismiss notifications without involving the AP, allowing the latter to remain asleep and helping preserve battery life.
As we noted in our OnePlus Watch 2 story, this and the fact that the Watch 2 includes two chipsets, each running a separate operating system, means it has a 100-hour battery life.
That's pretty impressive considering that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, which currently takes the top spot in our best smartwatches guide, only lasts about 40 hours per charge. And according to Kilburn, other Wear OS watch makers will be able to use the OnePlus Watch 2's battery-conserving trick.
A sign of things to come?
Wear OS has been something of a rollercoaster since it was announced (as Android Wear) almost a decade ago, in March 2014. While it started off brilliantly, in recent years Wear OS has seemed a bit abandoned by both Google and by smart watch manufacturers.
Fortunately, it is now enjoying something of a resurgence. These new features may not be earth-shattering, but they show that Wear OS is still being taken care of and updated. And the arrival of new watches, especially from OnePlus and Xiaomi, shows that it is not just Samsung and Google that are keeping it afloat.
The downside is that Wear OS is still a pretty inconsistent experience. The OnePlus Watch 2 remains one of the few smartwatches to run Wear OS 4, even with recent alternatives like the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro running Wear OS 3.5.
Last month, we also saw Fossil announce that it was abandoning smartwatches, which wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of Wear OS and its ability to compete with the Apple Watch. Still, at least we don't have Samsung further diluting its potential with Tizen-powered smartwatches, and hopefully these new Wear OS updates are just the start of some bigger updates coming in 2024.
