While the Google I/O conference traditionally focuses on Gemini and artificial intelligence, it's behind the scenes that the juicy details about operating systems emerge. Wear OS 6 is no exception and arrives with a host of new features for users and developers.
Material 3 Expressive: a fluid and personalized interface
At the heart of Wear OS 6 is Material 3 Expressive, a new design system that Google had teased a few days before the I/O 2025 conference. This interface, which rethinks interaction on round watch screens, is intended to be inherently fluid with scrolling animations that follow the curvature of the screen. Building on what Google already offers on Pixel smartphones, it aims to provide a sense of depth and make information more accessible. Everyday experiences like using the number pad and controlling media have been refreshed with responsive gestures and feedback. Transitions are also smoother, with elements that transform to fit the small screen size.
Dynamic coloring makes its debut, allowing the theme chosen for the watch face to be applied system-wide, offering advanced customization. Google is also introducing "swivel buttons" that stretch to fit the edge of the screen, optimizing space and making them easier to press. Additionally, the information tiles are becoming more engaging, with a new three-position layout for better visual consistency.
Developers will have access to new Jetpack libraries (Wear Compose Material 3 and Wear ProtoLayout Material 3) to integrate this design into their apps and tiles. While the pure Material 3 Expressive system interface may initially be exclusive to Pixel watches, developers will be able to draw inspiration from this code for their own applications.
Up to 10% more battery life
Battery life remains a major issue for Wear OS watches, and one of the most anticipated promises of Wear OS 6 concerns endurance. Thanks to platform optimizations, watches moving from Wear OS 5 to Wear OS 6 could benefit from a battery life gain of up to 10%. Welcome news that doesn't sacrifice aesthetics for performance.
Improved watch face creativity and management, rich media controls...
Customization is a major project for Google, which introduced the Watch Face Format in 2023. This format imposes stricter rules to optimize consumption, reduce maintenance, and offer a consistent user experience, but it can limit customization options. Version 4 of the Watch Face Format, which accompanies Wear OS 6, will offer new options, such as animated state transitions between the ambient and interactive display, and the ability to create photo watch faces.
More importantly, Google will allow developers to create their own app watch face stores. This new feature should solve the problems encountered by popular platforms like Facer, by giving them an official and integrated distribution channel.
Finally, media management from the watch is considerably enhanced. Users will be able to fast-forward or rewind podcasts and jump to a playlist directly from their wrist. More advanced controls like shuffle, like, and loop playback will also be available for supported apps. These improvements are planned for devices running Wear OS 5.1 and later, but will be fully implemented with Wear OS 6.
And of course, there will be artificial intelligence with Gemini's breakthrough on watches running Wear OS 6.
Wear OS 6 is already available in Developer Preview, but only on emulator for the moment. It should arrive later on Google's Pixel Watches. The first watches to officially benefit from it upon launch could be the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, expected this summer, although they will likely feature the One UI Watch interface. Based on Android 16, Wear OS 6 will be launched "later this year".
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