Wear OS gets widgets for quick access to info

Google adds Tiles to Wear OS, the former Android Wear. These are widgets to the right of the home screen containing data about steps taken, a weather forecast, a timer and a heart rate monitor. Now that place only contains data from Google Fit.

The larger version is an animated gif

The Tiles are coming with an update on Wear OS watches, Google says. That will happen next month. It’s unknown if all the features in Tiles will be available on all watches and in all countries, as the search giant only says it may vary by smartwatch model. It seems that all smartwatches that now run the latest version of Wear OS will get the update.

Users can add, remove or reorder Tiles in the Wear app on their smartphone or on the watch itself. The widgets are then available with a swipe to the left on the home screen, the place where data from Google Fit is now located. The data from Fit is one of the Tiles.

The timing of the announcement is striking, because Google will hold its own developer conference I/O next week, at which it always makes many announcements about its own software and platforms.