Google Play on Wear OS rolls out with new design, cross-device app installs coming soon

What you need to know

• Wear OS smartwatches are getting a redesigned Play Store experience.
• The Android Play Store will soon allow cross-device app installs for Wear OS devices.
• These new Play Store features will be available "in the coming weeks" for current Wear OS smartwatches.

Google is officially announcing the rollout of an updated Play Store experience that will bring the best Android phones closer together with Wear OS.

The first is the new cross-device app install feature that the company talked about at its annual Google I/O developer conference. Compatible apps with a Wear OS counterpart will include the ability to directly install the app straight from the phone. This will help relieve users of having to dig into the Wear OS Play Store to find the same app and could make the "Apps on your phone" section more or less redundant.

With the new experience, users will be able to select which version of the app they want.

Google says it's also improving how users discover Wear OS apps on the Play Store with new filters that should make them easier to find.

Additionally, Google has officially announced the new Material You redesign for the Wear OS Play Store. The redesign has been spotted on some Wear OS devices already, surprising users of the best Wear OS watches.

Google says the new design "simplifies the experience of navigating the small surface area of a watch face" by placing items in cards.

The Wear OS Play Store will also improve prompts for in-app purchases that must be completed from your smartphone.

The new design closely resembles Google and Samsung's Wear OS update expected later this year, although unfortunately, many current Wear OS devices may not receive the update. Fortunately, Google has already been making some changes to some Wear OS apps to help fill the void.

The new Play Store updates should appear "in the coming weeks" and will be available on Wear OS 2.x devices.