We're looking ahead to Wear OS 6, the software that will underline the upcoming Pixel Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 8.
There's nothing official yet about the new Android wearable operating system. However, we're fairly certain that Gemini and a major hardware upgrade will underpin some significant feature changes. And the recent Galaxy Unpacked gave us some feature hints, too.
We also have a fairly clear idea of which watches will receive Wear OS 6, when the update should arrive, and what features it should receive, based on our experience with Wear OS 5.
Let's look ahead at the future of Android smartwatches and break down what to expect from Wear OS 6 in mid-2025.
Wear OS 6 features
Wear OS 6 should arrive first on the Galaxy Watch 8 and Pixel Watch 4, though Samsung's watch will use One UI 7 Watch and have unique features. We'll focus first on Google's mainline version of Wear OS 6.
An APK deep dive found evidence that Google will replace Assistant with Gemini on Wear OS watches soon. We don't know if Gemini will arrive with Wear OS 6 or with the upcoming March 2025 update to Wear OS 5; Google hasn't updated the Pixel Watch 3 since November, so it's possible they're pushing out a major AI update before OS 6.
Whenever it arrives, Gemini on Wear OS 6 will be a major shift, delivering a more intelligent assistant and more useful health and fitness insights.
Unlike Android phones with NPUs for on-device AI, smartwatches don't have the capacity for real AI nor the screen space for drawn-out LLM responses. The Pixel Watch 4 could have a new Snapdragon chip with faster performance, but Google has to make Gemini compatible with the older watch models, too.
That's why Wear OS Gemini tools will require your phone to pass data back and forth over Bluetooth; still, we could get the equivalent of Gemini Live using your watch's mic and speaker, only with a slightly longer delay than on your phone.
Otherwise, we assume Gemini on Wear OS will support extensions with other Google apps, so you can ask Gemini to read out a Gmail inbox summary or create a workout playlist in YouTube Music on the fly.
Beyond Gemini, we don't know what Wear OS 6 will support yet. Google typically reveals future Wear OS features in the spring around Google I/O, so we'll be sure to update this post then.
One UI 7 Watch
One UI 7 Watch, Samsung's version of Wear OS 6, already has a few confirmed features thanks to Galaxy Unpacked 2025, where Samsung's head of Digital Health, Dr. Praveen Raja, spent a few minutes on stage talking about Samsung Health features coming this year.
He described Vascular Load Indicator, a Samsung Health Labs feature that will track how your "daily activities impact your cardiovascular system" so you can "reduce strain on your heart and maintain long-term heart health."
Samsung Health Labs will also add an antioxidant index graph that will inform the Galaxy AI when making "personalized nutrition advice" and "tailored meal plans and recipes." These will presumably be available on your Galaxy Watch 8.
Most intriguing, Raja promised that Samsung Health will have an AI "Coach" that will let you "ask questions, get real-time insights, and receive personalized coaching as if you would from your own personal health assistant."
This coach may only be available on your phone, but a wrist-based version would certainly be useful for on-the-go insights!
Aside from these confirmed tools, we can assume that One UI 7 Watch will have other AI or health-focused features, just as One UI 6 Watch added an Energy Score, AI-based Wellness Tips, new gesture controls, and auto-suggested replies in Messages.
Wear OS 6 eligible watches
Wear OS 6 should arrive first on the Galaxy Watch 8 and Pixel Watch 4 in late summer or early fall this year. After that, there are a dozen other Android smartwatches eligible to receive Wear OS 6.
Samsung has promised that all Galaxy Watches will get four years of major updates. The Galaxy Watch 4, which started with Wear OS 3 and received Wear OS 3.5, 4, and 5 in subsequent years, should end its update cycle with Wear OS 6.
All other Galaxy Watches with Wear OS software should receive the latest update as well. We technically haven't gotten confirmation whether the budget Galaxy Watch FE will get four years, but Wear OS 6 is a given.
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 / Watch 4 Classic
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 / Watch 5 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 / Watch 6 Classic
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
Google has promised three years of updates for its Pixel Watches, but wasn't entirely clear on whether that meant version updates or security updates. The first Pixel Watch launched with Wear OS 3.5, so Wear OS 6 will be its final update if Google does support it.
- Google Pixel Watch
- Google Pixel Watch 2
- Google Pixel Watch 3
OnePlus confirmed to us last year that its new Wear OS watches would receive two version updates and three years of security patches. While the OnePlus Watch 2 and Watch 2R currently remain on Wear OS 4, we suspect they'll receive Wear OS 5 soon after the rumored OnePlus Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro launch.
- OnePlus Watch 2
- OnePlus Watch 2R
Mobvoi doesn't guarantee updates, and its most recent models like the TicWatch 5 Enduro and TicWatch Atlas currently remain on Wear OS 4, with that update arriving in September 2024. It's possible these watches will receive Wear OS 6 eventually, but Wear OS 5 is the first priority; plus, TicWatches no longer support Google Assistant, so Gemini would be wasted on them.
The only other Wear OS brand worth mentioning is Xiaomi, which (like Mobvoi) is about a year behind Google and Samsung's updates. It's possible the Xiaomi Watch 2 and Watch 2 Pro will receive Wear OS 6, but not until 2026 at this current pace.
Wear OS 6 wishlist
Aside from our predicted features above like on-wrist Gemini Live and Samsung training load, we have several features that we'd like to see on Wear OS 6 and/or One UI 7 Watch.
As I wrote in my Wear OS 2025 predictions column, I want to see further battery life improvements with Wear OS 6. Google did a great job extending its current watches with XML watch faces and pushing more processes to the co-processor that uses less battery; I'd like to see them focus even more on efficiency and low-power idling with this next software update to make Android watches more long-lived.
Wear OS 6 should also make watch faces more exciting again. Google banned third-party watch faces on Wear OS 5, which helped with battery life but made your visual options much more restricted and harder to find in the Play Store. I'd like to see Wear OS 6 bring back Facer as an official watch face store for XML faces, as well as a way to generate AI watch faces using Gemini.
Wear OS 5 made some major fitness updates with cardio load, running form analysis, and the ability to follow a target range like pace or heart rate for a workout. Wear OS 6 should continue this fitness focus: It could add downloadable and shareable courses in Google Maps, better syncing with accessories like HRMs or cycling power meters, and better non-running sports guidance like counting gym reps.
On the Gemini front, some kind of Gemini Coach LLM that gives you personalized health advice based on your nightly stats or judges your training load and walks you through future workouts would be a nice perk.
Lastly, I'm hoping Wear OS 6 brings us back to a regular update cadence. After the messy Pixel Watch update rollback and then a months-long wait for new features, it's clear that Google's ambitions for Wear OS sometimes exceed what it can squeeze onto watches at normal intervals. It'd be nice if Wear OS returned to monthly updates to match Pixel drops, and if Google implemented a Wear OS beta program to catch issues before stable rollouts.
