Skip to main content

Google improves Wear OS and Google Fit with health-focused updates

Google has announced several updates to Wear OS, its smartwatch software platform, as well as the Google Fit app. The updates concentrate on health, activity, and sleep, and the data provided will be easier to find than ever before. Even better, the Fit app’s changes are coming for both the Android and iOS versions.

What will we get? Let’s start with Wear OS. The changes here relate to Tiles, the quick-access information screens that appear with a left swipe on your smartwatch. The Workouts Tile adds a shortcut to show your most recent workouts, rather than having to dig into Google Fit’s menu to find them, and includes a shortcut to repeat the workout plan. You can also set goals and receive pace alerts from the Tile.

Recommended Videos

The Weather Tile is becoming more data rich, with detailed rain forecasts and meteorological alerts, plus it has a new look to make it easier to read quickly. Finally, the Breathe Tile adds a shortcut to Wear OS’ guided breathing exercises, and includes an overview of your heart rate during each one, plus a summary of sessions completed over the course of a week.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

In Google Fit, you’re going to be greeted by a new home screen when you open the app. A new hub will make it easier to immediately see if you’re meeting daily and weekly goals, as well as your Heart Points and steps, along with some more specific data. For example, the hub shows heart rate and blood pressure (if you’re using a compatible device), plus weight alterations if you’re sharing them in the app.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google’s made some changes to the way Google Fit deals with sleep, but you’ll need to have a specific device or app to take advantage. Provided you have a new Fossil Gen 5E smartwatch, or an Android sleep app like Sleep Cycle or Sleep As Android, Google Fit will collate sleep stages and overnight movements, as well asd provide the ability to set sleep schedules. Fit’s new sleep features work with Withings’ Sleep Analyzer and the Oura Ring wearable.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Google says the new features will arrive over the next few days. Keep an eye on the Google Fit app for an update there, too.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Gmail app’s latest updates are all about reading less, doing more
Updated Summary Cards in Gmail.

The Gmail experience on mobile devices is about to get better for a lot of users. Remember Summary Cards, a feature that picks up useful information from an email and presents it in the form of a neat card atop an email?

So far, summary cards have provided details related to package tracking or viewing order details picked up from the information present in an email. Now, Google is adding contextual action buttons to these summary cards.

Read more
Your Wear OS smartwatch could soon get RCS texting
The Google Pixel Watch 3 next to the Pixel Watch.

Your Wear OS smartwatch brings a lot to the table. Fitness tracking, Google Pay, and so many other features live on your wrist, but the watch doesn't have an independent connection from your phone. If you don't have your phone nearby, you can't respond to text messages. New code discovered in the most recent Google Messages app update suggests that could be about to change.

In an APK teardown, Android Authority's Aamir Siddiqui found several lines of code that indicate Google is bringing standalone RCS to Wear OS smartwatches. The flags were found in the Google Messages v20240926 beta and point to not only on-device RCS messaging, but also voice messaging.

Read more
Google has paused its latest Pixel Watch update. Here’s why
The Google Pixel Watch 2 resting on a stone fireplace.

On Thursday, we discussed the issues that some Google Pixel Watch and Google Pixel Watch 2 owners were experiencing while trying to install the Wear OS 5 update on their devices. Google has now temporarily halted the update and stopped its rollout to users.

After installing the Wear OS 5 update, many users of the first two Pixel watches experienced a blank display. Some users reported that the issue resolved itself after they followed a few steps. Google's decision to pull the update unofficially confirms that the issue with Wear OS 5 is real and likely affecting many Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2 users.

Read more