Happy holidays and a happy new year to all Wear OS watch users! Last week I reviewed Wear OS’s strongest year yet And promise I’ll share my predictions for what will happen to Android smartwatches in 2025.
I’m optimistic that 2025 will be the year of change Wear OS watchesbuilding on the solid foundation of 2024 and the long-awaited return fueled by new Snapdragon hardware and Google Gemini.
That said, we can also see some warning signs of what’s coming in 2024, which could cause Android Watch owners some anxiety this year – depending on which brand you own. So good and bad, let’s break down what we can expect from Wear OS watches in 2025, both hardware and software!
New Snapdragon hardware (and replacement with RISC-V)
Google, Mobvoi, OnePlus and Xiaomi use 2022 Snapdragon W5 1st Generation SoC Almost all Wear OS watches over the past 2.5 years have used this technology. Unlike the smartphone chips of the year, the watches don’t have apps that require too much space like games; these watches are fast enough with 2GB of RAM and older chips. However, it’s reasonable to expect an upgrade in 2025, as the latest Wear uses the Cortex-A53 core first released in 2012.
I Interview with Qualcomm Vice President Dino Bekis about Snapdragon Wear Last October, he all but promised to release Snapdragon Wear chips in 2025. “for many years” because it will have enough computing power to focus on whatever tools the OEM wants.
Assuming Qualcomm’s naming convention is followed, the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 may power most Wear OS watches by 2027. RISC-Van open source, energy-saving platform with a custom kernel Qualcomm and Google to collaborate for the first time in 2023.
Bekis said the two companies are still working on porting Wear OS software to RISC-V, a shift that could make Wear OS watches last longer, with the goal of “a week of battery life.” I doubt we’ll get there anytime soon, but it’s something to look forward to.
Anshel Sag, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, called potential RISC-V switches “very interesting” and praised that they would have cheaper custom chips specifically for the application and would “open the door” to new tools. He warned me that he “thinks RISC-V will still take longer than expected,” but that “the rewards could be huge.” If the Pixel Watch 4 isn’t ready by the 2025 deadline, this could lead to Google looking for its replacement.
Google faces Snapdragon/Tensor crossroads
you can reasonably assume Pixel Watch 4 Will use Snapdragon W5 Gen 2, but sources say Google may err on the side of caution And internally developed a Tensor chip, which is essentially a low-power version of Exynos W1000 galaxy watch 7has one 2020 Cortex-A78 core and two Cortex-A55 cores.
Google’s current Tensor strategy Telephone is more focused on in-house development (in partnership with Samsung LSI) and strong AI performance, but at the expense of benchmarking capabilities. Google could take a similar approach to Watch, but decides not to need More space and a greater emphasis on powerful NPUs for Gemini tasks rather than paying a premium to Qualcomm to license its Snapdragon chips.
Google’s partnership with Samsung has underpinned the success of Wear OS, and staying on the same page will make joint software development easier. or It will go all-in on RISC-V in an attempt to differentiate its Pixel line from Samsung’s. I can only guess which path Google will take; I hope It chose the latter simply because it would make the 2025 Pixel Watch 4 more interesting, but also because it was worried that Google would take a safer route.
Health and fitness will remain a primary focus
It’s a pretty safe bet and I won’t spend too long thinking about it. Wear OS 6, however, will continue Google and Samsung’s quest to keep up with fitness rivals like Apple and Garmin.
healthy part Wear OS 5 The One UI 6 Watch update focuses on health features (e.g. sleep apnea/energy score/cardio load) and exercise tools (e.g. AI coaching/running form analysis/pace or heart rate targets during exercise).
With Wear OS 6 watches, Google is expected to add dual-frequency GPS, just like Samsung, and focus on other sports like cycling and weightlifting to complement its newfound running focus. Samsung may follow Google and Apple’s lead and implement some form of training load feature that shows the short- and long-term effects of exercise.
We could also see new health tools, but I’m still skeptical non-invasive blood sugar Until it happens, no matter how many times the company says think Just do it. I don’t know what non-gimmick data points these companies have left to add; maybe mental health Will be the next focus of smart watches.
Gemini will shine in smart watches
Google is cramming through 2024 Gemini And at the end of the year, it promised that Gemini would become the benchmark for its new smart glasses operating system Android XR. Even though I don’t have any proof, I’m fairly confident that Google will make Gemini available with Wear OS 6 as the killer app for the Pixel Watch 4 – probably a lite version Gemini scene.
Suppose Google could take the Gemini Nano—the “minimal” version of its artificial intelligence tools on a smartphone device—and port it to a smartwatch processor. This may depend on what kind of power the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 can provide, and may rule out the current android watch Uses previous generation hardware not designed for Gemini.
“On the Gemini side, I think Google still needs to find a way to make Gemini run smoothly on this kind of limited-performance hardware,” Sag told me. “That may come with RISC-V or some other more powerful platform.” But he agreed that “right now I don’t think the performance of Google Assistant is as good as it should be,” and said he could see artificial intelligence becoming “our The connection structure between all wearable devices”.
If I’m wrong about the Gemini shrinking into wearable form, I’m still hoping that Google adds more AI-driven tricks to Wear OS in some form. For example, it can add its Fitbit Insight Browser to the Pixel Watch 4, so you can ask for background information about your recent workouts — similar to Zepp Coach on Amazfit watches.
Samsung, which has been offering Bixby and Assistant, will also gain access to Gemini. Recently it was revealed Bixby Artificial Intelligence There is LLM capability, but it is currently limited to Chinese phones; we don’t know if the Galaxy Watch 8 will support this feature. techniques on.
Samsung won’t go the squirrel route with Galaxy Watch 8
March 2024, SamMobile Reporting Insider Knowledge Samsung “wants to return to the boxy design of its smartwatches” and has received “enthusiastic” internal support for the plan. this galaxy watch 8 seems to be the most likely candidate.
Samsung hasn’t sold a Squirrel Watch since the Gear S launched in 2014. Although Galaxy Watch Ultra It seems The shape of the display is more square thanks to the titanium bezel, but the display is still round. At the time, some Galaxy Watch fans Hate this idea Abandoning the traditional watch look in favor of a checkered design closely related to the Apple Watch.
I didn’t mind the idea at the time and thought the report was reasonable. But I remembered this recently August report Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong is said to have scolded the MX division’s Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Buds Pro 3 too similar Apple Watch Ultra 2 Identical to AirPods Pro in functionality and appearance.
Lee’s “angry” response makes me wonder if Samsung’s internal enthusiasm for squirrels will show up on the mainline Galaxy Watch. Even if Samsung designed a Squirrel Watch before Samsung did, most people would still think it copied Apple, and that seems to be a sore spot with its chairman.
So don’t be surprised if the Galaxy Watch 8 looks a lot like its predecessor Four Galaxy Watch: machine-cut, flat, bezel-less. As for the other models, we’re getting the twice-a-year Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, and Samsung will likely continue selling the Ultra as-is for a year before launching the Ultra 2 (or ditching it like the Watch 5 Pro).
Wear OS will bring back Facer
This may be nothing more than wishful thinking because Facer is one of my favorite Wear OS apps This comes after Google made the XML watch face format the default on Wear OS 5 to save battery life and put the decade-old app and its developers in trouble. But I hope Facer comes back, I think it will happen in 2025.
Google isn’t going back on its restrictions and letting battery-hungry faces return to Wear OS; they make watches look aesthetically short-lived. But its current solution—scrolling through a long list of watch faces in the Play Store without any organization—is terrible. Facer says it’s “working with Google to resolve this issue” and offer alternatives, and I trust them.
My guess is that Google will once again allow third-party apps to share watch faces to Wear OS, as long as they are XML-encoded, which will put the Facer back on new Wear OS watches — even with most of its 500,000 watch faces None. At the very least, interesting XML watch faces will be easier to find on Facer, which in turn will incentivize developers to start make XML gives us a creative face.
My not-so-reliable predictions for Wear OS in 2025
None of the above is certain, but I at least have evidence or solid reasons to speculate. Now I’m going to abandon my predictions for Wear OS in 2025, which are based on nothing but vibration:
I wouldn’t be surprised if Another Android OEM Make a Wear OS watch. Motorola once sold Android Wear-based Motorcycle 360 But now focusing on budget Moto OS trackers, it seems to be a possible candidate.
I’m worried too Wear OS updates are slow 2025. Has been an issue since Wear OS 3but I’m worried that brands like Mobvoi will get stuck on Wear OS 5 and continue to sell Wear OS 4 watches in the meantime. With Wear OS 6, the gap between the new watch and the previous generation may be even wider.
We’ll probably see the first Wearing an OS watch Masimo health sensorbut the hardware may not be integrated into the watch until after 2025.
Finally, I would hazard a guess that Google will Fitbit will be available on all Wear OS watches by 2025. Even if it means losing the exclusivity of the Pixel Watch, the data payoff is worth it for them.