Google has commenced the testing of Put on OS 5.1, its upcoming working system (OS) for Android-based wearables similar to smartwatches, based on a report. Check builds of the OS are stated to have been noticed for the Pixel Watch 2 which means that it might be based mostly on a distinct model of Android. Google first introduced its Put on OS 5 platform at I/O 2024 in Might, highlighting a number of of its options similar to enhancements to the Watch Face Format and grid-based app launcher.
Google’s Put on OS 5.1 Check Builds
In accordance with a report by Android Authority, Put on OS 5.1 could also be based mostly on Android 15 – the upcoming OS for Android units. That is stated to interrupt the pattern of earlier years the place Put on OS has been based mostly on the Android model from a 12 months prior. As an example, Put on OS 3, which was launched final 12 months, was based mostly on 2022’s Android 13.
An identical sample was noticed with the Android 14-based Put on OS 5 that debuted with the Galaxy Watch 7 in July within the type of One UI 6 Watch. If this purported OS certainly launches, it can mark the primary time in two years that Google introduces an interim level replace, with the final comparable replace being Put on OS 3.5 which got here out in October 2022. Nonetheless, the report provides that the moniker shouldn’t be official and the tech big might select to vary it previous to its launch.
Put on OS 5.1’s take a look at builds are reported to have identifiers beginning with “AP4A”. Nonetheless, there is no such thing as a details about any of its options or the discharge timeline.
New Watch Face Format
With Put on OS 5, Google confirmed that watch faces developed for smartwatches with out utilizing the Watch Face Format (WFF) will not be supported on the Google Play Retailer. Whereas smartwatches operating Put on OS 2 or later will nonetheless have entry to the present non-WFF watch faces, information will not be carried over if the person decides to modify to a Put on OS 5-powered smartwatch. Moreover, choose watch faces is probably not obtainable for obtain both.
This variation arrived after the introduction of WFF by Google in 2023, in partnership with Samsung.
