Google’s Wear OS smartwatch platform has fallen pretty far behind its competitors, but it seems the company has a plan to even things up.
Hot on the heels of its acquisition of Fitbit, the company has launched a survey to poll users about the features they’d like to see included on future Wear OS devices, or within Google Fit.
This list isn’t limited to, but is dominated by, fitness features. The list was spotted by Droid Life, which has the full list of features that Google is seeking feedback on.
What’s striking is how normal many of these features have become on top wearables, and it’s sobering to think that Google is so far off things like auto activity detection, sleep analysis and even smart alarms. That’s before we even get to SpO2 detection for sleep apnea detection or ECG, which can be found on the Fitbit Versa 2 and Apple Watch Series 5.
There’s no guarantee that these features are coming to Wear OS or Google Fit, but it does show that the company has acknowledged how far behind it’s become in terms of health and wellness.
And that’s not just bad for customers. The Gen 5 range of Fossil wearables, which has been a loyal servant to Wear OS, is weakened because of a proper health platform.
It’s become tough to recommend Wear OS, not just because of health features, but that platform has stagnated. That’s become evident on the Suunto 7, which has underwhelmed us when it should run rings around devices like the Apple Watch Series 5.
Google Fit was updated back in 2019, but it still feels like a basic experience. What’s more, a lot of the data should feel part of the watch experience, but there’s precious little at the moment.
While we can’t see any major updates happening soon, this is a clear indication that Google is gearing up for a major change.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.