Opinion: Why it doesn't matter that Google no longer has a software problem
Developer conferences like Google I/O don’t typically provide major product news or buzzy announcements, but they are apparently the perfect place for mind-melting, rainbow-robed performances from Marc Rebillet.
On the business side, they also typically act as a de facto state of the union; a chance for a company to dive into the finer points relating to software without getting bogged down in device specs and design enhancements.
So, fresh off the announcement of Wear OS 5 – widely expected to debut on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 series this summer – where does Google’s smartwatch platform sit in 2024?
In many ways, things have never been better – and Google has even rolled a key stat out to prove it.
With the Pixel Watch 2 launch and other releases from its partners – Samsung, OnePlus, Mobvoi, OPPO, and Xiaomi – the Wear OS user base grew by 40% in 2023.
Coming later this year, too, are a few neat additions.
What’s new with Wear OS 5?
Google is improving things for developers with friendly changes to Watch Face Format, with the superb interoperability platform, Health Connect, also now allowing for wider history delving and background data checks.
The Google Health Services APIs will also grow to add helpful insights for runners like ground contact time, stride length, and vertical oscillation.
But the real juice is in the battery life tweaks and optimizations for different-sized watches.
Let’s start with what’s new with battery life.
Since Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon W5 series chips, Wear OS has been a platform transformed. Most watches with the hardware have been able to offer genuine multi-day battery life, and Google now claims battery efficiency will be improved again with Wear OS 5.
In background briefings, the company compared tracking workouts to demonstrate this trend.
With Wear OS 5, running a marathon will consume 20% less power (on the smartwatch, to be clear – your legs will still offer the same amount of power as before) than it did with Wear OS 4.
It’s a solid-looking refinement, and I’m hoping it manifests in the platform’s next major mascot – the Pixel Watch 3 – offering uncompromised, 3-day battery life when it likely arrives later this year.
Alongside improved battery life are, as I mentioned, those developer tools for watches of different sizes. Despite plenty of OEM variation available since Wear OS 3 launched, only really Google and Samsung have been able to cater to both small and large wrist sizes.
I expect the next wave of Wear OS devices to be the most diverse yet, now that developers have the tools to better optimize the platform.
“With the momentum surrounding Wear OS, we’re seeing a wider variety of round screen sizes and resolutions, which provides more choices for the user,” Google said in its announcement post.
“We are releasing new guidelines on how to build responsive UIs for different watch display sizes, as well as updates to existing libraries to introduce adaptive layouts and components.”
The Pixel Watch 3 is already widely rumored to come in a larger case size – finally – and it’s conceivable that this could also result in friendlier dimensions for future generations from Mobvoi, OnePlus, and others.
To summarize, then, Wear OS 5 looks pretty good. And the iterative nature of the announcement shows just how far Google has pushed the platform in a relatively short timeframe.
But there’s a nagging question I’ve been asking myself since seeing the Wear OS 5 upgrades: do any of these updates convince users to side with Google over Apple?
The bigger picture
For a while now, our opinion at Wareable HQ has been that Apple’s advantage in the smartwatch market is insurmountable. And we’re not necessarily changing our mind after seeing these latest upcoming features.
Recent findings from Counterpoint Research suggest Wear OS has bitten into Apple’s lead over the last year or two – and Google’s growing user base mentioned earlier backs up this resurgence – but it’s also true that the Cupertino giant still accounts for around 50% of smartwatch shipments outside of China.
The key factor holding Google back from matching Apple’s market share, I think, is that the points of difference between the two platforms are becoming increasingly minor.
Google has finally gotten Wear OS up to a standard very much on par with Apple’s watchOS, and, in some cases, is superior. What will come next is likely tit-for-tat trading between the pair, much like we’ve come to see with Android and iOS.
And if the only major difference left between the platforms is phone compatibility, I suspect those already embedded into the Apple ecosystem will be unlikely to switch based on any software update.
Apple being the only reliable, rounded smartwatch for such an extended period has likely had an irreversible effect – one that could only be undone by the market leader neglecting its lineup over an extended period. And that just isn’t likely, either.
Ultimately, the iterative yet powerful updates brought through Wear OS 5 prove what we’ve seen for the last 18 months or so – it’s no longer a platform underserving users or a to jump ship.
This is a platform that can seriously compete. And with a steady flow of updates like what we’ve seen with Wear OS 5, the lines will blur between the two major platforms.
It just so happens, though, that this also means that we’re unlikely to ever see Google turn the tables in the smartwatch market.
