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<\/p>\nPosted by Chiara Chiappini<\/a> \u2013 Developer Relations Engineer<\/em><\/p>\n This year, we\u2019re excited to introduce Wear OS 6: the most power-efficient and expressive version of Wear OS yet.<\/p>\n Wear OS 6 introduces the new design system we call Material 3 Expressive<\/a>. It features a major refresh with visual and motion components designed to give users an experience with more personalization. The new design offers a great level of expression to meet user demand for experiences that are modern, relevant, and distinct. Material 3 Expressive is coming to Wear OS, Android, and all your favorite Google apps on these devices later this year.<\/p>\n The good news is that you don\u2019t need to compromise battery for beauty: thanks to Wear OS platform optimizations, watches updating from Wear OS 5 to Wear OS 6 can see up to 10% improvement in battery life.1<\/sup><\/p>\n Today we\u2019re releasing the Developer Preview of Wear OS 6, the next version of Google\u2019s smartwatch platform, based on Android 16.<\/p>\n Wear OS 6 brings a number of developer-facing changes, such as refining the always-on display experience. Check out what\u2019s changed<\/a> and try the new Wear OS 6 emulator<\/a> to test your app for compatibility with the new platform version.<\/p>\n Material 3 Expressive for the watch is fully optimized for the round display. We recommend developers embrace the new design system in their apps and tiles. To help you adopt Material 3 Expressive in your app, we have begun releasing new design guidance<\/a> for Wear OS, along with corresponding Figma design kits<\/a>.<\/p>\n As a developer, you can get access the Material 3 Expressive on Wear OS using new Jetpack libraries:<\/p>\n These two libraries provide implementations for the components catalog that adheres to the Material 3 Expressive design language.<\/p>\n The Wear Compose Material 3 and Wear Protolayout Material 3 libraries provide updated and extended color schemes, typography, and shapes to bring both depth and variety to your designs. Additionally, your tiles now align with the system font by default (on Wear OS 6+ devices), offering a more cohesive experience on the watch.<\/p>\n Both libraries introduce dynamic color theming<\/a>, which automatically generates a color theme for your app or tile to match the colors of the watch face of Pixel watches.<\/p>\n Tiles now support a new framework and a set of components that embrace the watch’s circular form factor. These components make tiles more consistent and glanceable, so users can more easily take swift action on the information included in them.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve introduced a 3-slot tile layout to improve visual consistency in the Tiles carousel. This layout includes a title slot, a main content slot, and a bottom slot, designed to work across a range of different screen sizes:<\/p>\n The new Wear OS Material 3 components automatically adapt to larger screen sizes, building on the Large Display support<\/a> added as part of Wear OS 5. Additionally, components such as Buttons and Lists support shape morphing on apps.<\/p>\n The following sections highlight some of the most exciting changes to these components.<\/p>\n We introduced a new EdgeButton<\/a> for apps and tiles with an iconic design pattern that maximizes the space within the circular form factor, hugs the edge of the screen, and comes in 4 standard sizes.<\/p>\n The new TransformingLazyColumn<\/span> from the Foundation library makes expressive motion easy with motion that fluidly traces the edges of the display. Developers can customize the collapsing behavior of the list when scrolling to the top, bottom and both sides of the screen. For example, components like Cards<\/span> can scale down as they are closer to the top of the screen.<\/p>\n Material 3 Expressive also includes a ScrollIndicator<\/span> that features a new visual and motion design to make it easier for users to visualize their progress through a list. The ScrollIndicator<\/span> is displayed by default when you use a TransformingLazyColumn<\/span> and ScreenScaffold<\/span>.<\/p>\n Lastly, you can now use segments with the new ProgressIndicator, which is now available as a full-screen component for apps and as a small-size component for both apps and tiles.<\/p>\n To learn more about the new features and see the full list of updates, see the release notes of the latest beta release of the Wear Compose<\/a> and Wear Protolayout<\/a> libraries. Check out the migration guidance for apps<\/a> and tiles<\/a> on how to upgrade your existing apps, or try one of our codelabs<\/a> if you want to start developing using Material 3 Expressive design.<\/p>\n With Wear OS 6 we are launching updates for watch face developers:<\/p>\n Learn more about what’s new in Watch Face updates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Look for more information about the general availability of Wear OS 6 later this year.<\/p>\n Since our last major release, we’ve improved capabilities and the developer experience of the Tiles and ProtoLayout libraries to address feedback we received from developers. Some of these enhancements include:<\/p>\n The example below shows how to display a layout with a text on a Tile using new enhancements:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more information, see the migration instructions<\/a>.<\/p>\n The CredentialManager API<\/a> is now available on Wear OS, starting with Google Pixel Watch devices running Wear OS 5.1. It introduces passkeys to Wear OS with a platform-standard authentication UI that is consistent with the experience on mobile.<\/p>\n The Credential Manager Jetpack library provides developers with a unified API that simplifies and centralizes their authentication implementation. Developers with an existing implementation on another form factor can use the same CredentialManager code, and most of the same supporting code to fulfill their Wear OS authentication workflow.<\/p>\n Credential Manager provides integration points for passkeys, passwords, and Sign in With Google, while also allowing you to keep your other authentication solutions as backups.<\/p>\n Users will benefit from a consistent, platform-standard authentication UI; the introduction of passkeys and other passwordless authentication methods, and the ability to authenticate without their phone nearby.<\/p>\n Check out the Authentication on Wear OS guidance<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n Devices that run Wear OS 5.1 or later support enhanced media controls. Users who listen to media content on phones and watches can now benefit from the following new media control features on their watch:<\/p>\n Developers with an existing implementation of action buttons<\/a> and playlist<\/a> can benefit from this feature without additional effort. Check out how users will get more controls from your media app on a Google Pixel Watch device.<\/p>\n With these updates, there\u2019s never been a better time to develop an app on Wear OS. These technical resources are a great place to learn more how to get started:<\/p>\n Earlier this year, we expanded our smartwatch offerings with Galaxy Watch for Kids<\/a>, a unique, phone-free experience designed specifically for children. This launch gives families a new way to stay connected, allowing children to explore Wear OS independently with a dedicated smartwatch. Consult our developer guidance<\/a> to create a Wear OS app for kids.<\/p>\n We\u2019re looking forward to seeing the experiences that you build on Wear OS!<\/p>\n Explore this announcement and all Google I\/O 2025 updates on io.google<\/a> starting May 22.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEjP5d-DTtcDafKrQB-N_rY9u_SZxiuCpXFMxS5qG8EwGSpejAJcOUxAcumJzTqU_TQrYkk-9D9IWSB30Hw5JJSr_fDtU4RDW4b6bVqmeeEr-bmRAB4Q0zFSu_Yeu2AeIi_fbcCJskN7HxdSpxSwAxJw1PEO3LrUP0lcUFrZEc-gClxpXRih3PJuQ8N6WWY\/s1600\/new-in-wear-os-6-google-io-2025%20%281%29.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nWear OS 6 developer preview<\/span><\/h2>\n
Material 3 Expressive on Wear OS<\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/div>\nMake it personal with richer color schemes using themes<\/span><\/h3>\n
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<\/div>\nMake it more glanceable with new tile components<\/span><\/h3>\n
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<\/div>\nHighlight user actions and key information with components optimized for round screen<\/span><\/h3>\n
Embrace the round screen with the Edge Hugging Button<\/span><\/h4>\n
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<\/div>\nFluid navigation through lists using new indicators<\/span><\/h4>\n
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<\/div>\nWatch Faces<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Library updates<\/span><\/h2>\n
ProtoLayout<\/span><\/h3>\n
\/\/ returns a LayoutElement for use in onTileRequest()<\/span>\nmaterialScope(context, requestParams.deviceConfiguration) {\n primaryLayout(\n mainSlot = {\n text(\n text = \"Hello, World!\"<\/span>.layoutString,\n typography = BODY_LARGE,\n )\n }\n )\n}\n<\/pre>\n<\/div>\nCredential Manager for Wear OS<\/span><\/h2>\n
Richer Wear Media Controls<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Start building for Wear OS 6 now<\/span><\/h2>\n