WearOS 4 May Finally Fix One Of The Most Annoying Smartwatch Limitations
If you're the owner of a smartwatch running Google's Wear OS, you've likely encountered a significant drawback of the platform: it doesn't support simultaneous connections with multiple smartphones. What amplifies the frustration is the requirement for users to perform a factory reset on the smartwatch to connect it to a new smartphone. With no solution to this problem for years, most WearOS users had given up on Google and made peace with the fact that this issue may remain unresolved forever.
However, a recent report by 9To5Google's Max Weinbach has indicated that Google is finally taking a significant step to eliminate this major WearOS irritant. While playing around with a beta version of WearOS intended for Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5, Weinbach came across an option that lets users connect an already synced WearOS-powered smartwatch with a new Android phone without undergoing a factory reset.
With the stable version of WearOS 4 likely reaching consumers towards the end of 2023, chances are that it will be a while before the feature rolls out to users of stable WearOS-toting devices. Also pertinent is that Max found this feature on a Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 running One UI, which is essentially a customized version of WearOS for Samsung smartwatches.
How does this new WearOS feature work?
As evident from the images shared by Max, the transfer process with the One UI Watch 5 beta involves confirming that the Google account associated with the watch is the same as the one on the new phone. Once verified, users can seamlessly transfer apps, watch faces, and other vital details from the smartwatch to the new phone.
Given the seemingly straightforward steps needed to sync multiple smartphones with a single WearOS watch, it is perplexing to see why Google took so long to bring this feature to WearOS smartwatches. That said, it isn't entirely clear whether the ability to sync WearOS smartwatches with multiple Android phones would be available across WearOS 4 devices or restricted to just Samsung smartwatches running OneUI Watch 5.
If this feature would, indeed, end up as a Samsung exclusive, it would be just one among the barrage of new features that the South Korean company announced with One UI Watch 5 Beta. Other new features expected with this upcoming smartwatch operating system include a Personalized Heart Rate Zone, an interval training program with multiple intensity levels, and several updates to the Samsung Health app. The platform will also enable new watch faces and enhanced sleep information.
Google — and smartwatch owners around the globe — can expect stable versions of WearOS 4 to roll out later this year. But before that happens, we will need to watch and see what Samsung has in store for us at its upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled for July 2023 where it could announce successors to the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Flip 4.