What you need to know
- The next version of Wear OS, called Wear OS 5.1, is now available for testing as a developer preview.
- The Android 15-based software update can be manually tested within the Android Studio emulator in a virtual Wear OS device.
- Although it’s still early, new features include the ability to play audio out of smartwatch speakers and access the new Credential Manager API.
Google is giving us our first look at the next Wear OS update, which is based on Android 15. The company released the first developer preview of Wear OS 5.1 last week, and it’s now available for testing in an Android Studio virtual device. Although it’s still early, Google already revealed two key Wear OS 5.1 features: watch speaker audio playback and a credential manager.
The build number for the initial Wear OS 5.1 preview release is AP4A.241205.004.F1, and there are a few known issues. Google recommends developers start testing their Wear OS apps with the latest version to adjust to behavior changes in Android 15. Notably, some Android 15 behavior changes won’t be arriving on Wear OS 5.1, like Private Spaces and predictive back animations. The known bugs are as follows:
- The emulator doesn’t always allow the user to add an account during the setup flow following a device reset.
- When tapping on a notification, the app that sent the notification doesn’t open until the user scrolls the screen.
- Wear Health Services sometimes fails to start an exercise.
Confirmed: Wear OS 5.1 is the next version of Wear OS, and it’s based on Android 15 just as I previously reported. https://t.co/t0pgSRpCW6 pic.twitter.com/lXLkbyxti6November 25, 2024
The update currently includes two “notable features,” as described by Google. The first is watch speaker playback, which will allow users to listen to audio sources through a smartwatch’s inbuilt speaker. This could be a convenient way to listen to music or podcasts, albeit at low volume and subpar quality. To use your watch speaker as an audio output option, both the device’s hardware and the specified app must support it in Wear OS 5.1.
The other notable feature is support for the Credential Manager API. This is already available on Android, and it enables features like auto-sign-in after restoring from a backup. On Wear OS 5.1, the new credential manager will handle passwords, passkeys, and Sign in with Google. It’ll also allow this information to be synced across Wear OS 5.1 and Android 15 devices.
Depending on the release date of Wear OS 5.1, this update could signal the platform catching up with Android. Typically, Wear OS updates have been based on preceding Android versions. For example, Wear OS 5 is based on Android 14. The naming of Wear OS 5.1 could indicate that Google is trying to sync up Wear OS and Android. Or, it could simply mean that this year’s Wear OS update is a minor one and not worthy of a full numbered version. After all, Android 16 Developer Preview 1 is here, so it’s not that surprising that we’re seeing a new version of Wear OS made available for testing as well.