At Google’s recent I/O conference, the company revealed more details about what smartwatch users should expect when the new version of Wear OS arrives later this year.

So, is it something to get excited about and how will it change how you use that smart wearable on your wrist? Here’s all we know about Wear OS 5 so far.

When will Wear OS 5 be released?

Wear OS has had something of a staggered release schedule since Google rebranded Android Wear in 2018.

There are plenty of point releases (2.2, 3.5, etc.) that introduced new features, but here’s when the main version made their debuts:

• Wear OS 1 – March 2018
• Wear OS 2 – September 2018
• Wear OS 3 – August 2021
• Wear OS 4 – July 2023

So, not much of a pattern there, except that the last few versions have arrived in Summer or towards the end of the season. So far, Google has only said that Wear OS 5 will be launched ‘later this year’, but we’d be cautiously confident that it might be introduced around September 2024.

This is only speculative though, as hardware releases might be an important factor. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is expected in August 2024 and the Pixel Watch 3 is likely to arrive in October 2024, so Google might choose one of those devices to be the one that comes with Wear OS 5 onboard.

Samsung has been a previous launch partner so it could happen sooner rather than later with Samsung’s next Unpacked event widely expected to take place on 10 July.

Which devices will be compatible with Wear OS 5?

Google hasn’t released a list of devices that will be supported by Wear OS 5 yet, so we can only speculate on which watches will be able to work with the new software.

There’s the obvious Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2 models which seem nailed on receive the update. Samsung’s recent Galaxy Watch 4, Watch 5 and Watch 6 models should also be kept in the loop, alongside recent models from the likes of OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, Mobvoi and more.

We’ll update this as and when we get more solid information.

What new features will there be in Wear OS 5?

Google announced some of the main new updates that will come with Wear OS 5 at I/O, although it seems more like a refinement and performance version as opposed to an overhaul including loads of shiny new things.

Here are the highlights:

Battery life improvements

In its blog, Google has confirmed that improved battery life will be a priority in Wear OS 5.

It seems to suggest that this will be achieved through increased performance efficiency, with the post stating that, ‘running an outdoor marathon will consume up to 20% less power when compared to watches with Wear OS 4’.

With some smartwatches struggling to last a day, this is good news.

More advanced fitness tracking features

In the same blog post, Google outlined how Wear OS 5 will support advanced tracking metrics including, ‘ground contact time, stride length and vertical oscillation’.

All of this is good news for runners who really want to pay attention to their technique and style of motion. It probably won’t be much use to any other fitness activities, but Google could still announce improvements that pertain to sports and monitoring your workouts.

Google adds some flavour to watch faces

Another improvement coming with Wear OS 5 is an updated approach to how watch faces are designed and laid out.

The Watch Face Format – the tool developers can use to create watch faces for Wear OS – will now offer more advanced complications (the additional bits of data you see on the face).

This should make for a more interactive and useful display, with Google saying that the complications will support two main new features – Goal progress and Weighted elements.

These allow the display to show you how near to completing the target you’re tracking you are, or indeed if you’ve surpassed the goal. Weighted elements are where the information shown is broken down into smaller chunks or subsets, which act like a pie chart where you can see your progress in more granular detail.

There’s also the new ‘flavors’ that are being introduced which give developers a range of preset layouts they can choose from when creating watch faces.

Live weather data

Another nice addition is the inclusion of live weather data in Wear OS 5 so you can see if it’s going to rain soon or whether you need to put your shorts on for the impending heatwave that’s set to arrive in the afternoon.

That’s all we’ve seen so far, but Google could announce other features in the months ahead, so we’ll keep updating this article if new information comes to light. Until then, be sure to check out our guide to the best smartwatches to see which wearables you should be considering this year.