Google’s annual Google I/O developer conference is almost here, and in addition to getting new features for Android phones and a better look at those new Googlebooks, as a wearables enthusiast I’m curious to see what happens with Wear OS 7.
Since Google I/O is primarily for developers, we should get a better look at the latest list of operating systems and AI capabilities that developers can use to design new apps and features like the Google Pixel Watch 4, Samsung Galaxy Watch8, and more unannounced future devices.
Look
The Android Show showed off some interesting new features of Gemini Intelligence, particularly the ability to create custom widgets by simply describing them to Gemini. After doing so, Gemini will apparently code your widget for you.
We weren’t given any indication that widgets could be created directly on a smartwatch using Gemini and its microphone, but we were shown that watches could also use custom widgets. During the broadcast, we see a widget created for a Google Pixel Watch 4 to display wind and rain in ideal cycling conditions.
Expect more customization like this in Wear OS 7, with the ability to extract information and display it front and center.
2. Automation of complex tasks with Gemini Intelligence
During the Android Show, we saw a graphic of a message about having lunch with a friend on a Pixel Watch. Once plans have been made, a prompt to create a calendar event appears, appearing as “Add Lunch at Zany’s Bistro, Sunday at 11:30am.”
This is part of Gemini’s new ‘complex task automation’ feature, which can search for contextual information and complete tasks for you, such as reserving a top-of-the-line bike for your next spin class or finding a Costa Rica coffee tour that fits your specifications (both examples are given in the presentation).
Since the feature was shown as available, we bet Wear OS 7 will be great for not only sending you notifications that these things are happening, but also for thinking about the device. For example, I bet we’ll be able to ask the watch to open Google Maps and generate a route to Zany’s Bistro based on the messages described, probably by asking a simple question like “how far is it?”
3. Rambler on duty
During the Android Show, we saw director of product operations Dieter Bohn use software called Rambler, an AI-powered enhanced speech-to-text conversion that interprets long, unclear messages filled with filler words and backtracking, rather than transcribing them verbatim.
As transcription improves, speech is becoming one of the key ways we interact with wearable devices today; I certainly wouldn’t get far in the kitchen without asking my Apple Watch Ultra 3 to set a timer for me, using its lift-to-talk functionality. As we expand our use of voice assistants with wearable devices, it’s hard not to see Rambler coming to Wear OS sooner rather than later.
4. Battery improvements
All of these AI functions require a lot of power. While it seems like every update promises better, more efficient battery management, this is almost a given if we get updated AI tools, even if it’s just to keep devices like the Google Pixel Watch at, or close to, the device’s stated point-of-sale battery life.
5. Context, context, context
We’ll likely see more unannounced features, but they’ll all revolve around the same type of thing: using the power of AI to extract contextual information from existing features to improve or iterate on previous features.
For example, if you go to the same Pilates studio every week, Apple will combine GPS information with workout data and prompt you to start a Pilates workout. Its Workout Buddy feature takes your entire exercise history and processes it, letting you know if the mile you just ran was the fastest mile of your career.
I’m sure we’ll see similar features in future Wear OS watches, and it could even be this year. Using historical data from different apps to anticipate user needs is already becoming a key part of the AI ​​agent experiences that companies like Google are trying to deliver.
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