After only launching Wear OS 4 halfway through 2023, Google is now gearing up to unveil the next big update for its wearable platform next week. This could be the first time Wear OS gets a major update in a year. Google partially confirmed this by mentioning "Wear OS 5" for a Google I/O session scheduled for May 16. So here's a summary of everything we know about Wear OS 5 at the moment.
Bear OS 4 announced! What's NEW? Which smartwatches will it get?
With a Google I/O session already planned, it's quite likely that Google will announce Wear OS 5 during the Google I/O 2024 keynote on May 14. We wouldn't rule out the possibility of a new budget launch of the Pixel Watch, as recently leaked at the FCC. But we would suggest you take it with a grain of salt as we don't know much about the device.
Unless Google comes out with a new Pixel Watch next week, the first wearables likely to debut with Wear OS 5 will be the Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch 7 Pro from Samsung. These could reportedly launch at the rumored July 10 Unpacked event in Paris, where it will also unveil its Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 models.
It's safe to say that we can expect Wear OS 5 to come to Google's smartwatches when the Pixel Watch 3 launches in October, alongside the Pixel 9 series. Google only updated the original Pixel Watch to Wear OS 4 after the Pixel Watch 2 release. So don't expect a Wear OS 5 update for its existing lineup before October.
