What you’ll want to know
- Put on OS 5, the upcoming software program for Android smartwatches, might be launched as quickly as this 12 months.
- The Put on OS 5 rollout may observe the identical sample as Put on OS 4, with the next-generation Galaxy Watches first receiving the replace, adopted by new Pixel Watches.
- The replace relies on Android 14, and its launch in 2024 may sign a yearly replace schedule for Put on OS.
Put on OS 4 was simply ushered in by Samsung and Google final 12 months, debuting first on the Galaxy Watch 6 and 6 Basic. Later, the replace got here to the Pixel Watch 2, and we’re nonetheless ready for it to return to different smartwatches. However within the meantime, the 2 firms are already making ready a Put on OS 5 replace that would seem as quickly as this 12 months, in keeping with an unique report from 9to5Google.
9to5Google says it has seen references to Put on OS 5 in a number of places of an unreleased Android 14 construct. Samsung is probably going making ready to launch the upcoming Galaxy Watch 7 later this 12 months and is outwardly testing to make sure the Exynos 5535 powering the machine helps the upcoming software program, per the report. Over the previous few years, Samsung and Google have labored collectively to create Put on OS updates, enhancing the standard total.
The Galaxy Watch 7 collection is predicted to be launched this summer time, and if this report is correct, that is when Put on OS 5 can be launched as effectively. This tracks with the timeline of previous Put on OS releases. For instance, Put on OS 4 first appeared on the Galaxy Watch 6 collection, then got here to the Pixel Watch, after which to present units in 2023.
If the subsequent Put on OS replace is certainly launched this 12 months, it will mark an necessary milestone for Android smartwatches. Yearly upgrades to Put on OS aren’t unprecedented, however the previous few years have seen it go from Put on OS 3 to three.5 to 4, that means a significant quantity soar has occurred each different 12 months. And because the above report factors out, the final three Put on OS variations are based mostly on Android 9, 11, and 13.
Annual software program updates for Put on OS would, for one, make it aggressive with Apple’s watchOS launch schedule. Extra importantly, it will share a yearly launch schedule with Android. Theoretically, this might enable Google and Samsung to combine options between Android and Put on OS on a yearly foundation.
With that being stated, not a lot is understood in regards to the Put on OS 5 replace or what could be included. The newest Put on OS 4 replace wasn’t differentiated from Put on OS 3.5 in a significant approach, so the hope is that Put on OS 5 feels contemporary and arrives on extra units. Nonetheless, an annual replace interval may imply that Put on OS updates begin to really feel extra iterative.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Basic
Basic type on a contemporary watch
The Galaxy Watch 6 Basic is without doubt one of the finest smartwatches you should purchase, due to its snappy processor, entry to apps like Spotify and WhatsApp, loads of well being and health sensors, and a bodily rotating bezel for simple navigation.
