Google hasn’t forgotten about its Wear OS platform after all as the company has announced that its Gboard keyboard is now available on smartwatches in a new Wear OS update.
Gboard Makes a Leap Onto Wear OS
The existing Gboard apps for Android, Android TV, iOS, and iPadOS devices support some pretty cool features such as gesture typing, swiping, and using your voice. Most of them are present in Gboard for Wear OS, which should delight everyone who found the old Wear OS keyboard a bit lacking. For starters, Gboard for Wear OS supports multiple input methods.
According to Google, you can use gestures to speed up text entry or your voice when you need that hands-free experience. Those who prefer pecking away on their keyboard will love the ability to use a standard QWERTY keyboard in Gboard for Wear OS.
Message the way you want to with the new Gboard ⌨️ on #WearOSbyGoogle.
Multiple ways to message like voice, QWERTY keyboard or gestures ✔️
Enhanced suggestions and corrections ✔️
Multi-language support ✔️See what’s new: https://t.co/RjjtZO23Tv pic.twitter.com/dggR6HxsFc
— Wear OS by Google (@WearOSbyGoogle) May 6, 2021
“And when things just can’t be expressed in words, the integrated emoji palette comes in handy,” reads a support document on the Google website. On top of that, you get scrollable suggestions and corrections above the keyboard with a preview screen letting you “review and edit your message, with suggestions and corrections presented to you.”
Along with the new keyboard experience, Gboard is also bringing multi-language support for all of the languages offered on Wear OS. You can easily switch languages by hitting an icon at the bottom to pull up a hidden menu with options. Gboard defaults to the same language as Wear OS, but you can change and add languages by long-pressing the spacebar.
Gboard is coming to your smartwatch in the coming days via a Wear OS update.
Is Google Neglecting Wear OS?
There’s no doubt that Wear OS hasn’t seen as much love as it deserves.
Apple’s watchOS is a well-developed smartwatch platform with great features, but it doesn’t work outside the Apple Watch. Now, Google has been offering Wear OS (previously known as Android Wear) as a smartwatch platform since March 2014, but issues like slow performance, lack of features and apps, and bugs have slowed down adoption.
On the upside, there are signs recently that Google’s interest in Wear OS is renewing.
The company has been working on support for third-party tiles in Wear OS that let you quickly glance at app-specific data. Tapping a tile takes the user to the relevant section within its app. You can access tiles in Wear OS with a quick swipe left.
Another new feature recently added to Wear OS is a UV index. It informs you whether you should apply sunscreen before stepping out, helping keep you safe in the sun.
We’re likely about to see additional new Wear OS platform features revealed at Google’s upcoming developer conference, which is returning virtually and live May 18-20.