In recent hours, Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, its new smartwatches. But beyond the new features of the smartwatches that have been added to its catalog, interesting information has also been revealed about Wear OS, the operating system that the South Koreans are developing in collaboration with Google. Most notable, without a doubt, is that it will add support for a long-awaited feature: use Google Maps offline.
Not many details are known about it yet, but the feature was confirmed by Mountain View during the event. Samsung unboxed. It was mentioned that this feature will be added to Wear OS “later this year”, but no specific date was given.
Until now, using Google Maps navigation on Wear OS required keeping the smartwatch connected to a mobile phone. But soon, that will no longer be the case. It is likely that over the months we will know more about how this support works offline.
In any case, it seems like no coincidence that the addition of this feature was unveiled alongside Samsung’s new smartwatches. In fact, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro was designed especially for those who love outdoor physical activities. Access Google Maps offline for a day cycling or hiking is a very useful option.
But that’s not all Google and Samsung have in mind for Wear OS in the future…..
Wear OS adds support for more offline apps
Google Maps isn’t the first app to get offline support on Wear OS. Let’s not forget that in 2021 Spotify added the function to play songs from a smartwatch without depending on a mobile phone. And more popular music listening apps will follow soon: Deezer and Soundcloud.
In this regard, the only thing that Google has so far has mentioned is that the two platforms will launch “new apps for Wear OS” before the end of the year. That makes sense, given that neither streaming service had an official presence on the smartwatch’s operating system. Certainly the support for offline music playback is a welcome feature.
Another interesting point to keep in mind is that major changes are also coming to the Play Store, at least in its Wear OS version. Google’s intention is not only to give a facelift to the graphical interface of its application store, but also to provide it with specific functions for those who access it from their smartwatch.
So users will see a list of popular apps, along with personalized recommendations, and new collections by type or category. This will make it easier to navigate between applications, grouping those that are intended for the same use, such as those that allow you to listen to music or track physical activity, among others.
The Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will be equipped with Wear OS 3.5 and will enrich the catalog of alternatives to the Apple Watch. More models with software developed by Google and Samsung are expected to appear this year, adding brands such as Fossil, Montblanc and Mobvoi and, of course, the Pixel Watch.