Google will soon let Wear OS devices flip the display if you wear the watch upside down

Sean — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 11:04:12 +0000

Google is finally adding a highly requested feature to its Wear OS for smart wearable products. This new update would soon allow devices running the OS to flip their screens depending on the orientation of the smartwatch.

For those unaware, the Search engine giant had recently partnered with Samsung for its current gen iteration of Wear OS. So, although it has received praises for offering one of the best wearable experiences in the market, it still lacked a small but essential feature. It is display flipping when you wear a watch upside down. While one has the option to wear the watch either on the left or right hand, some are uncomfortable with the typical way of wearing a smartwatch. To put things simply, regardless of the hand on which you wear the watch, the buttons will still be on the right side. So if one is wearing the watch on the left hand then the buttons align with the wrist, but on the other hand, it pushes into your arm.

A simple fix to this is to just wear the watch upside down. And while you would be right for thinking of this solution, unfortunately, Wear OS did not support display flipping to reflect the changed orientation of the smartwatch. The issue was first brought to light years ago, with a 2018 Google issue tracker revealing a request to add a small change to allow the display to flip upside down (Via AndroidPolice). Surprisingly, this issue is now marked as “Fixed” alongside a quick not that revealed its availability.

The quick note stated that “Our development team has implemented the feature you have requested and will be available on future new devices.” However, Google did not reveal any other finer details regarding when the update might bring this feature, and whether its an automatic addition or a function you’d need to toggle in settings. Notably, the term “future new devices” also implies that current Wear OS devices might not see the arrival of this feature. So stick around for more updates.

Samsung working on two Galaxy Watch models, could ditch Tizen for Android (Wear OS)

Balaji S — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 13:54:38 +0000

Samsung recently refreshed the Galaxy Watch Active 2 at the January 14 event with a new Phantom Violet Color variant. It is already said to be working on the next Galaxy Watch for 2021. A report by Galaxyclub.nl reveals that Samsung is indeed working on the two Galaxy Watch models. Further, a new tips says that Samsung could ditch Tizen OS for Android on its Smartwatches.

According to the report, Samsung’s two new Watches have the model numbers SM-R86x SM-R87x. If you recall, the latest Galaxy Watch3 and Galaxy Watch Active2 both have SM-R8xx as model numbers. Hence, the new Watches could be their successors in 2021.

Anyway, the Watches will have different sizes as before, and available in Bluetooth and Cellular variants which is a no-brainer. Meanwhile, a tipster has hinted that Samsung might ditch Tizen OS on its future Smartwatches.

Ice Universe has said on Twitter that Samsung’s New Watch will use Android(i.e, Wear OS) instead of the Tizen platform. Samsung developed the Tizen OS with a view of building a broader & unique ecosystem for itself. It expanded the platform to various products like Smartwatches, TVs etc.

Samsung's new watch will use Android to replace Tizen.

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) February 19, 2021

In fact, the company’s Tizen OS is the leading Smart TV platform Globally. Having said that, the reason for Samsung opting for Wear OS could be due to the lack of third-party apps for Galaxy Watches.

Either way, Samsung’s next Watch rumored as Galaxy Watch Active 3/ Galaxy Watch 4 will likely get a blood sugar monitoring feature. Let’s wait for more leaks to know about the upcoming Galaxy Watch models in 2021.

Google's Wear OS Archives - Gizmochina

Google will soon let Wear OS devices flip the display if you wear the watch upside down

Samsung working on two Galaxy Watch models, could ditch Tizen for Android (Wear OS)