The Wear OS 3 rollout wasn’t the easiest. It’s understandable that you would want to continue with Wear OS 2 until all is well. Last year was a great year for Android smartwatches and there are reasons to believe this momentum will continue.
My friends, it’s time to upgrade your old watch to Wear OS 3.
The pros of Wear OS 3, at this point, are outweighing the cons. Third-party apps are the main reason for upgrading. Google has spent a lot of effort to attract developers back to the platform. Many big-name app developers (e.g. Strava, Telegram etc.) have made it a point to do so. It is not surprising that developers are more interested in the new than the old. Google has done a good job of ensuring that its Wear OS 2 apps get the latest updates. But facts are facts. Wear OS 3 watches will have the same apps that do better.
Wear OS 3 users have access to some features, such as turn-by-turn directions, that are only available for Wear OS 2. (There was also some confusion at the end 2022, when Google Maps disappeared and Keep apps disappeared temporarily for Wear OS 2 users.
As more third-party developers leave, this problem will only worsen. Upgrades are a good idea if you want to get faster bug fixes and an overall smoother experience.
However, there are still reasons not to upgrade. It’s unclear when or if Google Assistant will be available on non-Samsung Wear OS 3 smartwatches. Although Assistant doesn’t work well on Wear OS 2 it is there. Upgrade is not necessary if this is a feature that you are really interested in.
This is also true for Wear OS watches with a Snapdragon Wear3100 chip. You will need to wait until you are able to buy a new watch with at least a Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor. You might as well wait to see if there are any deals.
Wear OS 3 is not the same as Wear OS 2. Google Wallet, Google Maps, and Google Wallet are not available on iOS devices running the new OS.
If you decide to make the switch to Wear OS 3, here are some steps to follow.A Fossil Gen 6 may have Wear OS 2 installed instead of Wear OS 3.
How to upgrade Wear OS 3
Check first that your watch is eligible for the upgrade. Also, make sure that upgrades have been started by the manufacturer. It is up to the individual companies to decide when Wear OS 3 will be available to their older eligible watches. Fossil, and any brand owned by it, started upgrade rollouts back in October 2022. Mobvoi has not spoken much about Wear OS 3 in a while.
You may want to create a list of your favourite apps in order to upgrade. You must first factory reset Wear OS. However, Wear OS doesn’t have any cloud backups. Although that feature is , it is reportedly being developed. This is an irreversible process and you cannot go back to Wear OS 2. You’ll lose everything after you have factory reset.
- Watch local data
- All installed apps and data
- Preferences and settings
Next, remove the Wear OS by Google app from your Android or iOS smartphone. Depending on the manufacturer of your watch, you can download the companion app from either the App Store, or Play Store. If you have a Fossil Generation 6 running WearOS 2, you will need to download this Fossil app.
A pop-up should appear on your watch requesting that you download Wear OS 3. If this is the case, tap that notification. You don’t have to worry if it isn’t.
- Navigate to main menu from your wrist.
- Next, open the Setting app. Select System and then About.
- Scroll down to System Updates. Follow the prompts on screen to download Wear OS 3.
This can be a slow process, especially if you have poor Wi-Fi. If the Wi-Fi connection is strong but your watch is still having trouble, you might try switching Bluetooth on and off. If in doubt, turn the watch back on.
That’s it! Wear OS 3 has some issues, especially if your device isn’t a Samsung or Google. The app selection and performance are much faster than they used to be. You can also consult our buying guide if you have any questions about choosing the Wear OS3 watch.
