Google Contacts gets Wear OS 3 redesign, now distributed on Play Store

Abner Li | Jun 3 2022 - 12:28 pm PT

Continuing the trend of new and redesigned apps for Wear OS 3 in the past year, Google has released Contacts to the Play Store with a revamped look.

As far as we can tell, Google Contacts on Wear OS 2 and earlier was part of the system and updated alongside it. Contacts now appear in the Play Store as its own app.

The design is pretty straightforward for Wear OS 3 with a search button as the first thing underneath the curved time. Contacts appear in pill-shaped containers with starred people displayed first. The person view hasn’t been too drastically updated with outline-style icons used throughout.

You can add contact complications to your watchface for quick calling or messaging. If an image isn’t used, the first initial of their name is used.

Contacts Wear OS 3 redesign

Meanwhile, one of the screenshots on the Play Store listing appears to show a watchface that could be from the Pixel Watch given the thick hour hand design. It’s otherwise a standard analog face with four available complication slots.

We’re only seeing this new Google Contacts app (version 1.4.1.x) on Wear OS 3 with the Galaxy Watch 4. (You must first grant the contacts permission after installing.) It does not appear on older wearables we checked today. You can quickly install from the “Apps on your phone” section of the on-watch Play Store or via search.

Contacts on Wear OS 2