Google Pixel Watch will get at least 3 years of Wear OS updates, including feature drops

Abner Li | Oct 9 2022 - 6:05 pm PT

As part of the Pixel Watch rollout, Google has detailed that the Wear OS device will get “at least” three years of updates.

That period starts “from when the device first became available on the Google Store in the US.” The first-generation Pixel Watch will get “guaranteed software updates until at least” October 2025.

Google says “software updates include Google Pixel Watch security updates, and may include feature drops and other software updates.”

With watches and “Guaranteed software updates,” the company is not making the phone distinction between “Guaranteed Android version updates” and “Guaranteed security updates.” Wear OS 3.5 is based on Android 11, and past history (Android 9) would suggest the next major Wear OS release is built off Android 13. However, most updates to the wearable platform are delivered as apps/services via the Play Store.

One thing to note about this “Learn when you’ll get software updates on Google Pixel Watch” support article is that the company is using nearly identical language as the page for Pixel phone updates. That said, it’s not surprising Google is carrying over the concept of “feature drops” to the Pixel Watch. Those quarterly releases were highlighted at the Pixel 7 launch as a selling point.

Meanwhile, in terms of the frequency of Pixel Watch updates, Google only says they will occur in a “regular” manner. The Pixel phone support document also says the same thing, but we know that occurs monthly.

Looking at the broader Wear OS landscape, it’s not clear if Google will deliver security patches every month for the Pixel Watch. Looking at the Galaxy Watch 4, Samsung did have a period earlier this year where there were three security patch level updates (2022-01, -03, and -05) over the course of three months (February to May), but there’s otherwise no consistency. Samsung has promised “up to” four years of updates, while the Apple Watch Series 3 got almost five years of updates.