What Google apps are missing from Wear OS?

Abner Li | Oct 27 2023 - 12:00 pm PT

Since the addition of Gmail and Google Calendar, I’ve been using my Pixel Watch (2) so much more to triage and take other quick actions, such as marking off completed Tasks. I’m finding that my biggest entry point into the apps are their excellent Tiles. There are a good number of first-party apps available today, but I believe a few more should come over to Wear OS sooner than later.

9to5Google has a rebooted newsletter that highlights the biggest Google stories with added commentary and other tidbits. Sign up to get it early in your inbox, or continue reading 9to5Google Log Out below:

It would be nice to have a Calculator app on Wear OS again. One existed during the Android Wear era and was useful in a pinch. It’s certainly not an easy design challenge to fit in a number pad and operators, but it was worth the effort. To increase its usage and make it a utility, Google could add a restaurant tipping mode.

If Google is serious about making Chat a consumer messaging service, it should have a Wear OS client – ditto for Google Voice. Rich notifications are increasingly not enough, and the biggest advantage of an app, like Google Messages, is being able to see your list of conversations and browse through history. On the topic of Google Workspace apps, Google Meet for audio calls and even leaving voicemails would be interesting since we have Google Phone already.

Find My Device would be nice when the network launches, especially if Google views watches as an increasingly standalone form factor.

On the Pixel Watch, a Recorder app that focuses on quick memos would be interesting, though that might be better served by a dedicated experience in Google Keep. That said, I do want a controller for starting/stopping recordings that are taking place on phones, just like the Google Camera experience on Wear OS today.

Meanwhile, some of the existing apps should be updated with more functionality:

YouTube Music provides a standalone experience in that you pair headphones to your watch. I really want the ability to use my watch to browse my library and have it play on the phone. That’s already possible on the Apple Watch app, as well as the Fitbit Charge 6. I’ve avoided pairing headphones to the original Pixel Watch due to battery concerns, though the power improvements on the Pixel Watch 2 are making me reconsider. That said, the controller model still seems more efficient to me.

This could already be on the way, but I hope digital state IDs and driver’s licenses will come to Google Wallet for Wear OS. I also think it’s about time that boarding passes appear in the watch app.