Pixel Watch getting AOD Media Controls later this year

At the moment, Wear OS 6 on the Pixel Watch 4, 3, and 2 does not support always-on display Media Controls, but that is coming soon.

With Wear OS 6, the “previous top activity remains visible and in the ‘resumed’ state when the device enters system ambient mode.” 

The example Google provided was how the “current song and media controls remain visible even when the user isn’t interacting with the Wear OS device.” At the left (above), we see the redesigned Material 3 Expressive Media Controls that went live on the Pixel Watch 4, and the Wear OS 6 update for the Pixel Watch 2 and 3. (The other tweak Google made was adding a music note icon for the complication and at the bottom of your watch face.)

On the right, the background artwork fades into a black background, with the various buttons becoming faint outlines and the time at the top of your screen. This is like Google Maps navigation and Google Keep notes.

This is not yet live on any device, with Google telling us this week that the Media Controls update is targeting later this year for Pixel Watch. That presumably means it will be available on all of Google’s Wear OS 6 devices. In terms of timing, the next quarterly Pixel Watch update should be in December.

At the moment, it’s the same behavior as before with the entire Media Controls ‘app’ blurring and the time appearing overlaid at the center.

Meanwhile, Google is looking to address how switching accounts on your phone’s Gemini app (like between personal and work) will require you to set up Gemini on your watch again. This process annoyingly requires going to your phone.