Google's Gemini AI Assistant Arrives on Wrist with Wear OS 6

After several years of iterative updates, Wear OS 6 is poised to be a major step forward. A key change is the replacement of Google Assistant with Gemini on your wrist, accompanied by a comprehensive Material 3 Expressive redesign optimized for circular watch faces. For the third consecutive year, the latest version of Wear OS also brings improvements to battery longevity.

“In recent years, we have fundamentally reimagined Android with Gemini as its core, and now we're expanding Gemini's reach beyond smartphones,” explains Jaime Williams, Product Manager for Wear OS.

Williams notes that integrating Gemini goes beyond a simple swap for the Assistant, which is already present on many Wear OS watches. A primary benefit, common with generative AI, is more natural conversational interactions, meaning your commands don't need to be phrased in a specific, rigid way. Gemini on Wear OS will also interact with other applications. For instance, you can inquire about restaurant reservations, and Gemini will search your Gmail for relevant details. Williams adds that it will handle more complex requests, such as summarizing information. You can still access Gemini through watch complications, the app launcher, a button shortcut, or by saying “Hey Google.”

Using Gemini will require an active internet connection. This means a Bluetooth link to your phone, or a direct Wi-Fi or LTE connection on the watch itself. Williams mentions the team is exploring offline capabilities for the future but did not provide a specific timeline.

“Gemini is independent of Wear OS 6,” Williams states, clarifying that while some features are exclusive to Wear OS 6, Gemini will be available on all current Wear OS devices that run Google Assistant. (Consequently, if your Wear OS watch lacks Assistant, it will not receive Gemini either.)

This is encouraging news given the platform's past difficulties with integrating Assistant. That process was significantly delayed during Google's transition from Wear OS 2 to the unified Wear OS 3 platform developed with Samsung's Tizen OS. Fossil, for example, took two years before ultimately exiting the smartwatch market. While some Wear OS watches still do not have Assistant, this suggests the shift to Gemini might be a smoother transition overall.

Wear OS 6 will feature Google's new Material 3 Expressive design language. “Our goal was to progress beyond a purely functional interface to create one that feels more personally connected. With Wear OS 6, our primary focus was to truly embrace the circular display,” says Lily Darling, Visual and Motion Lead for Wear OS.

Darling was hesitant to confirm whether this means Wear OS (and by extension, Google) is exclusively committing to circular displays. However, she emphasized that Google's approach was to “refine every design element to complement the round form factor.” This philosophy applies to layouts, font selections, scrolling animations, and transitions between screens. On-screen buttons have been adjusted to “follow the curve of the display” for easier tapping, while Tiles and notifications are designed for quicker reading. Notifications now feature sender avatars and embedded thumbnail images, allowing you to identify who is messaging or emailing you at a glance. Color theming has also been brought over from Android, enabling you to quickly coordinate your watch's look with your phone or outfit.

Google shared less about Wear OS 6's performance, aside from a modest "up to 10 percent" boost in battery life. While this may not be the most thrilling update, Bjorn Kilburn, Google's VP and GM of Wear OS, notes that it remains a top request from smartwatch users.

“Battery life is a complex challenge, and it's a game of incremental gains. We are persistently working on it,” Kilburn says, pointing out that battery improvements will vary depending on usage. The team has specifically enhanced power efficiency for media playback and control on the watch. Therefore, users who frequently use their watch for media can expect a more noticeable improvement than those who do not.

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Regarding the decision for a more substantial update this year, Kilburn attributes it partly to timing. Major updates like this, he explains, require a long development cycle. More specifically, it was a deliberate effort to synchronize the phone and watch experiences. Technically, Android 16 and Wear OS 6 now share the same underlying codebase. This unification accelerated Google's ability to bring Wear OS features to parity with those available on Android phones.

“These are two essential devices that people rely on,” Kilburn remarks, highlighting that the Android and Wear OS teams collaborated extensively to align their roadmaps. The result is that “your phone and watch can feel like a cohesive pair, sharing the same design philosophy simultaneously.”