Gadgets
Wear OS 2 devices are losing Google Assistant
Pour one out for Assistant on older Wear OS devices.
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Google is reportedly removing Assistant support from older watches running Wear OS 2.
The smartwatch market has certainly gotten quite bigger in the last few years. Wear OS 4 launched recently, but there are still numerous smartwatches in the market that still running Wear OS 2 or earlier.
Unfortunately for those users, recent reports say Google will soon remove Assistant support from these older watches.
Google is ending Assistant support on Wear OS 2 and earlier smartwatches
Editor’s Note: It’s worth noting that, while the following text was found in the Wear OS app, it doesn’t mean this removal of Assistant will happen. Google may or may not ship this feature, or they might find a way to preserve Assistant support. That said, most Wear OS 2 watches are running on underpowered chips, and Assistant is resource-heavy. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to think about upgrading anyway.
According to the folks at 9to5Google, the tech giant plans to eliminate Assistant support from devices running Wear OS 2 or earlier. The outlet found a text string in the Wear OS companion app indicating this could happen soon.
The latest version of the Wear OS companion app contains the following string:
“Google Assistant support on this watch is ending soon. Please upgrade to a newer watch that supports Google Assistant and runs Wear OS 3 or later.”
However, the string doesn’t provide a specific timeline for when Google Assistant will be killed off on the Wear OS 2 and earlier smartwatches. We speculate an announcement from Google will happen soon, at least before the end of 2023.
That said, it’s pretty disappointing news. Multiple Wear OS 2 smartwatches have been released in the last few years. Without important features like Assistant, those devices are effectively end-of-life.
We won’t blame the Wear OS 2 smartwatch owners if they feel aggravated.
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