What’s new in Put on OS 6

Posted by Chiara Chiappini – Developer Relations Engineer

This yr, we’re excited to introduce Put on OS 6: essentially the most power-efficient and expressive model of Put on OS but.

Put on OS 6 introduces the brand new design system we name Materials 3 Expressive. It contains a main refresh with visible and movement elements designed to present customers an expertise with extra personalization. The brand new design provides an excellent degree of expression to satisfy person demand for experiences which are fashionable, related, and distinct. Materials 3 Expressive is coming to Put on OS, Android, and all of your favourite Google apps on these units later this yr.

The excellent news is that you simply don’t must compromise battery for magnificence: due to Put on OS platform optimizations, watches updating from Put on OS 5 to Put on OS 6 can see as much as 10% enchancment in battery life.¹

Put on OS 6 developer preview

Right now we’re releasing the Developer Preview of Put on OS 6, the following model of Google’s smartwatch platform, based mostly on Android 16.

Put on OS 6 brings a lot of developer-facing modifications, corresponding to refining the always-on show expertise. Take a look at what’s modified and attempt the brand new Put on OS 6 emulator to check your app for compatibility with the brand new platform model.

Materials 3 Expressive on Put on OS

Materials 3 Expressive for the watch is absolutely optimized for the spherical show. We suggest builders embrace the brand new design system of their apps and tiles. That will help you undertake Materials 3 Expressive in your app, we’ve begun releasing new design steering for Put on OS, together with corresponding Figma design kits.

As a developer, you may get entry the Materials 3 Expressive on Put on OS utilizing new Jetpack libraries:

These two libraries present implementations for the elements catalog that adheres to the Materials 3 Expressive design language.

Make it private with richer coloration schemes utilizing themes

The Put on Compose Materials 3 and Put on Protolayout Materials 3 libraries present up to date and prolonged coloration schemes, typography, and shapes to deliver each depth and selection to your designs. Moreover, your tiles now align with the system font by default (on Put on OS 6+ units), providing a extra cohesive expertise on the watch.

Each libraries introduce dynamic coloration theming, which mechanically generates a coloration theme on your app or tile to match the colours of the watch face of Pixel watches.

Make it extra glanceable with new tile elements

Tiles now assist a brand new framework and a set of elements that embrace the watch’s round kind issue. These elements make tiles extra constant and glanceable, so customers can extra simply take swift motion on the knowledge included in them.

We’ve launched a 3-slot tile structure to enhance visible consistency within the Tiles carousel. This structure features a title slot, a primary content material slot, and a backside slot, designed to work throughout a spread of various display screen sizes:

Spotlight person actions and key data with elements optimized for spherical display screen

The brand new Put on OS Materials 3 elements mechanically adapt to bigger display screen sizes, constructing on the Massive Show assist added as a part of Put on OS 5. Moreover, elements corresponding to Buttons and Lists assist form morphing on apps.

The next sections spotlight a number of the most enjoyable modifications to those elements.

Embrace the spherical display screen with the Edge Hugging Button

We launched a brand new EdgeButton for apps and tiles with an iconic design sample that maximizes the house inside the round kind issue, hugs the sting of the display screen, and is available in 4 customary sizes.

Fluid navigation by way of lists utilizing new indicators

The brand new TransformingLazyColumn from the Basis library makes expressive movement straightforward with movement that fluidly traces the perimeters of the show. Builders can customise the collapsing conduct of the listing when scrolling to the highest, backside and each side of the display screen. For instance, elements like Playing cards can scale down as they’re nearer to the highest of the display screen.

Materials 3 Expressive additionally features a ScrollIndicator that contains a new visible and movement design to make it simpler for customers to visualise their progress by way of a listing. The ScrollIndicator is displayed by default whenever you use a TransformingLazyColumn and ScreenScaffold.

Lastly, now you can use segments with the brand new ProgressIndicator, which is now accessible as a full-screen element for apps and as a small-size element for each apps and tiles.

To study extra in regards to the new options and see the complete listing of updates, see the discharge notes of the newest beta launch of the Put on Compose and Put on Protolayout libraries. Take a look at the migration steering for apps and tiles on how one can improve your present apps, or attempt one in every of our codelabs if you wish to begin growing utilizing Materials 3 Expressive design.

Watch Faces

With Put on OS 6 we’re launching updates for watch face builders:

• New choices for customizing the looks of your watch face utilizing model 4 of Watch Face Format, corresponding to animated state transitions from ambient to interactive and picture watch faces.
• A brand new API for constructing watch face marketplaces.

Be taught extra about what’s new in Watch Face updates.

Search for extra details about the overall availability of Put on OS 6 later this yr.

Library updates

ProtoLayout

Since our final main launch, we have improved capabilities and the developer expertise of the Tiles and ProtoLayout libraries to handle suggestions we obtained from builders. A few of these enhancements embrace:

The instance under exhibits how one can show a structure with a textual content on a Tile utilizing new enhancements:

// returns a LayoutElement to be used in onTileRequest()
materialScope(context, requestParams.deviceConfiguration) {
    primaryLayout(
        mainSlot = {
            textual content(
                textual content = "Hi there, World!".layoutString,
                typography = BODY_LARGE,
            )
        }
    )
}

For extra data, see the migration directions.

Credential Supervisor for Put on OS

The CredentialManager API is now accessible on Put on OS, beginning with Google Pixel Watch units working Put on OS 5.1. It introduces passkeys to Put on OS with a platform-standard authentication UI that’s in keeping with the expertise on cellular.

The Credential Supervisor Jetpack library supplies builders with a unified API that simplifies and centralizes their authentication implementation. Builders with an present implementation on one other kind issue can use the identical CredentialManager code, and a lot of the similar supporting code to satisfy their Put on OS authentication workflow.

Credential Supervisor supplies integration factors for passkeys, passwords, and Check in With Google, whereas additionally permitting you to maintain your different authentication options as backups.

Customers will profit from a constant, platform-standard authentication UI; the introduction of passkeys and different passwordless authentication strategies, and the flexibility to authenticate with out their cellphone close by.

Take a look at the Authentication on Put on OS steering to study extra.

Richer Put on Media Controls

Units that run Put on OS 5.1 or later assist enhanced media controls. Customers who hearken to media content material on telephones and watches can now profit from the next new media management options on their watch:

• They will fast-forward and rewind whereas listening to podcasts.
• They will entry the playlist and controls corresponding to shuffle, like, and repeat by way of a brand new menu.

Builders with an present implementation of motion buttons and playlist can profit from this characteristic with out further effort. Take a look at how customers will get extra controls out of your media app on a Google Pixel Watch machine.

Begin constructing for Put on OS 6 now

With these updates, there’s by no means been a greater time to develop an app on Put on OS. These technical assets are an excellent place to study extra how one can get began:

Earlier this yr, we expanded our smartwatch choices with Galaxy Look ahead to Youngsters, a novel, phone-free expertise designed particularly for kids. This launch provides households a brand new approach to keep linked, permitting youngsters to discover Put on OS independently with a devoted smartwatch. Seek the advice of our developer steering to create a Put on OS app for youths.

We’re trying ahead to seeing the experiences that you simply construct on Put on OS!

Discover this announcement and all Google I/O 2025 updates on io.google beginning Might 22.

¹ Precise battery efficiency varies.