  | |
.jpg) The Fossil Q Venture (Gen 4) with Wear OS | |
| Developer | |
|---|---|
| Written in | C (core), C++, Java[1] |
| OS family | Unix-like |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Closed-source[2][3] |
| Initial release | March 18, 2014 |
| Latest release | Wear OS 5.0 (based on Android 14) / 19 July 2024[4] |
| Latest preview | Wear OS 4.0 (based on Android 13) / May 2023 |
| Marketing target | Smartwatches |
| Available in | 93 languages
|
| Package manager | APK via Google Play |
| Platforms | 32-bit ARM, MIPS, x86 |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (modified Linux kernel) |
| Userland | Bionic libc,[5] shell from NetBSD,[6] native core utilities with a few from NetBSD[7] |
| Default user interface | Graphical (Multi-touch) |
| License | Proprietary[2] |
| Official website | wearos |
Wear OS (also known simply as Wear[8] and formerly Android Wear[9]) is a version of Google's Android operating system designed for smartwatches and other wearables.[10][11][12] By pairing with mobile phones running Android version 6.0 "Marshmallow" or newer, or iOS version 10.0 or newer with limited support from Google's pairing application,[13] Wear OS integrates Google Assistant[14] technology and mobile notifications into a smartwatch form factor. Wear OS is closed-source, in contrast to the free and open-source Android.[2][3]
Wear OS supports Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi,[15] 3G, and LTE connectivity, as well as a range of features and applications. Watch face styles include round, square and rectangular. Hardware manufacturing partners include Asus, Broadcom, Fossil, HTC, Intel, LG, MediaTek, Imagination Technologies, Motorola, New Balance, Xiaomi, Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei, Skagen, Polar, TAG Heuer, Suunto, and Mobvoi.[16]
Analysts estimate that over 720,000 Android Wear smartwatches were shipped in 2014, the year of its launch.[17] By mid-October 2022, the Wear OS app had more than 50 million downloads.[18] Wear OS was estimated to account for 17.3% of the smartwatch market in Q3 2021, behind Apple's 21.8%. Samsung accounts for the majority of Wear OS devices sold,[19] due to its switch back from Tizen to Wear OS in 2021.[20]
- ^ "Android Code Analysis". Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ a b c Zhu, Xiao; Guo, Yihua Ethan; Nikravesh, Ashkan; Qian, Feng; Mao, Z. Morley (20 June 2019). "Understanding the Networking Performance of Wear OS". Abstracts of the 2019 SIGMETRICS/Performance Joint International Conference on Measurement and Modeling of Computer Systems. Association for Computing Machinery. p. 3:2. doi:10.1145/3309697.3331475. ISBN 978-1-4503-6678-6.
The proprietary nature of Wear OS makes it even harder to gain deep visibility into the wearable networking stack. Note that unlike Android for handheld devices, Wear OS is not open-source.
- ^ a b Yi, Edgardo Barsallo; Zhang, Heng; Maji, Amiya K.; Xu, Kefan; Bagchi, Saurabh (15 June 2020). "Vulcan: lessons on reliability of wearables through state-aware fuzzing" (PDF). Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services. Association for Computing Machinery: 391–403. doi:10.1145/3386901.3388916. Retrieved 24 December 2023 – via Purdue University.
Since Wear OS is closed source, we cannot modify the framework so we implement a Proof-Of-Concept (POC) solution.
- ^ "Full OTA Images for Google Pixel Watch Devices". developers.google.com. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "libc – platform/bionic – Git at Google". Android.googlesource.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
- ^ "android / platform/system/core / master / . / sh". android.googlesource.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
- ^ "toolbox – platform/system/core – Git at Google". Android.googlesource.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
- ^ Amadeo, Ron (2021-05-18). "Google, Samsung, and Fitbit team up to save Wear OS". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
- ^ "Google just changed the name of Android Wear to Wear OS". 15 March 2018.
- ^ "Google just changed the name of Android Wear to Wear OS". The Verge. 15 March 2018.
- ^ "Android Wear—Android Developers". android.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ "Google reveals Android Wear, an operating system for smartwatches". The Verge. Vox Media. 18 March 2014.
- ^ Al Sacco (31 August 2015). "Android Wear for iOS gives iPhone owners more smartwatch options". CIO. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ "OK Google, tell me about Android Wear". CompareSmartWatches. 26 June 2014.
- ^ "Android Wear gets cellular support, still needs to be paired with a phone". Ars Technica. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
- ^ "Android Wear". Android Developers. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
- ^ Just 720,000 Android Wear smartwatches shipped last year. Engadget. Retrieved 11 FEBRUARY 2015.
- ^ Wear OS by Google Smartwatch (was Android Wear), Google LLC, archived from the original on 18 October 2022, retrieved 2024-04-10
- ^ "Global Smartwatch Market Rebounds; Huawei and Fire-Boltt Hit New Peaks". Counterpoint. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Amadeo, Ron (23 November 2021). "Wear OS shoots up the market-share charts, now in striking distance of Apple". Ars Technica.