Wear OS 3 brings with it some news even for those who drive the car. An example? The navigation function of Google Maps via smartwatch
Wear OS 3, the new version of Google’s operating system dedicated to smartwatches and wearable devices, was shown to the public a month ago aboard the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series, with various improvements and new features.
Among these, the novelties of Google Maps are undoubtedly among the most interesting, but reserved for watches that mount and will mount Wear OS 3. Here are all the new functions, some of which are also appreciable when driving the car.
How to navigate with the watch
The smartwatch navigation function is undoubtedly the first and most attractive novelty for those who drive the car. To tell the truth, it is not a real new function, since it was also present on Wear OS 2, but the optimization of the interaction with voice commands has now made it much more usable.
Basically, the GPS navigation of Google Maps can be started directly from the wrist, therefore without using the smartphone as a pivot, choosing to proceed between the textual search for the destination, between the selection of recent places, or doing everything via voice commands, more comfortably and without distractions.
Once the destination has been chosen, the user will only have to select the means of transport with which to reach it (car, bike, or on foot, with the relative expected arrival times always in view) and follow the instructions on the screen: direction indicators clearly visible step-by-step, with meters and kilometers remaining at the next turn.
Dark mode, consumption, and availability
Navigation aside, Google Maps for Wear OS 3 also brings with it some purely aesthetic innovations. Support for dark mode for example, which also allows you to save a little bit in terms of energy on smartwatches with OLED screens, to the benefit of autonomy.
Precisely in this regard, based on the first surveys carried out on Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, 30 minutes of navigation with active screen and GPS require about 5/10% of battery, a not excellent result but which could however be improved over time with future updates.
As for availability, as anticipated, this new version of Google Maps is exclusive to watches equipped with Wear OS 3, only a handful at the moment, considering the relative youth of this new software version, a version that will be available in the form of update starting from the second half of 2022.
