Google is opening up swipeable Tiles in its Wear OS wearable operating system to third-party developers, with a supporting firmware update scheduled to roll out this Spring.
More Possibilities With Third-Party Tiles
According to Google's announcement on the official Android Developers Blog, the Jetpack Tiles library is now available to third-party developers who would like to create custom Tiles for their Wear OS apps. An upcoming software update due this Spring will include plumbing work to support third-party Tiles developed for the operating system.
"These custom Tiles will become available to users later this Spring when we roll out the corresponding Wear OS platform update," said Google.
Google debuted Tiles in Wear OS in 2019 to give smartwatch owners a way to quickly glance at information snippets such as their fitness achievements, the latest news, weather information, calendar events, guided breathing sessions, and more.
How Tiles Work
These Tiles offer app-specific data and act as shortcuts that take you to the relevant section within an app. A quick swipe left lets you access Tiles in Wear OS.
According to Google:
While apps can be immersive, Tiles are fast-loading and focus on the user’s immediate needs. If the user would like more information, Tiles can be tapped to open a related app on the watch or phone for a deeper experience.
Tiles are currently offered by Google and some device manufacturers, limiting their usefulness. But as Google has now confirmed, Wear OS customers will soon have a much wider set of options when third-party Tiles begin arriving this Spring.
Wear OS hasn't been getting a lot of love from Google in the past year or so. That said, it's encouraging to see new features still being actively planned and developed for the platform.