The Wear OS ecosystem is made up of devices that have a wide variety of screen sizes. Utilizing adaptive UI principles is critical to delivering the highest quality experience for all users.
What is adaptive UI?
Adaptive UIs stretch and change to make the best possible use of all available screen space, no matter what size screen they're rendered on.
Adaptive UIs change responsively, using components and methods built directly into the layout logic. These layouts also utilize screen size breakpoints—applying a different design on different screen sizes—to create an even richer experience for users.
Key screen sizes
Learn about key reference sizes to keep in mind as you design new experiences
Types of layouts
When designing for adaptive layouts on the round screen, scrolling and non-scrolling views each have unique requirements for scaling UI elements and maintaining a balanced layout and composition.
Add value through adaptive layouts and design practices
When designing for adaptive layouts on the round screen, scrolling and non-scrolling views each have unique requirements for scaling UI elements and maintaining a balanced layout and composition.
The following images are broad suggestions; examples are for illustrative purposes only. View each component or surface page for detailed, contextual, responsive guidance.
App quality
Our quality guidelines are organized into three levels. Enable the best possible experience for your users by meeting guidelines in all three tiers.
Ready for all screen sizes |
Responsive and optimized |
Adaptive and differentiated |
Utilize established canonical layouts
Use established canonical layouts to help your UIs adapt smoothly across a range of device sizes.
Our canonical layouts have been developed thoughtfully to offer a high quality experience across all screen sizes.