Wear OS app quality

Wear OS is a wearable platform that helps people live more present, healthy, and productive lives. Wear OS allows users to use their smartwatches as glanceable standalone devices, so users can stay connected online and complete tasks quickly while leaving their phones in their pockets. Designing experiences for wearables is different from designing for phones or tablets. For more information, see Principles of Wear OS development.

The following checklists describe various requirements to help you assess the quality of your app. Each requirement has a unique ID which you might find helpful to use when you communicate with your team. Failing to comply with all of the requirements will lead to rejection of your app submission from the Play Store.

We are introducing new requirements which will come into effect on August 31, 2023. Please note that there is overlap between the new requirements and the existing requirements. For a full list of the currently enforced requirements only, see Existing requirements.

Test your app

When setting up a test environment, we recommend that you pair your phone or emulator with the Wear OS small round 1.2” emulator running Wear OS version 3.0 or higher.

You should test your Wear OS app against the following emulators:

  • Wear OS small round 1.2”
  • Wear OS large round 1.39”
  • Wear OS square 1.2”

Additionally, you can use Firebase Test Lab to run tests written for your standalone Wear OS app on physical Google Pixel Watch devices. Learn more about the supported physical Android devices in Firebase Test Lab.

Upcoming requirements

To publish on the Play Store, your watch app must satisfy all the applicable requirements. In addition, your mobile app should satisfy the core app quality requirements. Select app or watch face to filter for relevant guidelines.

The following table describes requirements that will be enforced beginning on August 31, 2023. For a list of currently enforced requirements see the existing requirements.

Quality requirement categories

Visual experience

The following requirements ensure that your app follows critical design and interaction patterns to create a consistent, intuitive and enjoyable user experience on Wear OS.

Area Requirement ID Benchmark
Accessibility User configured font size WO-V1

Your app must conform to the font size set by the user in System Settings. If the user selects a larger font size, ensure that text and controls are not cut off by screen edges.

Accessibility Touch targets WO-V2

Provide a minimum of 48x48dp touch targets on your app. For more information, see Accessibility on Wear OS.

Navigation Back navigation WO-V3

Allow users to swipe to close from almost all screens. Ongoing fitness activities or panning screens, such as an interactive map view, are exempt from this requirement, but you must provide a clear call to action to close the view. For more information, see Navigation.

Navigation Ongoing activity WO-V4

When a user has an ongoing activity, you must do the following:

  • Show the ongoing activity indicator on the watch face.
  • Update recent apps with the appropriate app launcher chip for the ongoing activity.
  • Reference the ongoing activity from the tile, if the tile is present in the tile carousel.

For more information, see design guidance about Ongoing activity tiles.

Navigation Preserve app state WO-V5

Preserve user or app-state when leaving the foreground and prevent accidental data loss due to back-navigation and other state changes.

When your app is resumed from the launcher or recent app switcher within minutes of last use, then restore the app state as close as possible to its previous state.

Navigation App launcher WO-V6

In the app launcher, correctly represent the app’s icon and name, consistent with device implementation.

For more information, see Appear in recents and app resume.

Navigation Rotary input WO-V7

If content is scrollable, allow the user to use rotary input to control content. This includes scrolling through an app, scrolling a picker, and controlling volume.

For more information, see Rotary input.

Navigation Scroll bar WO-V8

Display the scroll bar when the user enters a scrollable view, and when the user scrolls.

For more information, see Show the scrollbar.

Tiles Signed out state WO-V9

If you include a tile with your app and the user is signed out, prompt the user to sign in when they open the tile.

For more information, see Empty states.

Tiles Previews WO-V10

If you include a tile with your app, add a tile preview to help your user see what content is shown in the tile manager on their watch and phone.

For preview asset specifications see Tiles design guidelines.

Visual quality Show time (apps) WO-V11

Display the time of day clearly at the top of the app home screen and any ongoing activity screens. Screens with full screen continuous content, such as camera view or maps are exempt from this requirement.

We recommend that you display the time of day at the top of all activities except dialogs and confirmation screens.

For more information, see Show time.

Visual quality Show time (watch faces) WO-V12

Display the time of day clearly on the watch face.

Visual quality Black background WO-V13

Use a black background for all apps and tiles.

For more information, see Color.

Visual quality Font size WO-V14

Use a minimum font size of 12sp for essential text and 10sp for non-essential text. This allows the app text to be large enough to be read at-a-glance.

For more information, see Typography.

Visual quality Splash screen WO-V15

Show a 48x48dp app icon on a black background during app startup.

For more information, see Branded launch.

Visual quality Watch shapes WO-V16

App content must meet the following visual quality requirements:

  • Fits within the physical display area.
  • No text or controls are cut off by the screen edges.
  • Larger or equal to a 192dp circle.

For more information, see Handle different watch shapes.

Performance and functionality

The following requirements ensure that your app is configured correctly and provides the expected performance and functional behavior.

Area Requirement ID Benchmark
SDK Target API level WO-P1

Ensure that your app meets Google Play's target API level requirements.

Stability Basic user experience (apps) WO-P2

Ensure that your app installs, launches, and completes necessary tasks without crashing.

Stability Basic user experience (watch faces) WO-P3

Ensure that the user can install, set, and personalize the watch face without crashing, including adding complications when applicable.

Phone Interaction Correct App Classification WO-P4

Correctly indicate the standalone status of the app in the app manifest.

For more information, see Standalone versus non-standalone Wear OS apps.

Companion app Companion app WO-P5

For non-standalone apps, ensure that the companion app can connect with the Wear app and allows the user to use the Wear app as expected.

For more information, see Core app quality.

Identity Authentication WO-P6

Your app must not ask the user to input username and/or password directly on the Wear device.

For more information about best practices, see Authentication on wearables.

Battery Always on Display - Watch Face Format WO-P7

Has an Always on Display mode and illuminates no more than 15% of pixels.

Performance Memory Usage - Watch Face Format WO-P8

Assets do not exceed the memory budget of 10 MB.

Phone Interaction Correct App Classification - Watch Face Format WO-P9

The standalone status must be set to true in the app manifest.

Learn more about how to publish your watch face.

Complications Complications - Watch Face Format WO-P10

The watch face must have no more than 8 complication slots.

Google Play

The following requirements ensure that your app is configured consistently with Google Play listings and classifications.

Area Requirement ID Benchmark
Play policies Play policies WO-G1

Your app must follow the Play Developer Policy Center requirements.

App details page Play listing description WO-G2

Your app listing on Google Play Store must adhere to the following:

  • Accurately list the latest build and features.
  • Mention Wear OS.
  • Do not mention Android Wear.
  • Mention tile or complication if the respective surface is included in your app.
  • Be localized in languages offered by the app.
App details page Play listing icons (apps) WO-G3

Use the Google Play icon design specifications for creating app icons.

App details page Play listing icons (watch faces) WO-G4

For single watch faces, the icon must do the following:

  • Accurately represent the watch face.
  • Not include text or graphics that are not part of the watch face experience.

Apps that include more than one watch face, or apps that are not solely watch faces, are exempt from this requirement. However, apps are more discoverable on the Play Store if they only have a single watch face.

Use the Google Play icon design specifications for creating app icons.

App details page Play listing screenshots (apps) WO-G5

Your app listing on Google Play Store must:

  • Contain at least one screenshot that accurately depicts the current version of the app on Wear OS.
  • Provide screenshots showing only the app interface.
  • Not position the screenshots within device frames, or include additional text, graphics, or backgrounds that are not part of the interface of the app.
  • Include screenshots with a 1:1 aspect ratio.

If your app offers Tiles, then we recommend sharing a screenshot of Tiles functionality.

For more information, see Add preview assets to showcase your app.

App details page Play listing screenshots (watch faces) WO-G6

Your watch face listing on Google Play Store must:

  • Contain at least one screenshot that accurately depicts the current version of the watch face.
  • Show more than one of the available permutations, if the watch face is customizable.
  • Provide screenshots showing only the watch face experience.
  • Not position the screenshots within device frames, or include additional text, graphics, or backgrounds that are not part of the interface of the app.
  • Include screenshots with a 1:1 aspect ratio.

For more information, see Add preview assets to showcase your app.

App publishing App packaging WO-G7

If your Wear app has an accompanying phone app, you must use the same package name and app signing key for your Wear app and phone app.

For more information, see Package and distribute Wear apps.

App publishing Login credentials WO-G8

For apps with paid features, you must provide login credentials in the Google Play Console for testing of the full app experience.

For more information, see App Access in Prepare your app for review.

App publishing Category tag WO-G9

Self tag all watch face submissions on the Google Play Console with the appropriate categories that accurately represent the watch face.

For more information, see Self-tag watch faces.

Existing requirements

The following table describes requirements that are currently enforced on Wear OS. On August 31, 2023 some additional requirements will be enforced. For a full list, see the preceding table.

To publish on the Play Store, your Wear OS app must satisfy all the applicable quality requirements. In addition, your mobile app should satisfy the Core app quality requirements.

Area ID Benchmark
Layout WO-L1

The app's user interface is formatted appropriately for all Wear OS display types:

  • Square
  • Round
WO-L2 The app's text is large and glanceable with a suggested minimum font size of 12sp.
Functionality WO-F1 The app includes a watch Android Application Package (APK) that runs directly on the Wear OS device and is discoverable in the Wear OS on-watch Play Store. For more information, see Package and distribute Wear OS apps.
WO-F2 The app must mention Wear OS in its Google Play Store listing and contain at least one screenshot that depicts the Wear OS app experience. Provide screenshots showing only your app interface. Don’t place your screenshots within device frames or include additional text, graphics, or backgrounds that are not part of the interface of your app. Upload screenshots with a 1:1 aspect ratio. For more information, see Add preview assets to showcase your app.
WO-F3 Wear OS functionality works as expected or as described in the app's Google Play Store listing.
WO-F4 If the app is a single Wear OS watch face, the App Icon must be an accurate representation of the watch face. Apps that include more than one watch face are exempt from this requirement. However, apps are more discoverable on the Play Store if they only have a single watch face. Do not include text or graphics that are not part of the watch face experience. For more information on creating app icons, see Google Play icon design specifications.
WO-F5 If the app is identified as standalone, it must be functional without requiring a phone for authentication or operation. In addition to supporting independent login using the app on the watch, standalone apps might support additional authentication methods, such as automatic login sharing when a mobile phone is nearby. For more information, see Authentication on wearables.
WO-F6 Self tag all watch face apps with the appropriate categories before submission. Any self-tagged category must accurately represent the watch face. For more information, see Self-tag watch faces.

Watch Face Format

In addition to the requirements in the previous table, the following requirements related to the Watch Face Format are in effect as of May 10, 2023:

Area Requirement ID Benchmark
Battery Always on Display - Watch Face Format WO-P7

Has an Always on Display mode and illuminates no more than 15% of pixels.

Performance Memory Usage - Watch Face Format WO-P8

Assets do not exceed the memory budget of 10 MB.

Phone Interaction Correct App Classification - Watch Face Format WO-P9

The standalone status must be set to true in the app manifest.

Learn more about how to publish your watch face.

Complications Complications - Watch Face Format WO-P10

The watch face must have no more than 8 complication slots.

Frequently asked questions

After I submit my app for Wear OS review, how do I find out if my app doesn't meet all of the requirements for Wear OS?

If your app does not meet the usability requirements described on this page, the Play Store team contacts you using the email address specified in the Google Play Console account associated with the app.

If my app does not meet the Wear OS requirements, will my new or updated app still appear on Google Play for other devices?

Your app will not show up in the Wear OS version of the Google Play Store. However, your app might still appear in the Play Store for other devices, such as phones or tablets.

For information about how to publish your Wear OS apps in Google Play, see Distribute to Wear OS.