Wear OS is a wearable platform, helping people live more present, healthy, and productive lives. Wear OS makes smartwatches into glanceable, standalone devices, so users can stay connected online and complete tasks quickly, while leaving their phones in their pockets.
Keep the following design principles in mind when developing for Wear OS.
Design for critical tasks
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Focus on one or two tasks rather than a full app experience.
Optimize for the wrist
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Help people complete tasks on the watch within seconds to avoid ergonomic discomfort or arm fatigue.
Better together
People increasingly own multiple devices. A watch can aid people to complete a task across a distributed ecosystem of devices.
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Use a watch to help users integrate their devices.
Always relevant
The watch is always with the user. Consider how to update your app content for people’s context, such as their time, place, and activity.
Do
Keep content on your watch face relevant to the user.
Works offline
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Design for slow connections and offline use cases, such as exercising and commuting.