The [Android Emulator](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator) lets you test your Wear OS applications on virtual devices. Much of its functionality is covered in the main [Android Emulator documentation](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator); this page focuses on features, testing capabilities, and troubleshooting tips specific to Wear OS development. For basic setup instructions, see [Create and run an app on Wear OS](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/get-started/creating). ## Wear OS testing capabilities The emulator provides specialized tools for testing Wear OS features. ### Test Bluetooth audio See [Test Bluetooth audio on emulators](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/apps/test-bluetooth-audio). ### Simulate sensors The emulator provides different ways to simulate sensor data from the toolbar, depending on the type of data. ![Android Studio toolbar icons](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/buttons/emulator-toolbar.png) **Figure 1.**: Android Studio's "Running Devices" toolbar. - **Health Services data:** - Access the dedicated **Health Services** panel directly from the emulator toolbar (look for the heart icon !["heart icon"](https://developer.android.com/static/images/tools/e-health-services.png)). This panel allows fine-grained control for simulating data specific to [Health Services](https://developer.android.com/health-and-fitness/guides/health-services), like exercise metrics. For detailed instructions, see [Simulate sensor data with Health Services](https://developer.android.com/health-and-fitness/guides/health-services/simulated-data). - **Other sensors (such as location, pose, heart rate):** - For other sensor types, open the [**Extended Controls**](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-extended-controls) window by clicking the overflow button (**...**) in the emulator toolbar. - **Location:** Navigate to **Extended Controls \> Location** to provide single GPS points or simulate routes. This is useful for testing apps with the [Fused Location Provider API](https://developers.google.com/location-context/fused-location-provider) and verifying [approximate location](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/versions/4/changes#approximate-location-permission) handling. - **Device Pose (Accelerometer \& Gyroscope):** Navigate to **Extended Controls \> Virtual Sensors \> Device Pose**. Adjust Rotation (X-Rot, Y-Rot, Z-Rot) and Movement (X, Y, Z) sliders to test motion-based interactions. - **Heart Rate \& Additional Sensors:** Navigate to **Extended Controls \> Virtual Sensors \> Additional Sensors** . Simulate **Heart rate** and other sensors like **Ambient temperature** , **Magnetic field** , **Proximity** , **Light** , **Pressure** , and **Relative Humidity**. ### Simulate watch inputs - **Touch and Gestures:** Standard mouse interaction mimics touch. - **Physical Buttons (including rotating side button and bezel):** - Buttons at the top of the [emulator panel](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator#tasks) can be used to simulate hardware buttons (Button 1 !["button 1 icon"](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/run/wear-emu-button-1.png), Button 2 !["button 2 icon"](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/run/wear-emu-button-2.png)) as well as other physical interactions such as palming ! ["palm icon"](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/run/wear-emu-palm-button.png) tilting the device ![](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/run/wear-emu-tilt-button.png) and swiping back ![](https://developer.android.com/static/images/tools/e-iback.png) - For **Rotary input** , open the emulator toolbar's overflow menu (**...** ), and select **Rotary input**. ### Pair devices The emulator supports pairing with physical or virtual phones. Use the **Wear OS emulator pairing assistant** in Android Studio's Device Manager for a guided setup. See [Connect a watch to a phone](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/get-started/connect-phone) for details. ## Important considerations Note the following key technical and performance considerations when testing. ### 64-bit architecture only (recent images) Emulator system images for Wear OS 4 (API 33) and higher only support **64-bit architectures** (`x86-64`, `arm64-v8a`). ### Performance differences Emulator performance, especially regarding battery consumption and rendering speed, may differ significantly from physical devices. Always test on real hardware for final performance validation and battery optimization. ## Known issues This section lists common issues specific to the Wear OS emulator. For general emulator problems, see the main [Troubleshoot known issues with Android Emulator](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-troubleshooting) page. - **Wrist Tilt Sensor Warnings:** You might see repeated log messages like `the host has not provided value yet for sensorHandle=16`. These can be ignored. - **Tiles Renderer:** [`DashedArcLine`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/wear/protolayout/LayoutElementBuilders.DashedArcLine) objects, as well as elements constructed by [`circularProgressIndicator()`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/wear/protolayout/material3/package-summary#(androidx.wear.protolayout.material3.MaterialScope).circularProgressIndicator(kotlin.Float,androidx.wear.protolayout.expression.DynamicBuilders.DynamicFloat,androidx.wear.protolayout.modifiers.LayoutModifier,kotlin.Float,kotlin.Float,kotlin.Float,kotlin.Float,androidx.wear.protolayout.material3.ProgressIndicatorColors,androidx.wear.protolayout.DimensionBuilders.ContainerDimension)), might not render correctly on the API 36 emulator. - **Pair with Google Pixel watch app:** You may experience a crash when opening the Google Pixel watch on a phone emulator after completing [pairing instructions](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/get-started/connect-phone#pair). From your phone emulator go to Settings-\>Apps-\>Google Pixel Watch -\> Permissions and allow Nearby devices permission.