Wear OS lets users engage with experiences that are optimized for a watch. These
experiences can appear on a variety of containers, or *surfaces*, within the
Wear OS system UI.

When choosing a surface on Wear OS, keep your experience's main job in mind. For
example, if you have a single unit of information that users are likely to want
to glance at multiple times a day, consider providing a complication. If your
content is high-value and highly contextual, consider a notification instead.

Display the highest-priority content in complications and notifications, and
then use the larger space on widgets, tiles, and your app to display more
content appropriately.

The following sections cover each of these surfaces in more detail.

## Apps

An app is a focused view that can serve a complex or less-common task or a
cluster of tasks. An app is immersive, and it's similar to a mobile app's main
user interface (UI), though there are some differences.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** When you create your app, use [Compose for Wear OS](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/compose), a modern declarative UI toolkit.

Other surfaces can link into an app to let users carry out more complex tasks.
![View recent email messages](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/design/apps-bestpractices-DOshowtime-cropped.png) ![List of media playlists](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/design/apps-bestpractices-DOiconslabels-cropped.png) ![Recommended music genres to listen to](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/design/apps-bestpractices-DOcueorient-cropped.png) **Figure 1.** You can use an app to view messages, browse playlists, explore music genres, and more.

## Tiles

Tiles provide quick, predictable access to information and actions to solve user
needs.

While apps can be immersive, tiles are fast-loading and focus on the user's
immediate needs. If users want more information, they can tap tiles to open an
app on the watch.
![Count of glasses of water](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/design/tiles-overview-immediate-cropped.png) ![Start a fitness activity](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/design/tiles-overview-predictable-cropped.png) ![Current weather and forecast](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/design/tiles-overview-relevant-cropped.png) **Figure 2.** Use tiles to track water consumption progress, quick-start a workout, check the weather, and more.

## Widgets

Widgets provide flexible, dynamic, and glanceable access to information and
actions. They offer a more responsive design than tiles.

While tiles are full screen, widgets support different sizes, including small
and large formats. Widgets are built using [Jetpack Glance](https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/glance) and the [Remote
Compose](https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/compose-remote) framework. Users can tap widgets to open the corresponding app for a
deeper experience.
![Widgets compatibility mode showing one full screen experience](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/widgets/widgets-compat.svg) **Figure 3.** Use widgets to show a group of glanceable updates (left), or a full-screen fallback experience on devices that don't support partial-height UI elements or vertical scrolling (right).

## Notifications

A notification provides glanceable, time-sensitive information and actions for
the user. Notifications on Wear OS are similar to mobile notifications.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** You can combine ongoing notifications that have a background task with an ongoing activity to appear on additional surfaces within the Wear OS user interface. This keeps users more engaged with long running activities.

![notification](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/ui_overview_5.gif) **Figure 4.** Use a notification to show a new message or email, track a workout after the user has left the app, or show information on the current song playing.

## App launcher entries

App launcher entries help users start and return to experiences on their watch.
Tapping a shortcut launches an app.

Devices support at least one of the following app launcher experiences:

- **Grid view:** The icons appear next to each other both vertically and horizontally, as shown in figure 5. Available on all devices that run Wear OS 5 and higher, and on some devices that run previous versions of Wear OS.
- **List view:** The icons appear next to each other vertically, as shown in figure 6. Available on almost all devices that run Wear OS, and on all devices that don't support the grid view.

If a device supports both types of views, switch between the two using system
settings.
![](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/grid-app-launcher.png) **Figure 5.** The grid-based app launcher view. ![](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/ui_overview_4.png) **Figure 6.** The list-based app launcher view.

## Watch faces

Watch faces are dynamic, digital canvases where users can express their style.
Most apps don't need to create a custom watch face. However, if creating a watch
face makes sense for your app, Wear OS lets you customize the surface as much as
you want.
![watch-face](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/ui_overview_1.png) **Figure 7.** Use a custom watch face to show a customized analog timepiece or a customized digital timepiece that displays complications.

## Complications

A complication is a single, often-repeated action or a highly glanceable unit of
information on the watch face. As with tiles and widgets, users can tap
complications to open an app on the watch for a deeper experience.
![complication](https://developer.android.com/static/wear/images/ui_overview_3.png) **Figure 8.** Use complications to track the date, the user's water intake or steps, or the current weather.