If you want to be a Google Pixel Watch beta tester, soon you’ll get lucky

If you’re a tad deeper in the Google universe than the normal user, you’ve certainly heard of the Android Beta program. That’s how you get to poke around pre-release versions of Android and test drive new features. Google may soon launch a similar program for the Pixel Watch, calling it ‘Wear OS Beta Program’.

Hints in that direction were found in the Beta platform page source, along two devices listed as ‘Google Pixel Watch Bluetooth/Wi-Fi’ and ‘Google Pixel Watch 4G LTE + Bluetooth/Wi-Fi’ (via 9to5Google). It’s hypothesized that this program could be for the Wear OS 4 update.

For those of you that stick to analog timepieces (or have interacted only with Garmin smartwatches, which use different OS), Wear OS is an Android-like operating system for wearables. It can be found in many devices from brands like Google, Samsung, Asus, Oppo, Motorola, and more.

What’s new and when will I get to have it?

As a matter of fact, Wear OS 4 is kind of out there already. In June, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 4 series in the US and South Korea were offered to try the One UI Watch 5 beta, based on Wear OS 4. The non-beta could be rolled out in August, along the Galaxy Watch 6 series.

Back to Wear OS 4: it’s based on Android 13 and most likely will be introduced to the public this fall, potentially bringing Material You (Google's new unified design language, first introduced with Android 12) to the smartwatches.

Users might find notable features in Wear OS 4 like the ability to respond to emails in Gmail, check your schedule in Google Calendar, as well as RSVP to events, and update tasks. And, most importantly, this OS version will make it easier to switch between phones when the time comes.