Gemini Intelligence is coming to Wear OS 7 and your smartwatch may get a lot smarter: here's what's new

Google announced a number of new AI powered innovations at the Google I/O keynote on Tuesday. However, one important update that quietly went under the radar was the announcement of new WearOS 7 which not only brings deeper Gemini integration to your wrist but also adds some much needed features like dynamic widgets,better workout tracking and smarter media controls.

Here is a complete breakdown of everything new coming to Wear OS 7

Gemini is coming to smartwatches:

Google replaced Google Assistant with Gemini on WearOS powered smartwatches last year and the company is going a step ahed with WearOS 7.

The tech giant says it is bringing its ‘Gemini Intelligence’ to WearOS 7 in order to provide provide proactive and personalized assistance to the users so that its AI can manage their digital lives with lesser swiping and tapping.

With Gemini Intelligence, Google is adding agentic AI features to WearOS where users will be able to invoke and track automated tasks from certain phone apps directly on their smart watch. With this, they will be able to manage tasks like placing a food order with DoorDash directly on their wrists.

The company also announced that developers will be able to integrate their apps with Gemini via the new AppFunctions API. This means after an app is integrated, users can simply say "Start tracking my run" and Gemini could launch workout tracking directly inside supported apps.

Improved battery life:

One of the biggest concerns with WearOS smartwatches has been battery life and Google seems to be acutely aware of this issue. The company announced that users upgrading from Wear OS 6 to Wear OS 7 can ‘expect up to 10% improvement in battery life’.

Live Updates on your wrist:

Wear OS 7 is also introducing a new feature called Live Updates which will allow apps to bring real-time information directly on smartwatches.

For example, food delivery apps or ride-hailing platforms could show live progress updates directly on the watch without users opening the app repeatedly.

New WearOS Widgets:

Google is replacing traditional WearOS Tiles with the new ‘Wear Widgets’. The company says these widgets are designed to offer freater expressiveness and consistency while aligning more closely with the widgets available on Android smarthones.

The new widgets come with support for two new card layouts with 2x1 and 2x2 formats and developers have the option of creating more expressive designs as well

New media controls:

Google is adding smarter media controls in WearOS 7 to give users more control and customization options.

Google says users will now be able to set app-specific auto-launch settings for media controls. For the app where auto-launch settings have been turned on, media controls will automatically begin appearing on the watch when the media starts on the smartphone.

Google is also introducing a new Remote Output Switcher which will allow users to quickly change audio output device from your wrist and choose between your paired phone, bluetooth headphones, a Nest smart speaker or even your Android TV.