Subj : Your Wear OS smartwatch could soon get a major messaging upgrade
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Wed Oct 02 2024 11:00:06

Your Wear OS smartwatch could soon get a major messaging upgrade

Date:
Wed, 02 Oct 2024 09:46:59 +0000

Description:
New code found in Wear OS reveals Google could soon bring RCS messaging to 
smartwatches.

FULL STORY
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New code unearthed in the latest Google Messages app update has revealed 
Google could be planning to bring Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging 
to Wear OS smartwatches in the not-too-distant future. 

While many of the best smartwatches on the market run Google's Wear OS 
software, the wearable operating system still has some key limitations. 
Notably, messaging via Google Messages is restricted to texts routed to your 
smartwatch from your Android phone. Ditch your phone for a run or leave it 
behind, and you can't send or receive messages. 

That could soon be about to change. Android Authority reports that an APK 
teardown of the new Google Messages beta "has added some flags that indicate 
standalone RCS is coming to Wear OS smartwatches." Specifically, lines of 
code seem to include references to Wear OS and standalone messaging support. 

AA reports "it is reasonably straightforward to conclude that standalone RCS 
is coming to Wear OS smartwatches." A huge boon for Wear OS (Image credit: 
Google) 

This would be a major overhaul to the messaging experience on Wear OS 
smartwatches like the Google Pixel Watch 3 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 
Ultra. As it stands, Wear OS devices aren't capable of standalone messaging, 
even if you're using an LTE model connected to a cellular network. 

Adding this functionality would make more a much-improved Wear OS smartwatch 
experience, and reduce the advantage enjoyed by the best Apple Watches on the 
market, which do support receiving and sending messages over cellular. 

As to when RCS could come to Wear OS, there's no clear timeline as of yet. 
There's always the possibility that this is rogue code included prematurely 
or incorrectly in the Google Messages app. However, if it does indeed 
indicate RCS is in the pipeline for Wear OS, its inclusion would seem to 
indicate the rollout is close at hand. 

Google recently rolled out Wear OS 5 support to its older Pixel Watch models 
but was forced to pause the rollout because of reports the update was 
bricking devices. It remains unavailable while Google figures out the issue. 
You might also like Google pauses the Wear OS 5 update for older Pixel 
Watches as major issues are being reported Pixel Watch owners are reporting 
big problems when updating to Wear OS 5  But there could be a simple fix Wear 
OS 4 support is quietly rolling out to the Xiaomi Watch 2 and Watch 2 Pro  
Here's what's new



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/your-wear-os-smartwatch-could-soon-ge
t-a-major-messaging-upgrade


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