The Google Clock app for Wear OS has just made a change that breaks support for every other smartwatch except Google’s own Pixel Watch, leaving out Samsung, OnePlus, and others.
On Wear OS, the Google Clock app can power alarms, timers, and stopwatches. That’s a standard set of features on any smartwatch, which is why every smartwatch has its own app for exactly that functionality. On Pixel Watch, that comes from the Google Clock app, while other Wear OS brands such as Samsung and OnePlus have their own.
But the Google Clock app has long supported third-party smartwatches too, meaning that you could just head to the Play Store to download the Clock app on your Galaxy Watch (as just one example) and replace the existing options.
Now, though, that support is no longer available.
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Over the past few days, users have noticed that, Google Clock for Wear OS is no longer compatible with Galaxy Watch, OnePlus Watch, or really anything outside of the Pixel Watch. Users on Reddit first noticed the problem, but it’s also been mentioned in reviews of the Clock app on the Play Store, as well as dating back to September 18 in support forums. Some users ran into this issue as far back as September 8, with some finding that sideloading isn’t an option (via Android Police). When sideloading does work, alarm syncing doesn’t work as pointed out by Android Authority.
Trying to install the Clock app on these watches shows a “This item is not compatible with your device” error as we noticed on our OnePlus Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7 test devices. But Pixel Watch models are still listed as compatible.
The good news here is that if you already have the app installed, it won’t go away unless you remove it. But a reset would mean that you’d lose access to this app entirely.
This comes right after Google introduced new Material 3 Expressive updates for the Wear OS app.
Google hasn’t commented on the removal, so it’s unclear if this is a bug or an intentional change. Notably, though, Google announced earlier this month that it would no longer provide a Weather app for Wear OS smartwatches other than the Pixel Watch starting with Wear OS 6.
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