Android Wear changes name to 'Wear OS by Google'

Google announced that it has pivoted its wearables efforts towards "Wear OS by Google," calling it "a wearables operating system for everyone."

The change was announced in a blog post by Dennis Troper, the director of product management for the new Wear OS by Google. The shift is being made, Troper said, because "as our technology and partnerships have evolved, so have our users." Google has noted that one out of three new Android Wear users also uses an iPhone.

"We're announcing a new name that better reflects our technology, vision, and most important of all— the people who wear our watches," Troper wrote.

The move by Google was announced ahead of the Baselworld event next week in Switzerland. The name will be rolled out over the next few weeks.

Android Wear was originally announced four years ago, in March of 2014, starting with Android 4.3 and iOS 8.2; it debuted about a year before Apple Watch launched. AppleInsider reviewed Android Wear 2.0 in 2017.