Google today quietly released Wear OS 6.1, but it’s not available on any watches just yet.
Officially, “Wear OS 6.1 is based on a Quarterly Platform Release (QPR) of Android 16 (API level 36.1).” Specifically, that’s Android 16 QPR2 released in December as the first minor SDK Release.
The platform’s last .1 release was Wear OS 5.1 in November 2024 that brought a big Android 15 (from 14) upgrade.
Google says “this version of Wear OS doesn’t introduce any behavior changes” for application developers.
As for new features, Wear OS 6.1 “can now automatically set [your] time zone based on [your] physical location.” This location-based time zone adjustment “helps the device’s time stay accurate as users travel between regions, even on devices without a network connection.” There’s a user-facing preference to control this under Settings > Date & Time > Use location.
There are also “Refined kids’ experiences” on Wear OS 6.1 for “supervised accounts and kids’ standalone watches.”
- Kids graduation: When a user with a supervised account reaches the age of consent, they can “graduate” to a non-supervised account. This transitions the device to a standard Wear OS experience, removing parental controls and giving the user full access to device settings.
- Improved reauthentication support: If users’ credentials become invalidated, they can now re-validate their Google Account directly on their watch or through the companion app. This capability eliminates the need for a factory reset if the user changes their password or otherwise changes their account details after completing initial device setup.
As of today, BP4A.250916.026.E2 is available in Android Studio’s emulator. It’s presumably coming to the Pixel Watch as the next quarterly update.
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