Your Wear OS smartwatch could soon get a major messaging upgrade

Google Pixel Watch 3 side dial and button

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

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.

A huge boon for Wear OS

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.

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Stephen Warwick is TechRadar's Fitness & Wearables writer with nearly a decade of experience covering technology, including five years as the News Editor of iMore. He's a keen fitness enthusiast and is never far from the local gym, Apple Watch at the ready, to record his latest workout. Stephen has experience writing about every facet of technology including products, services, hardware, and software. He's covered breaking news and developing stories regarding supply chains, patents and litigation, competition, politics and lobbying, the environment, and more. He's conducted interviews with industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. Outside of work, he's a massive tech and history buff with a passion for Rome Total War, reading, and music.