Android Oreo is coming to Android Wear watches from today

A new update will be heading to Android Wear watches from today that brings Android 8 Oreo-based features including some new battery saving enhancements and more.

It's not a major upgrade like Android Wear 2.0 was when it launched earlier this year - and it's likely Android Wear 3.0 will be bigger too - but it does bring some interesting tweaks to your watch.

There's a new touch lock function that's designed to disable the touchscreen when you're using your watch in the rain. Plus there's what's described as battery saving background limits.

There are also vibration strength settings that mean you can switch up the way it jiggles on your wrist and you can turn it down if you find the vibrations too irritating when you get a notification.

Further wrist tweaks

All this news comes from a blog post by Hoi Lam, Wearables Developer Advocate at Google, but it doesn't specify which watches will be getting the update.

The post confirms the update is coming from today, but it has only so far been spotted on the LG Watch Sport. We'll be sure to look out for the update on other watches, but much like the Android 8.1 update the roll out will be dependent on the watch manufacturers.

Google is also bringing support for seven new countries and languages, including Czech, Portuguese and a few versions of Spanish too.

James Peckham

James is the Editor-in-Chief at Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.

Latest in Smartwatches
Garmin Instinct 3 in Neotropic Green
"I'm an idiot": Garmin user reveals how fixing one setting completely changed their training after months of making no progress
A garmin forerrunner 55 on an orange background with the phrase lowest price
Sprint! The best cheap Garmin for runners is back down to its lowest-ever price
Half-Life running on a smartwatch
This Redditor installed a game engine on their smartwatch, and now it runs Doom, Quake, and Half-Life
Apple watch pair with iphone
I've been wearing an Apple Watch for 10 years – these are the 5 settings I change right out of the box
Garmin Instinct 3 next to the Apple Watch Ultra 2
New figures claim the smartwatch market just shrunk for the first time ever, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is to blame
Garmin Forerunner 265S
One of the best Garmin running watches just dropped to a great low price at Amazon
Latest in News
Rainbow Six Siege X promotional art.
The Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X 6v6 mode might finally pull me away from Black Ops 6
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f will present players with 'a beautiful yet terrifying choice', and I can't wait to see what it is
Google Chromecast 2
Google is finally rolling out a fix for broken Chromecasts – just as new bugs appear on the Chromecast with Google TV
Garmin Instinct 3 in Neotropic Green
"I'm an idiot": Garmin user reveals how fixing one setting completely changed their training after months of making no progress
The main battle pass characters in Fortnite Lawless, including Midas, Sub Zero and a large wolf-man
You'll finally be able to play Fortnite on Windows 11 Arm-powered laptops as Epic Games partners with Qualcomm
DeepSeek on an iPhone
OpenAI calls on US government to ban DeepSeek, calling it ‘state-subsidized’ and ‘state-controlled’