Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 owners poised to get Wear OS 5 soon – as Google Pixel Watch still struggles

Google's Wear OS 5 rollout is coming 'later this year'

News By Stephen Warwick published 11 October 2024

As the best Android smartwatches battle to bring Android's Wear OS 5 update to older generations of devices, mixed fortunes mean a rollout for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 could be close at hand. Not so for older Pixel Watch owners, who could have a long wait in store.

This week, Samsung has rolled out its seventh One UI 6 Beta update to the Galaxy Watch 6. As noted by Android Police, it's the first update to the beta program in almost a month, but could signal that a stable One UI 6 watch build is almost ready for release on the older Samsung Galaxy Watch models.

It's great news for owners of the older Galaxy Watch model, who could get a taste of the new Android wearable software before to long, packaged in Samsung's own One UI, of course.

But while Samsung's Wear OS 5 rollout could be imminent, there's bad news for owners of the Pixel Watch 1 and 2, following the latest update from Google about the rollout.

Wear OS 5 coming to older Pixel Watch models later this year

Google rolled out its Wear OS 5 upgrade for the Pixel Watch 1 and 2 in late September, but users quickly reported big problems with their devices being bricked by the new software.

Google later confirmed to TechRadar it was aware of the issue and had paused the Wear OS 5 rollout. At the time, Google said it was "actively working on a resolution," but a new update reveals that could still be some ways off.

Overnight, Google told its support forum members "We plan to resume the WearOS 5 rollout to these devices later this year, once we’ve mitigated the observed issues, and will share additional updates with our community as they become available."

Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors