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Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Outdated watch faces not designed with the Watch Face Format should not supported by Put on OS 5.
- Customers on older Put on OS builds can hold their present watch faces in the intervening time.
- Upgrading an older watch to Put on OS 5 will break compatibility with older faces.
Pay attention, change is tough. Whether or not that’s beginning up at a brand new faculty, a brand new job, or in a brand new metropolis, it’s solely human to wish to hold what you may of what’s acquainted to you. However for Put on OS smartwatch customers, change is coming whether or not you prefer it or not, and your older watch faces might find yourself left by the wayside.
Google introduced Put on OS 5 again at Google I/O 2024 in Might, and immediately we noticed Samsung launch its Galaxy Watch 7, the primary {hardware} we’re seeing arrive working the brand new software program (with One UI Watch 6.0 on high). That gained’t simply be joined by different new smartwatches, but additionally by older gadgets receiving software program updates over the months to return. And whereas Put on OS 5 guarantees to supply lots to love, together with privateness enhancements and efficiency enhancements, it’s additionally going to interrupt assist for older watch faces.
The Watch Face Format (WFF) is Google’s new method of constructing watch faces for Put on OS, launched over a yr in the past. The XML-based commonplace is meant to be simpler for creators to keep up long-term, however they’ve to truly undertake it within the first place. And in case you’ve obtained a favourite older watch face that predates WFF, there’s an opportunity the creator might not get round to adapting it to the brand new format.
Right this moment, Google warns smartwatch followers about shedding entry to previous watch faces in Put on OS 5 (by way of 9to5Google). These constructed with the sooner Jetpack Watch Face library can nonetheless be used with smartwatches working Put on OS 2, however Jetpack faces will not be discoverable once you decide up a brand new Put on OS 5 machine. Upgrades will likely be susceptible as properly, and Google advises that not even making an attempt to revive an older backup will protect entry to those previous, incompatible faces as soon as a watch is up to date to Put on OS 5.
The excellent news, as you may see in our video above, is that there are rather a lot of very nice WFF choices, and the quantity is simply getting greater. Strive to think about this much less as “shedding one thing previous” than “getting some strong encouragement to attempt one thing new.” We’re certain you could find a greater than passable alternative.
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