Wear OS smartwatches can do a great many things, and one of those things is a new feature being added this week, specifically the ability for the watch to receive earthquake alerts. Earthquake alerts have been available on other devices prior to the change Google made. They’ve been around for phones for close to 6 years. It’s a pretty nifty feature to have, and could even be lifesaving. However, not everyone carries their phone with them all of the time.
Now, Google is making it possible for users to still get these alerts, even if their phone isn’t on their person. According to Google’s help page for Google System Services Release Notes, the feature works by sending an alert to the Wear device even if it’s unpaired from the phone. So, for those who run, cycle, or walk for exercise and don’t take their phone with them, alerts can still come through to the watch. There is a caveat at the moment, though.
Google doesn’t say when exactly the earthquake alerts will be live on Wear OS watches
While this is a nice feature to have and it’ll be important for users, Google doesn’t give a specific date for when it arrives. There was no formal announcement about the feature coming to watches. Google merely updated its help page, and that was noticed by Droid Life (via Android Police). All that’s certain right now is that the feature goes live with the Google Play Services update version 26.07 for Wear OS devices. When that update comes through is not clear just yet. It could be today, it could be later this week. Or, it could be later than that. It feels like it’s soon, though.
The one thing to keep in mind is that this may only be available for the LTE model of Wear OS watches. This isn’t clear either, but LTE is likely required to receive this kind of alert without a paired phone present. This will likely work for Google’s Pixel Watch 4 as well as older models, and any Wear OS watch that will still get that Google Play Services update.
