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Here's what Wear OS 3 looks like without Samsung's skin

Ever wondered what Wear OS 3 looks like without One UI atop of it?
By

Published onDecember 15, 2021

A Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 on a leather surface displays the watch face Active.
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
TL;DR
  • Images from Google’s Wear OS 3 emulator give us a new look at the platform without Samsung’s skin.
  • This could be what smartwatch brands will adopt if they don’t add a skin of their own.

Samsung and Google teamed up to launch Wear OS 3 earlier this year, with Samsung’s own smartwatches also featuring a One UI skin atop the new platform. Now, Google has updated its Wear OS 3 emulator, giving us a new look at what the smartwatch platform looks like without Samsung’s overlay.

The images of stock/AOSP Wear OS 3 in the emulator were spotted by an eagle-eyed redditor (h/t: Mishaal Rahman and Droid-Life), showing a variety of settings pages, a timer, quick settings, and an always-on display.  You can check out a composite of screenshots by Droid-Life below.

It’s worth noting that this build is still based on Android 11, so those expecting to see a comprehensive Material You redesign will probably have to wait until Android 12. Nevertheless, the build was reportedly created on November 17, suggesting it’s not old by any measure.

This latest version of the platform allows smartwatch makers to add their own software skins. So some wearables adopting Wear OS 3 in 2022 could very well differ from what we’re seeing here today.

You can find our list of smartwatches set to get Wear OS 3 at the previous link, but you’ll otherwise need to get the Galaxy Watch 4 if you want the latest available Wear OS version right now.