The Material You update for Wear OS has been awaited for some time now. A few days ago, there were new indications that a new update would be launched soon, which, in addition to the dynamic colors, is expected to introduce new features such as a new menu structure for the app drawer.
In an article, AndroidAuthority displays the new features in a video and photos. These features have already been made available to the first beta users on a Google Pixel Watch 2. The following video shows the new grid view of the app drawer on the right-hand side, in which the installed apps are displayed in a three-column grid instead of a list. On the left, however, you can see the well-known classic list.
After the update is installed, the new view can be activated in the settings if desired and is intended to provide a better overview, especially with numerous installed apps where the list can become very long. However, no app name is displayed in the new grid view, so the nine apps visible at a glance have to be recognizable by icon.
The perhaps even more exciting innovation is the introduction of Material You, which brings dynamic colors already familiar from Android to smartwatches with Wear OS. AndroidAuthority also shows how this looks on a Pixel Watch 2 and what this entails. Depending on the color chosen, of which the user has a lot to choose from and can be selected to match the watch face, various elements of the user interface such as sliders and buttons stand out in a new, colorful look.
The final release of the new Wear OS 4 update with Material You is likely to be rolled out very soon, possibly with the new Pixel Feature Drop in March 2024. While Material You may well be available for Wear OS smartwatches from other manufacturers, the grid view of the Launcher app could be reserved exclusively for Google's wearables, according to AndroidAuthority. After all, other brands such as Samsung already offer a similar function, i.e. a grid view, on their smartwatches with Wear OS.