Google is already testing Wear OS 5.1, could be based on Android 15

We’re merely days away from the anticipated unveiling of the Google Pixel Watch 3 sequence, and due to leaks, many particulars concerning the watches have already been made public. We already know that, for instance, each watches will include the newest model of Wear OS, Google’s Android-based platform for wearables. However forward of its launch, Android Authority has realized that the subsequent model of Put on OS will not be solely already within the works however that it could possibly be primarily based on a unique model of Android.

Though Put on OS relies on the identical open supply codebase as Android for handhelds — that’s, AOSP — it doesn’t comply with the identical launch cadence or versioning. For instance, Put on OS 3 was introduced in Might of 2021, a full eight months after the Android model it’s primarily based on, Android 11, was launched. Put on OS 4 was introduced two years later, in Might of 2023; it’s primarily based on Android 13, which was launched the yr prior. The most recent model of Put on OS introduced this yr, Wear OS 5, is equally primarily based on a model of Android that was really launched final yr — Android 14.

It will get much more complicated once you talk about Put on OS skins, like Samsung’s One UI Watch. Within the screenshot beneath, you’ll be able to see that the Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely runs One UI 6.0 Watch, which relies on Put on OS 5.0, which is itself primarily based on Android 14.

There’s been no actual pattern or consistency to the Put on OS launch schedule thus far, although some consider that Google is now on a yearly launch cycle, given the discharge dates of the final two variations. Nevertheless, Put on OS, like Android for handhelds, additionally generally sees interim “level” updates that add new options however not new APIs. The final Put on OS level replace was Put on OS 3.5, launched in early 2022; Google by no means pushed a degree replace for Put on OS 4, as an alternative skipping straight to Put on OS 5. Google is likely to be again to releasing Put on OS level updates, although, as an insider shared with Android Authority that Google is testing Put on OS 5.1 out on the Pixel Watch 2.

The existence of Put on OS 5.1 is hardly newsworthy in and of itself, particularly since we, sadly, don’t know what new options Google has deliberate for it. Nevertheless, after we realized that Google’s Put on OS 5.1 take a look at builds had been primarily based on Android 15 reasonably than Android 14, we had been intrigued. If Put on OS 5.0 relies on Android 14 whereas Put on OS 5.1 relies on Android 15, then that implies that Google has lastly totally decoupled the underlying Android model from the Put on OS model.

That is really one thing that Google has been working in direction of for some time now. Google’s “trunk steady” venture has resulted in a single major growth department for all of Android; the precise apps, APIs, options, and behaviors present in an Android construct at the moment are not solely decided by when the construct was compiled but additionally by what construct flags and Android config (aconfig) flags had been enabled.

In fact, I’m oversimplifying issues fairly a bit, however our insider revealed some data that backs up what we’re saying. Whereas Put on OS 5.0 take a look at builds have construct IDs that begin with AW2A, present Put on OS 5.1 take a look at builds have construct IDs that begin with AP4A, which is in keeping with how common Android builds are recognized post-trunk steady. It’s doable that Put on OS 5.1 is only a non permanent identify, although, which implies it could possibly be bumped to “Put on OS 6″ previous to launch. That might rely on whether or not or not Google plans to incorporate any new APIs or app-facing system behaviors, as these are when Google tends to bump the Put on OS main model.