Upcoming changes to Wear OS watch faces

Posted by François Deschênes Product Manager - Wear OS

Today, we are announcing important changes to Wear OS watch face development that will affect how developers publish and update watch faces on Google Play. As part of our ongoing effort to enhance Wear OS app quality, we are moving towards supporting only the Watch Face Format and removing support for AndroidX / Wearable Support Library (WSL) watch faces.

We introduced Watch Face Format at Google I/O in 2023 to make it easier to create watch faces that are customizable and power-efficient. The Watch Face Format is a declarative XML format, so there is no executable code involved in creating a watch face, and there is no code embedded in the watch face APK.

What's changing?

Developers will need to migrate published watch faces to the Watch Face Format by January 14, 2026. Developers using Watch Face Studio to build watch faces will need to resubmit their watch faces to the Play Store using Watch Face Studio version 1.8.7 or above - see below for more details.

When are these changes coming?

Starting January 27, 2025 (already in effect):

• No new AndroidX or Wearable Support Library (WSL) watch faces (legacy watch faces) can be published on the Play Store. Developers can still publish updates to existing watch faces.

Starting January 14, 2026:

• Availability: Users will not be able to install legacy watch faces on any Wear OS devices from the Play Store. Legacy watch faces already installed on a Wear OS device will continue to work.
• Updates: Developers will not be able to publish updates for legacy watch faces to the Play Store.
• Monetization: The following won’t be possible for legacy watch faces: one-off watch face purchases, in-app purchases, and subscriptions. Existing purchases and subscriptions will continue to work, but they will not renew, including auto-renewals.

What should developers do next?

To prepare for these changes and to continue publishing watch faces to the Play Store, developers using AndroidX or WSL to build watch faces must migrate their watch faces to the Watch Face Format and resubmit to the Play Store by January 14, 2026.

Developers using Watch Face Studio to build watch faces will need to resubmit their watch faces to the Play Store using Watch Face Studio version 1.8.7 or above:

• Be sure to republish for all Play tracks, including all testing tracks as well as production.
• Remove any bundles from these tracks that were created using Watch Face Studio versions prior to 1.8.7.

Benefits of the Watch Face Format

Watch Face Format was developed to support developers in creating watch faces. This format provides numerous advantages to both developers and end users:

• Simplified development: Streamlined workflows and visual design tools make building watch faces easier.
• Enhanced performance: Optimized for battery efficiency and smooth interactions.
• Increased security: Robust security features protect user data and privacy.
• Forward-compatible: Access to the latest features and capabilities of Wear OS.

Resources to help with migration

To get started migrating your watch faces to the Watch Face Format, check out the following developer guidance:

• Watch Face Format getting started guide
• Watch Face Format reference
• Quick-start samples
• Validation tools

We encourage developers to begin the migration process as soon as possible to ensure a seamless transition and continued availability of your watch faces on Google Play.

We understand that this change requires effort. If you have further questions, please refer to the Wear OS community announcement. Please report any issues using the issue tracker.