Google is testing a new status bar for Wear OS that could make smartwatches more consistent with Android phones. The feature appears in the Wear OS 7.1 Canary emulator. Google also asked developers to test it and share their feedback.
The new status bar appears at the top of the screen. It shows the current time and an important system status indicator. If several indicators are active, the system will only show the highest priority icon.
However, smartwatch screens have limited space. Google introduced some changes to prevent the status bar from taking up too much space. The bar will automatically disappear when users scroll through lists. It will return after two seconds of inactivity. Similarly, full-screen dialogs, including warning pop-ups, hide the status bar.
Google has also taken into account screens that already show a clock. In such cases the interface will avoid showing the time twice. Developers can also hide the status bar on specific screens if their apps need additional space.
According to Google, the new feature offers several advantages:
- Visual consistency: The status bar uses consistent clock typography, placement, and background styling across the system and apps.
- System status indicators: It will show important information including microphone and location activity, connectivity, battery status and time. Only one status icon will appear at a time, based on priority.
- Automatic scrolling and transitions: With Jetpack Compose for Wear OS 1.8, the status bar hides during scrolling. It reappears after two seconds of inactivity.
For now, the feature remains an experiment. It is only available in the Wear OS 7.1 Canary emulator, not in the standard emulator. Google will also exclude it from the current Wear OS 7.1 release for smartwatches.
However, the feature could be part of Wear OS 8. This will probably depend on developer feedback and how well the changes work. Developers can find more details on the Google source documentation. It explains the changes to AppScaffold and ScreenScaffold.