Google’s Android Wear OS has been hit and miss for many people and some of that comes down to the quality of apps. Google has today announced they’re pushing hard to improve quality with a new app review process.
The Wear App review process isn’t actually new, though when it was introduced with Android Wear 2.0 it was an option. Now it’s mandatory, that is if developers want their ‘apps to be listed on the Wear OS by Google version of the Google Play Store’.
The new process will come into force on October 1st for new apps, but existing apps will be subject to the review process as of the 4th of March 2019.
Google has laid out the requirements to pass the Wear OS app review process in plain sight in their app quality documentation. Google has pointed to two common issues that Wear OS app developers should ensure are addressed when submitting apps for review, saying that they’re often missing Wear OS app screenshots, and Support for different screen types which means the app must support both round and square screens, remembering that some round screen devices have a flat tyre.
If the Wear OS app is related to a mobile app, this won’t mean anything for the Mobile app, with Google advising the review processes are completely separate.
Improved quality is a welcome move for Wear OS users – now hopefully we can see some nice high-end hardware to run them on come October ;).
