Update (Dec 2, 6:45 pm ET): Google brings back apps
What you should know
- Google appears to have quietly dropped support for Keep and Maps in Wear OS 2 watches.
- These apps will still work on older smartwatches, provided that the wearable devices have not been reset.
- If you don’t, both apps won’t be available on the Play Store.
According to Google, the company appears to have abruptly dropped support for Keep and Maps in Wear OS 2 smartwatches. 9to5Google(opens new tab). Users of older Wear OS models may not be able access the apps if their watches have been reset.
Wear OS 2 watch-owners include some Reddit(opens new tab)Google Keep has been removed from the Play Store. If you have any of these, Best Wear OS watchesIf you are eligible to upgrade from Wear OS 2, don’t worry.
But, if you don’t have your watch on the Liste of devicesThat are the ones that will be receiving Wear OS 3You’re out of luck. Keep on announcing the most recent version Google Pixel WatchIt only supports Android 11 and higher at 5.22.452.00.97. Wear OS 2 is still based on Android 9 and does not support Keep 5.0.
9to5 also noticed that Google Maps now requires the latest version Wear OS. This only happens if your watch is reset. The aforementioned apps will still be available if they are installed on your device.
Keep in mind that the legacy Wear OS watches have been discontinued support. This happened a few months ago. Wear OS 3 received a tile that was very useful. This feature allows you create new Keep notes right from your wrist.
Google’s decision not to support older watches for apps may have been made sooner than anticipated. Wear OS 3 has been introduced, but Wear OS 2 still controls a significant portion of smartwatch sales.
We reached out Google for comments and will update the article when we hear back.
Up-to-date
Google Maps and Keep support were mysteriously removed from the app store for older Wear OS devices. Google has confirmed this with a statement Android Authority:
“Last Week, Google Keep and Maps for Wear OS 2 smartphones were temporarily removed form the Play Store. Google engineers have restored the availability of these apps to the Play Store.
Although it is not clear why the apps were removed from our phones, we are happy to have them back.
