As it’s built to run on small screens like the one on your smartwatch, Google’s Wear OS has to work quickly and intuitively—but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some cool and clever tricks to the software, once you dig a little deeper into the settings and menus.
As is the case with Android phones, different Wear OS watches have interfaces and menus that differ from device to device. My tips for using the operating system to do more with your smartwatch are based on the capabilities of the Pixel Watch 2, but they should apply to other Wear OS watches too, even if the screens look slightly different.
Pin your favorite apps
You don’t have much room to work with on a watch screen, so you need to make sure you’re making the most of it—and that might include creating shortcuts to your most-used apps. Unfortunately, while app pinning used to be a native Wear OS feature, it isn’t any more.
Enter Tile App Launcher. It’s a simple to use, free tool that creates a new tile filled with shortcuts to the apps of your choice. This means you’re able to swipe left or right on the watch face to get to the apps you need more quickly, without opening up the app list at all.
