Google Prepares Airplane Mode Syncing for Android and Wear OS

Google is working on a new feature to make Airplane Mode easy to use across your devices. The feature will sync Airplane Mode automatically between your Android phone and Wear OS watch, meaning you don’t need to toggle the setting on each device separately. This feature currently remains hidden within the latest Android Canary build.

Airplane Mode syncing feature spotted in the latest Android Canary build

While Airplane Mode is simple to enable on any phone or watch, the setting does not sync between connected devices. If you turn on Airplane Mode on your Android phone, your Wear OS watch will keep its wireless radios active unless you toggle the mode manually. Similarly, turning on Airplane Mode on your watch doesn’t turn it on your phone.

If you’re rushing to board a flight or forget to check your watch, this can lead to one device remaining connected and draining battery while searching for a signal. Google’s new syncing feature aims to solve this inconvenience. Folks over at Android Authority have discovered a new string in the 2511 Android Canary build. Part of the Settings app, the string reads, “When connected by Bluetooth, Airplane mode will sync across the supported devices such as phone and watch.” The outlet also spotted an internal flag named sync_airplane_mode_with_watches that controls the feature.

The company has currently disabled the flag, meaning the setting isn’t live yet and doesn’t show up in the user interface. However, its presence in the Canary build suggests Google is preparing support for syncing Airplane Mode between phones and Wear OS watches in an upcoming update. We can assume the feature may arrive with Android 17, which would mean One UI 9 for Galaxy users.

Meanwhile, Google is working on a Task Continuity feature that lets users move activities between different Android devices. Much like Apple’s Handoff, the feature will allow you to start something on one device (such as a phone or tablet, and possibly upcoming Android-based PCs) and continue it instantly on another.