Wear OS 6 (One UI 8 Watch) First Preview Reveals Material 3 Expressive Redesign

Alongside Android 16, Google is also gearing up to release its next-generation wearable software, Wear OS 6. Last week, the Mountain View-based tech giant revealed some of Material 3 Expressive’s design coming to its smartwatch platform. It has now released the first preview for Wear OS 6, allowing developers and enthusiasts to check out the new software ahead of launch. This gives a closer look at what Galaxy Watch users might get with the upcoming One UI Watch update.

Here’s a closer look at Google’s Wear OS 6 update

WearOS 6 is based on Android 16 and brings a major UI redesign inspired by the Material 3 Expressive design language. Folks over at 9to5Google have got early access to the upcoming update through Android Studio, giving us a detailed look at it.

The new Material 3 Expressive design language has been integrated across the system, including the app drawer, notifications, and multitasking menu. On these locations, we see a new “bubble” shape to the bottom button, meeting the radius of the display. On top of that, we see bolder icons on Quick Settings and new animations on the unlock screen, matching the design language of Material 3 Expressive.

One of the notable changes in Wear OS 6 is the implementation of Material You theming. When you change the watch face, a message saying “Applying theme” appears that changes the color across the system, including notifications, buttons, the Quick Settings, and more.

If you don’t like automatic themes, there is an option to choose a theme manually. You need to go to Settings > Display > Color theme and select your favorite color option. You will see eight color options: Moonstone, Ivy, Porcelain, Iris, Lemongrass, Jade, Indigo, and Peony. Additionally, Wear OS 6 also lets you turn off the colors completely and use a theme that is mostly purple with some orange accents.

As far as launch is concerned, Wear OS 6 may debut alongside the upcoming Galaxy Watch 8 series, which could happen in the first half of July 2025. Do note that Samsung is developing its own wearable custom skin, One UI 8 Watch, based on Wear OS 6. So, Samsung may or may not include some of the design elements introduced in the Wear OS 6.