Forget Pixel Watch 4: Wear OS 6 is now available on Pixel Watch 3 and 2

Google’s newest wearable, the Pixel Watch 4, hits store shelves tomorrow. Android Authority‘s Kaitlyn Cimino gave the watch a glowing review, praising its refined design, display, and health tracking. She also liked the visual refresh and new features included in Wear OS 6. Today, in a notably pro-consumer move from Google, that update has begun rolling out to older Pixel Watch devices.

As spotted by 9to5Google, the Wear OS 6 update is now available for both Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 2. I’m seeing the update on my own Pixel Watch 3 in the US, and on a post on the Pixel Watch subreddit from user Loud-Possibility4395, multiple commenters say they’ve initiated the update. One mentions downloading Wear OS 6 in Germany, too, implying this is a wide rollout.

Wear OS 6 brings with it a handful of visual updates in line with Google’s current Material 3 Expressive design language. There’s optional dynamic color theming that can color-coordinate parts of the watch’s UI to match the color applied to your watch face, new rounded buttons that hug the edges of the display, and some updated UI elements and animations. Google also says that the update can bring up to a 10% increase in battery life compared to Wear OS 5.

The update is available on Bluetooth and LTE versions of the Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 2 right now. The update isn’t yet available for the first-generation Pixel Watch, but given that model is officially eligible for updates through this month, we expect it’ll get Wear OS 6 in the weeks to come.

You can check for the update by opening your watch’s settings, heading to System, then tapping System updates. Google’s also got OTA images available for download.