Wear OS 7 brings new widgets, but Google isn’t killing Tiles yet

Google has officially introduced Wear Widgets with Wear OS 7, and while the company isn’t outright killing Tiles yet, the writing is clearly on the wall.

In a developer blog, Google described Wear Widgets as “the next step in the evolution of Tiles.” The new system will make widgets work more consistently across Android phones, tablets, cars, and now smartwatches.

In simple terms, Google wants developers to build a single widget system that scales across the entire Android ecosystem rather than creating separate experiences for Wear OS watches.

The new Wear Widgets come in small and large layouts that align with the same 2×1 and 2×2 widget formats used on Android phones. Google says this should make it easier for developers to adapt existing Android widgets for Wear OS instead of building dedicated Tiles from scratch.

The images below show how you’ll be able to add Wear Widgets on Wear OS 7. We captured them using the Wear OS 7 emulator.

While the widget system is good news for developers, not everyone seems convinced it’s good news for smartwatch users.

Over on Reddit, reactions to the new widget system have been pretty mixed. Many users feel the new rectangular card-like layouts look awkward on circular watch displays and lack the polished feel of current full-screen Tiles.

“Rectangular widgets shrunken down to fit into a round display? Seems like a UI downgrade from Tiles,” commented one user, while another concurred and said, “Why can’t they make the widgets, you know, round?”

Others also questioned whether replacing full-screen Tiles with smaller widgets would actually improve the Wear OS experience. “Dropping tiles entirely and replacing with widgets seems like a bad call. The Weather tile, for example, is great. I can jump in and out of whatever section I tap on. Widgets look like a step backwards and a waste of valuable screen space if they don’t fill it like tiles do,” wrote another user.

Some users also pointed out that Google spent years redesigning Wear OS around circular displays, especially with Wear OS 6’s Material 3 Expressive overhaul, so making the shift toward rectangular widgets feels somewhat contradictory.

Thankfully for existing Wear OS users, Tiles aren’t disappearing immediately. Google says it will continue supporting the tools developers use to build Tiles “for some time,” while also releasing updated versions with new features.

Those updates include faster-loading Tiles and simplified Material 3 development tools.

Interestingly, Google is also adding something called Dynamic Service Switching for Tiles in Wear OS 7. From Google’s description, it could let apps automatically switch between different versions of the same Tile depending on the situation.

So while Wear Widgets appear to be the future, Tiles still have plenty of fans, and for now, it looks like both systems will coexist.