// 9TO5GOOGLE — MOBILE & WEB
Wear OS adding ‘system status bar’ to apps, Wear OS 7.1 coming
Earlier this week, Google revealed that a “later platform release of Wear OS” is adding a “system status bar.”
On October 26, Google released a Wear OS canary emulator in Android Studio to let developers “test upcoming platform features and user interface changes before they become available in a consumer platform release on physical devices.”
The upcoming feature in question is a “persistent system status bar over Wear OS app windows at the top position of the circular display.” It will display the “current time and system status indicators,” similar to Android on phones and tablets.
Additionally: “These indicators use standardized clock typography, placement, and backplate across the platform and different apps, including your app.” Apps that require a fullscreen experience will be able to hide the status bar.
As of this preview, “the system status bar displays a placeholder star icon instead of final system status indicators.”
This emulator is published as Wear OS 7.1 (API level 37.2-beta1, based on Android 17 “CinnamonBun”) with a CP41.260831.001.E8 build ID. This reveals that Wear OS 7.1 is coming, but it sounds like the status bar will launch in a later release: “The system status bar is included exclusively in this canary emulator to support early testing and feedback. It won’t be included in the upcoming Wear OS 7.1 stable emulator.”
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.