Wear OS may not be the most robust smartwatch platform and system right now but there have been slight improvements lately. Last year they introduced the concept of “Tiles” which lets users access some of the most commonly used features and apps easily just by swiping. The problem was it was limited only to 5 Tiles. Now it looks like the latest firmware update has finally increased it to more than 5 although there is no official announcement yet and up to how many tiles will be allowed.
The folks over at XDA Developers shared that they were able to add more than 5 Tiles to their smartwatch that was running on Wear OS version 2.40. They were able to add up to 10 Tiles but it is not clear if you can still add more since that was all they had to add. Some of the Tiles that you can add include TicHealth, Forecast, Next event, TicPulse, Timer, Simple Calculator, Headlines, Hand-Wash Timer, Voicememo, and TicExercise.
Tiles are actually pretty useful as you will have quick access to the things that you use most often on your wearable. You can even arrange them according to your preference. The problem was that the limitation of only 5 Tiles was pretty, well, limiting, especially for those who really use their smartwatch to the fullest. Some third-party developers came up with an Unofficial Tiles API so users can add custom ones to the companion app.
Google managed to make a few improvements, like letting users organize the Tiles on their Wear OS smartphone app but that wasn’t enough. What you needed was to let users add more of them. So finally that day has come and if you’re a Wear OS user, you can go on and the Tiles that you really need to use on your smartwatch. And if you are able to add more than 10, then that means the limit is higher than what we know.
Update your Wear OS app to the latest version by updating it through the Google Play Store. You can also download the latest APK if you can’t wait for the official one to roll out to you.