Multiple users of the Xiaomi Watch 2 and Watch 2 Pro are reporting the gradual rollout of Google's Wear OS 4 operating system to their devices, bringing a couple of nifty tweaks and new features.
Xiaomi followed Samsung in integrating Wear OS into its smartwatch devices in late 2023 with the advent of the Watch 2 Pro, followed by the cheaper Watch 2 unveiled in February 2024. But while the introduction of Wear OS was a big shift for Xiaomi's smartwatch models, the company is strangely quiet on this latest update.
As spotted by Gadgets and Wearables, users of both the Watch 2 and Watch 2 Pro are reporting the rollout of Wear OS 4 on Reddit. From the early reports, it seems that this is a fairly gradual rollout of the update limited to a few select regions including the UK, Poland, and Spain.
Users who have successfully installed the update also seem to be doing it manually, rather than when prompted by Xiaomi. If you own a Xiaomi Watch 2 or Watch 2 Pro, you can check to see if you've got the update yourself by heading to the Update Firmware screen.
Wear OS 4 comes to Xiaomi
Given the introduction of Wear OS is a fairly significant update to the Watch 2 and Watch 2 Pro, it seems a little strange that Xiaomi hasn't announced the rollout of Wear OS 4 ahead of time. It could be that the company is planning to let users know but the software has rolled out early. It's also possible that the release of Wear OS 5 this year has overshadowed the launch a bit, and Xiaomi doesn't want to advertise that it's a bit behind the curve.
As to what's new in Wear OS 4 on Xiaomi, early adopters are reporting new fonts and icons, as well as support for some newer watch faces. Other users have reported a lot of bug fixes and overall stability improvements too, including one specific fix for a Do Not Disturb synchronization issue.
While Xiaomi's Watch offerings might not be considered the best smartwatches on the market, they're bost incredibly cheap compared to alternatives from Apple and Samsung. As noted, Wear OS support remains a significant shift and opens up the appeal of Xiaomi's models to a much broader range of Android users. Crucially, unlike Huawei, these smartwatch devices are available to buy in the US.
