With Wear OS 3, it seems like Android-friendly wearables might finally be on the right track. Though there’s no sign when non-Samsung watches will hit store shelves, Google has attempted to rectify this by bringing certain features to older watches. With an OS upgrade not happening until the second half of 2022, we’ve been expecting Wear OS 2 devices to stay actively maintained for the foreseeable future. Third-party apps might be a different story, however, as one popular fitness service has already discontinued support for Google’s legacy watch OS.
Strava is one of the most popular ways on Android to track your runs and bicycle treks, with excellent social integration and custom trail tools. It’s had a standalone Wear OS app since 2017, allowing it to chart your exercises without a nearby smartphone. Last week, Strava updated its app to add support for Wear OS 3, making it available on the Play Store on Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch4 devices. However, current watch owners will find themselves without updates in the future.
According to an updated help page on Strava’s website, the company no longer supports its app on Wear OS 2.x devices. This change will affect anyone with a Wear-based watch that isn’t one of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch4 models, including the brand-new Fossil Gen 6 watches announced today. With no word on when additional Wear OS 3 gadgets will launch — and with a platform update for existing hardware not slated until late next year — it’s bad news for anyone who relies on the dedicated watch app for activity tracking. When reached for clarification, Strava issued this statement:
Last week we released a new Strava app for Wear OS3.0. Moving ahead we won’t be releasing new updates to our app for Wear 2.XX — but Strava will continue to be available and will continue to work on Wear 2.XX. All new updates will be made to the Strava app for Wear OS3.0.
So while the app won’t be delisted for Wear OS 2.x devices, the company isn’t providing updates for current owners, leaving them behind as it brings new features and capabilities to Samsung’s lineup (along with future Wear OS 3 watches).
While it’s inevitable that developers will eventually leave older gadgets behind, it seems far too early to drop support for most Android smartwatches altogether. Hopefully, this isn’t a sign of things to come for current users who weren’t planning on upgrading to a Galaxy Watch4 any time soon.
