Google Maps for Wear OS smartwatches will soon support offline navigation

Having a smartwatch today is helpful in numerous ways. Apart from letting you access all your notifications and answer calls, it is useful when travelling to a new destination. But if you’ve ever struggled to navigate in a low-network area, Google has a new update allowing select Wear OS watches to display maps offline. A report, published by 9to5Google, states that the company is now rolling out the update for Google Maps in beta. Here’s what you need to know.

Google Maps introduces offline support for Wear OS devices

Several Wear OS users reportedly saw a banner on their updated Wear OS smartwatches which read: “Offline maps on the phone are auto-downloaded to the watch”. However, apart from this, Google Maps will also show an ‘offline maps’ page above the ‘Settings’ option situated near the bottom of the main menu.

The report goes on to state how the watch will automatically download maps from the user’s locality and sync offline areas previously saved on a smartphone. It will also display how much space the offline maps occupy and will allow a user to delete them based on their usage.

ALSO READ: Google rolls out Apple Watch-like ‘School Time’ feature for Wear OS smartwatches

When a user switches to offline mode, they will be able to see a slash cloud icon next to the timestamp on the map. The feature will accompany a ‘Search & Go’ tile, which will be visible on the ‘Home’ and ‘Work’ shortcut, along with a microphone for voice output. The report further mentions that users can dive into the map view with a single tap and it will bypass the main feed consequently. Lastly, they will also have an option to manage downloaded maps for their wearable device by tapping ‘Offline Maps’ and selecting ‘Manage on Phone’.

When will offline Maps for Wear OS devices be available?

For now, the update is only available to users enrolled in the beta program. It is also included in version 11.140.0701.W of Google Maps for Wear OS on the Pixel Watch 2, as well as the Pixel Watch 3, which was launched at the Made by Google event on August 13. The company for now, hasn’t announced when the stable update will make its way to the devices. However, you can always stay subscribed to Unboxed by Croma for more updates.