Google wants Wear OS to act as a hub away from your phone. After adding several improvements to Google Keep on its smartwatches like a fresh design and new note-taking capabilities, the company is now looking to make games more easily discoverable in the Play Store.
In the Google Play Store's Games menu, a section called Other devices situated next to the Top charts category listed apps that were compatible with other Android-powered devices like Android TV. Hoping to expand Wear OS users' selection of games on their smartwatches, Google has followed that same blueprint by adding a Watch submenu with app recommendations, 9to5Google reports.
There isn't an abundance of recommendations in the lists just yet, however, with only two sections dedicated to games — relaxing and challenging ones. A third one exists, though it focuses only on general must-have Wear OS apps. The suggestions range from stress relief games to puzzles all the way to RPGs.
The feature only works on mobile devices for now, however, as the menu is not available on the desktop version of the Google Play Store. Those looking for general Wear OS apps can find the Watch section in the Apps menu.
Ever since Google formally launched the Pixel Watch in 2022, it's been hard at work implementing improvements to its wearable operating system and apps to ensure that Wear OS devices can function as capable companions to your smartphone. The company is even making things easier for developers, having recently allowed them to develop and update their smartwatch apps independently of the core Android ones.
Continuing its pace of monthly updates, Google recently rolled out its April 2023 security update for the WearOS-powered Pixel Watch. Unlike its March update, which saw the addition of a plethora of new features like fall detection, this one didn't include anything new, but did manage to fix a handful of vulnerabilities.