Wear OS brings UV index info to smartwatches
With summer almost upon the U.S, a lot of people will want to go outdoors especially after getting cooped up during the pandemic. One important thing that you need to know before you venture to the beach or go on a picnic is to know the weather. There are a lot of weather apps available but if you have a Wear OS smartwatch, you’ll have additional information with the latest update. Google is now bringing UV index information so you know if the ultraviolet rays can be harmful or just okay for your skin.
As you probably learned in school or through Google, the level of ultraviolet rays that you take in can be harmful and can even be a source of cancer. So knowing what UV level it is before you go out, just like knowing the weather, can be helpful in deciding what to wear and what you can do to protect yourself. The UV index ranges from 0 to 11+ as part of an international standard. 0 to 2 is low and you need to wear eyeglasses while 8 to 10 is very high and you need to take extra precautions.
The Wear OS update will bring you the UV index for your area and will be seen as a complication on the smartwatch screen with a sun icon and the UV number level. This can be seen on the Weather app that is built in for smartwatches running on the platform. Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be any new thing with this update rolling out so it’s not a major one but it’s still useful for those who need this kind of information.
Stay safe while catching rays. ☀️
Your Weather app on #WearOSbyGoogle now includes the UV Index for your location. pic.twitter.com/8KXDzTq1cV
— Wear OS by Google (@WearOSbyGoogle) April 8, 2021
This will still not make it up for all Wear OS users who have long been complaining that updates and new features are few and far between. It isn’t as consistent as those of other smartwatch platforms like Apple’s WatchOS or Samsung’s Tizen. We don’t know yet as to the main plans of Google for their smartwatch platform and so users are just hoping that there will be more of things like this and maybe even major ones this year.
The Wear OS update is starting to roll out to the Weather app. There’s no timeline as to when this will happen so you’ll just have to wait until you see that UV icon on your smartphone.
