Eric Zeman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google will let Wear OS users rotate the watch screen 180 degrees.
- This has been a long-requested feature for left-handed users.
- It sounds like this feature is coming to new watches only.
Google has been spending a lot of time on its once-neglected smartwatch platform, releasing Wear OS 3 as a major overhaul last year. The company isn’t stopping there though, as it turns out that it’s also tackling an oft-neglected demographic with an upcoming feature addition.
A Googler confirmed that Wear OS will let you rotate the watch screen by 180 degrees (h/t: Mishaal Rahman and Redditor ultra_HR). This means you can wear your smartwatch upside down.
“Our development team has implemented the feature you have requested and will be available on future new devices,” reads the Googler’s comment.
It’s disappointing to note that this doesn’t seem to be coming to existing Wear OS watches, suggesting that affected consumers will need to abandon their current device. We hope this isn’t the case and that it’s simply a case of new watches getting the feature first.
Why would you want this option?
Nevertheless, this is a great feature for left-handed users, as many left-handed people wear a smartwatch on their right hand. But this means the wearable’s buttons face your body rather than your wrist. So turning the watch upside down while wearing it on your right hand means the buttons are in a more comfortable, accessible position.
It’s kind of amazing that Wear OS has gone this long without receiving this feature. It suggests that perhaps there weren’t many left-handed users on the Wear OS team or that the company simply decided that this wasn’t a priority. In fact, we’ve seen workarounds such as the Lefty app appear in recent years, while rival platforms like the Apple Watch have implemented native support too.
In any event, we’re glad to see Google finally implementing this feature on Wear OS. Although we’re once again holding out hope that existing watches can get in on the action too.
