Wear OS is making loading apps much more difficult

According to an email that Google is sending to developers of Wear OS, sideloading apps that are not available on the Play Store will become much more complicated as of March 10. You will no longer be able to sideload applications from your phone via the Play Store -> Apps on your phone section on watches, making it almost impossible to add unapproved apps to your watch without resorting to developer tools like the Android Debug Bridge (ADB).

Developer Malcolm Bryant contacted us with the email he received. Google explains that the change is part of a departure from the legacy integrated application model that allowed developers to add Wear OS code to Android applications. Eliminating this method of distribution will make phone apps smaller for everyone, as people will no longer need to download Wear OS code on their phones, even if they don’t have Wear OS devices.

However, the ability to rely on the legacy application model is particularly important for applications that are not available on the Play Store, which affects many of Bryant’s own projects. The move will make sideloading apps like these much more difficult for ordinary people, as it requires the activation of development tools on smartwatches. They will now have to enable developer options in their watch settings and submit applications via ADB.

Movements like these shouldn’t be too surprising, as Google is working to increase control over its applications and devices. It is only recently that new security measures have been introduced to prevent sideloading of some Google apps on Android 11, and getting Android apps on Chrome OS without using the Play Store has always been a major hassle. The change is quite understandable in the case of Wear OS, however. The company wants to decouple Wear OS apps from Android apps, and the new sideloading constraint appears to be a victim caught in the crossfire. Many developers who publish their apps on the Play Store have already switched to the new app distribution model anyway, so this mainly affects apps that are distributed elsewhere.