Google is dropping support for legacy Wear OS faces — here’s what we know

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Developers have to follow the right format

Google Pixel Watch 3 XL in hand
(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

WearOS users who happen to have a beloved, long-serving watch face will need to download it before 2026, as Google halts support for certain watch face formats.

In a recent Android Developers Blog post (via Android Authority,) Google announced it is officially removing support for non-Watch Face Format (WFF) downloads from the Google Play Store from January 14, 2026. After this date, users will no longer be able to install legacy watch faces from the Play Store on any Wear OS device. However, if your watch has any of those faces already downloaded, you can still use them.

Google is also disabling the option for developers to publish updates for legacy watch faces on the Play Store. It will also no longer be possible to offer one-off watch face purchases, in-app purchases or subscriptions if they're using a legacy format. If you have any existing purchases or subscriptions, they will remain valid, but will not renew and cannot be auto-renewed.

The aim is to have all available watch faces for Wear OS watches built using WFF, which Google first announced during Google I/O in 2023. If you’ve never heard of the term WFF, it refers to a template released for developers that allowed them to create Watch OS faces that integrate with compatible smartwatches just as well as Google’s native ones. However, developers weren’t originally forced to use the template until Google made it mandatory for Wear OS 5.

Google Pixel Watch 2

(Image credit: Future)

This makes a certain sense as WFF was originally introduced to cut down on the number of poorly designed and optimized watch faces that were released. These designs were known to severely affect battery life, show incorrect stats, while also often needing companion apps to run. The template mitigates a lot of this, but there is an argument that it limits the creativity available to the developer.

On the plus side for Wear OS fans, it doesn’t look like legacy faces are being cut completely, as developers can migrate any faces developed with Android X or the Wearable Support Library to WFF. However, developers will only have until the January 2026 deadline to submit the faces to the Play Store.

For the time being, we’ll have to wait and see if some of our favorite watch faces return in a new format. However, the hope is that Google’s streamlining of the design process will have a positive impact on some of the best Android watches.

Let us know what you think, is this a good move for Google and Wear OS, or do you want more creativity when it comes to your Watch face?

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Josh Render
Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer. 

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