Smartwatches that run Google's Wear OS software are becoming more useful for traveling via public transit. Among a handful of Android-related updates timed with MWC 2024, Google announced that the option to follow detailed public transit directions are coming to the Google Maps smartwatch app.
With this feature, users with devices such as the Google Pixel Watch 2 or Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 will be able to leave their phone in their pockets while they take trains, buses, and ferries. They can search up a destination, select public transportation as their travel method, and follow step-by-step directions all from their wrist.
When you search for a destination in the Maps app, the recommended public transit option will appear in your traveling method options. It'll give you an overview of which train lines or bus routes included in the route, as well as your estimated time of arrival. With time comparisons for different modes of travel, you might see that taking public transportation is actually the fastest option to get where you need to go.
Using Google Wallet, you could already tap your smartwatch to public transmit pay terminals. So if your smartwatch was the only device you had on you, you should still be equipped for travel.
Together, these Wear OS updates will make a few of the best Android smartwatches even better. And by better, I mean more independently functional. The more a purposes a smartwatch can serve on its own, the more reason it's worth investing in a wearable device for daily use.
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