Wear OS 7’s battery life upgrades are more important than you think

Google has been busy reshaping its wearable strategy. Earlier this month, the company launched the new Fitbit Air, a screenless fitness tracker anchored by multi-day battery life. Then at Google I/O this week, Google announced Wear OS 7, including battery optimizations that could improve Pixel Watch battery life by up to 10%.

At a glance, the two updates might seem unrelated and even aimed at completely different users. Back-to-back, though, they paint a pretty clear picture of where Google hopes its wearables are heading next. After spending the last few days with both devices, it’s hard not to see Google’s timing as clearly intentional.