Google has introduced Live Updates as a notification class through Android 16 and it has plans to expand them to all sorts of devices, but most importantly, to wearables running Wear OS.
Live Updates, for those who missed the news, are ongoing notifications that reveal a live status from an app on your device. Mostly, these will show from delivery apps or a ride share service like Uber, because those apps offer a live status that you might want to track in real-time on your screen. These Live Updates could also show for navigation, or I’d imagine they could show the live travel status of someone who has shared their location with you.
During a dedicated session for Live Updates from Google I/O, Google confirmed that they plan to launch these Live Updates on Wear OS in 2026. That’s literally the only note of it (here), but it’s worth mentioning because they will be super handy on your wrist.
Imagine your food delivery or Uber is on the way and rather than pull out your phone to check status, you could simply flip your wrist over to check. Since smartwatches work the best when giving you glanceable info just when you need it, these Live Updates are kind of the perfect fit.
For comparison, the Apple Watch has supported these types of notifications (called Live Activities) since watchOS 11 in September 2024.
// Android Authority
