Google Releases the Wear OS 5.1 Preview Based on Android 15 with Watch Speaker Playback and Credential Manager API

The California-based tech giant, Google, has released its Wear OS 5.1 developer preview based on the Android 15 operating system. It introduces two key features in this latest developer preview.

Read more about it below.

Wear OS 5.1 Developer Preview Based on Android 15 Now Available

With the Wear OS 5.1 developer preview which is based on the Android 15 operating system, Google offers its users a first look at the brand’s next Wear OS update and developers will be able to start testing it on an Android Studio virtual device. The initial build number for Wear OS 5.1 is ‘AP4A.241205.004.F1’, and as mentioned, two notable key features have been introduced – Watch Speaker Playback and Credential Manager API.

Speaking more, the Watch Speaker Playback function will let users play music and audio through the watch’s inbuilt speakers, however, probably at lower volume and reduced quality. The Credential Manager API will be providing features such as auto sign-in with Google and handle passwords and passkeys.

To note, since this is a developer preview, there are certain identified and possibly unidentified issues in it. Firstly, developers are asked to test the developer preview with the latest versions of the apps to avoid compatibility problems. Certain Android 15 behavioral changes are also absent, and this includes features like predictive back animations and Private Spaces.

Other identified issues are that the emulator may not always let users add their account at the time of setup flow, they may be unable to open the app which sent a notification by tapping on the notification, and the Wear Health Service may fail to begin an exercise when needed.

Regarding the naming, the previous Wear OS 5 was based on Android 14, whereas the Wear OS 5.1 is revealed to be based on the latest Android 15 operating system of this year. Considering the name ‘Wear OS 5.1’, it has been reported that either Google is trying to sync Wear OS and Android together in terms of naming, or it is likely that the next Wear OS version could be a minor update and doesn’t deserve to get a whole new numbering.

Let’s just wait until more updates arrive concerning this to confirm and know more. Stay tuned.