Google is planning to add an option to its Wear OS smart watches so they can be used by left-handed people.
Spotted on Reddit by journalist Mishaal Rahman, one user had complained on Google’s Issue Tracker website that they could not wear their smart watch on their right hand properly.
“my android wear watch has buttons on one side. and i would like to wear the watch upside down on my other arm (i am left handed.)”, they wrote.
Four years later, a Google employee finally responded to the message. “Our development team has implemented the feature you have requested and will be available on future new devices.”
Unfortunately, this means that left-handed people will have to purchase a new smart watch in order to receive the feature.
“That isn’t very helpful for those of us that have been tracking this issue for the past few years”, one replied. “’Good news! You can use your smartwatch ambidextrously now! Well, not your smartwatch, you have to buy a new one. Yes, that’s correct. Your smartwatch is still useless.’”
There is also no timescale for when this feature could be added to Wear OS 3. Google has said that the new version of its wearable software will start rolling out in the “second half of 2022”, giving left-handed people a long time to wait for a feature that many would have welcomed years ago.
Moreover, the list of watches that will get that update are limited – only Mobvoi, TicWatch, Fossil, and Samsung have been mentioned so far. Google is also reportedly working on its own potentially Pixel-branded smart watch launching this year since acquiring Fitbit, but news about that endeavor has been scarce.
The Apple Watch, meanwhile, has had a similar feature available for users since 201. Apple’s wearable is not compatible with Android devices.
Google did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent before time of publication.
