Google’s official statement on the matter says “you will need to reset your smartwatch to the way it was when you first got it. (factory settings).” This might not be an issue for most. But it does mean that you will need to reinstall all your apps again. So if there’s anything you want to save, do so before you go through with the upgrade. Worth noting, is that the upgrade isn’t coming until sometime next year. So you have some time.
These are the Wear OS 3 smartwatches that will need the factory reset
At this point, there are only three Wear OS watches confirmed to be eligible for the software upgrade. This includes the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, the TicWatch Pro 3 Cellular/LTE, and the TicWatch E3. All which run on the Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform. If you don’t have one of those watches, chances are you aren’t getting the upgrade. Which means you won’t have to perform a factory reset on your Wear OS watch. At least not for this particular reason. As any upcoming watches are probably going to come with Wear OS 3 out of the box, a factory reset shouldn’t be needed with those either. Having said that, Google’s wording suggests there may be additional watches on the way that come with the current platform. In the support forum post, Google mentions which watches will be eligible for the upgrade. Stating that the above three from Mobvoi are included, as well as follow on TicWatch devices and, Fossil Group’s new generation of devices launching later this year. Google doesn’t outright say these won’t come with Wear OS 3. But that’s the way it sounds. The good news, is that if they do come with the current version of Wear OS, they’ll be eligible for the upgrade to the new software. So they won’t be left behind on features and improvements.
