Google Keep app on Wear OS 3 gains a Tile with new update

The latest version of the Google Keep app on Wear OS 3 is getting a small but significant update which adds a tile to the UI. For those unfamiliar, Wear OS tiles are glanceable and easy-to-access app screens usually loaded by swiping left on the interface. These display only the most important content tied to that app and often include buttons to interact with it.

The new Google Keep tile includes two buttons: One for creating a new note and the other for creating a new list. It also includes a pill-shaped button at the bottom to browse through all your notes. However, the app retains the same old look with no Material You touches to the UI. As reported by 9to5Google, the tile has only been spotted on wearables that run Wear OS 3, such as the Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 5, and the Montblanc Summit 3. It also only appears after updating to version 5.22.322.03.97 of the Google Keep app.

With the release of the Pixel Watch just around the corner and the new Fitbit devices that were just announced, it seems that at this point, support for any apps and features on Wear OS 2 or older versions is waning. Wear OS 3 will not run on a smartwatch running anything older than a Snapdragon Wear 4100, and it most likely doesn’t make sense for app developers to go back and add features to their apps that are running on devices with older chips. The writing is on the wall for older Wear OS devices, so I’m hoping that lower-priced options become available soon for smartwatches running Wear OS 3, such as the TicWatch Pro 3 and future Fossil watches.