Which Google operating system was first released for smartwatches in 2014?

Android Wear was Google’s operating system first released for smartwatches in 2014. It adapted Android technology for wearable devices and was designed to work with smartphones.

Google announced Android Wear in March 2014. The first commercial watches using the platform were the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live, both released later that year. Motorola’s Moto 360 also became one of the best-known early Android Wear watches.

The software emphasized glanceable notifications, voice interaction and health or activity information. It used Google services to display alerts from a paired phone and let users perform limited actions from the watch.

Google renamed Android Wear to Wear OS by Google in 2018. The change was intended to make the platform feel less restricted to Android users, since watches could also work with iPhones. Android Wear should not be confused with Android Auto, which is designed for in-car displays, or with Google’s phone version of Android.