Does a Pop-up Mean Your Phone Has Been Hacked?

Wear OS 4 Is Coming To Your Smartwatch This Year — Here's What's New

Wear OS is getting a major update with Wear OS 4, and with it, Google's promising a big improvement to the overall smartwatch experience.

Announced today at Google I/O 2023, Wear OS 4 is adding a slew of new features on both a system level as well as an individual app level, meaning that smartwatch owners will be able to have a more streamlined and productive experience when using their devices.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Going live later this year, Wear OS 4 will improve battery life for all devices running it.  Wear OS has never been known for great battery life, so improvements here are more than welcome. Additionally, the OS update will add "new and improved accessibility features" that include a greatly improved text-to-speech engine that will work faster and be more reliable, resulting in clearer hands-free reading.

While perhaps not immediately exciting for non-developer smartwatch owners, Wear OS 4 introduces Watch Face Format, a tool that allows developers to easily create custom watch faces without having to worry about battery optimization. Although this won't change much for casual smartwatch wearers when Wear OS 4 goes live, it will result in more exciting watch faces being offered via Google Play later down the line.

Beyond Wear OS 4, Google has also announced numerous updates to popular Wear OS apps — including changes to first-party Google apps such as Google Home, Gmail, and Calendar. Smart locks and other devices will now be able to be controlled entirely from watches, emails will be able to be managed and sent using the improved text-to-speech functions, and all Calendar functions will be available without needing to unlock a paired phone.

In addition to first-party app optimizations, the new dedicated WhatsApp Wear OS app allows owners to send messages and make calls right from their wrists. New updates and improvements for Spotify and Peloton will also be coming soon to allow for more seamless app experiences.

In terms of a release date for Wear OS 4, we don't know much about when it'll finally be going live other than to expect it "later this year." When it eventually does launch, we expect the update will be available on the Pixel Watch, the Galaxy Watch 4, the Galaxy Watch 5, and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro as well as on any other Wear OS devices.

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How To Use Google Authenticator

Yes, two-factor authentication is a crucial layer of security to add to your online accounts, but you remain vulnerable to hacks if you receive the codes via text message. A better way to manage these quick codes is to use an authenticator app, like Google Authenticator or Twilio Authy. When you use an authenticator app, the multifactor codes are available in-app instead of through a text.

Want to make the switch from a 2FA process ruled by SMS messages to a more secure option? Here's how you can get started with Google Authenticator, what's recently changed about the app, and how to access your codes in-app.

How Do I Set It Up?

To start off, download the app to your smartphone or tablet. Google Authenticator is available for iOS and Android. Open the app and tap on the Get Started button. You will have the option to either log in with your Google account or use the app without logging in. If you do log in, Google Authenticator will save your 2FA data for you. More on this in a moment.

The next step is to pick which online account you want to set up with Google Authenticator. The websites you visit most often likely support multifactor authentication through the app. From Amazon and Gmail to TikTok and Dropbox, the steps vary a little, but the overall process is essentially the same.

Once you've selected an account, the rest of the setup can go one of two ways. You can either scan a QR code using the camera on your smartphone or manually enter the code.

Let's use Amazon's login process as an example. Your first option is to log in to your Amazon account on a laptop, go to the Account page, and choose Login & security. Then, click Turn on for two-factor authentication and Get started on the following page. The preselected choice you'll see is to receive the codes via text message. Instead, choose the option for an Authenticator App.

When you see a QR code on the laptop screen, open the Google Authenticator app on your phone. Tap the plus sign in the bottom-right corner of the app and then Scan a QR code. Decide whether you want to allow the app access to your camera; otherwise you'll need to enter the codes by hand. Scan the barcode with your smartphone and an expiring code will pop up in the app and keep regenerating. Next, type the six-digit code into the laptop. Acknowledge that older devices may require a special login process for 2FA codes and finish the setup process.

What's New About It?

In the past, a common criticism of Google Authenticator was that all of your codes were locked into one phone. If you lost the device on a buzzy night out with friends or a thief snatched it from your grasp, it could be difficult or impossible to get into your connected accounts. Similarly, if you upgraded your phone, it could be a pain to scan all of the QR codes for your sites and services or to export and import them to the new device and set everything up again.

In addition to some design changes, Google recently added functionality that enables your codes to be synced across your Google account. When you're in the authenticator app, you'll see a green cloud with a check mark in the top-right corner next to your profile photo that indicates your codes are synced. Note that you have to be logged in to use this feature, so if you've been using Google Authenticator without logging in, you'll have to either log in to store the info in your account or export and import your data on new devices the old way.

OK, Now Give Me Those Darn Codes

So, you've set it up and synced the codes with your Google account. What's next? When logging in to any accounts you've connected to Google Authenticator, you'll open the app, locate the impermanent code associated with that account, and use it to finish the process. 

Looking for more ways to protect your online accounts? An authenticator app is not your only option for beefed-up security. In fact, you can protect your most important logins even further with a physical security key.

Google Confirms Wear OS 4 Along With New Gmail, Calendar And Backup Features

Google's Wear OS 3 is getting new features from Google itself along with third-party apps and -- later this year -- a major update to Wear OS 4. Announced Wednesday during Google I/O, the watch operating system will be getting more integrations with Google services like Gmail, Calendar and Google Home. Many of these improvements, which include battery life improvements, will arrive on Wear OS 3 watches like Google's own Pixel Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Watch series.

The updated Google Home app will allow for remotely unlocking your door and checking Nest doorbell notifications. Gmail and Calendar's Watch OS updates will add quick replies to emails along with access to schedules, event RSVPs and the ability to update a task status from a watch.

A look at WhatsApp on Wear OS.

Google

Third-party apps are also part of Google's Wear OS announcements, with chat service WhatsApp planning to launch its first native watch app on the operating system. WhatsApp's Wear OS app -- currently in beta -- plans to include texting alongside voice calls directly from a Wear OS watch. Google also announced that Spotify and Peloton will be including watch tiles in their Wear OS apps, both of which will provide faster access to music playlists and workout details respectively.

When Wear OS 4 becomes available later this year, Google says the software will bring battery life improvements, a faster text-to-speech experience and backup support. That latter feature will make it easier to transfer data and settings from an old watch to a new one, much like Google's current Android phone setup process.

The Wear OS announcements come as Google's I/O keynote takes a big focus on AI announcements. These include the PaLM 2 language model, an AI-powered version of Google's search engine and the public release of the Bard AI chatbot.

Watch this: Google's AI Ambitions Will Likely Be Everywhere At Google I/O

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Google has just announced the Pixel 7a, the company's latest phone. With a long-lasting battery, 6.1-inch display, 128GB of storage and more, you may be interested in getting your hands on one of these. Luckily, they are available right now for pre-order, so pick your favorite color and get yours reserved today.

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