Google’s Clock app for Wear OS has suddenly gone missing from the Play Store for many non-Pixel smartwatches. It has affected Galaxy Watch and OnePlus Watch models especially. It's pretty ironic when you think about it. The most essential app on a device whose entire identity is telling time has disappeared.
When you try to access it, the Play Store now says your device is not supported, even though it used to work fine. Some users have tried sideloading the app from third-party websites. While it installs, it doesn’t establish the usual connection between the watch and the phone. This means alarms and other features won’t sync across devices.
Google may or may not have cut OEMs off from their app
It's been days now and it's still unclear whether the watch issue is a temporary bug or if Google is intentionally limiting support to Pixel Watches and dropping compatibility for third-party Wear OS devices. The company hasn’t yet given an official explanation, so you'll just have to wait.
If they have a motive to make the app Pixel-exclusive, it wouldn't be surprising. Google wants the best Wear OS experience to be something you only get if you buy their branded devices. It's the same thing they're already doing with certain intelligent phone features.
But it could simply be a bug and we're getting wild with the speculations. Play Store listings sometimes break when Google updates device compatibility rules. It can make apps temporarily show up as unsupported even when nothing has actually changed.
Right now, your options are limited to using the built-in clock app provided by your watch manufacturer. Samsung and OnePlus both include their own apps, and while they may not be as deeply tied into Google services, they’ll at least work reliably on your device for the meantime.
Related: The Best Alarm Clock Apps For Android
You'll just have to stick to your watch’s default app
It’s a shame that the disappearance is happening just when Google is polishing their app with the Material 3 Expressive redesign. Only a few days ago, they introduced new icons for Alarm, Stopwatch, Timer, and more.
The old Wear OS icons were flat and loud. They relied almost entirely on bold blocks of color to signal what app you were looking at. The Clock app, for example, was set against a bright yellow circle with a thin, minimalist alarm clock outline inside. The Stopwatch was a red circle, and the Timer used a strong green.
The new icons have depth and subtle gradients that make them look more tactile. The new Clock icon, for example, ditches the yellow background and instead shows a more realistic, shaded alarm clock face. The hands are thick and they sit in the center with more weight like they’ve been painted with a heavier brush.
Timer now resembles a tiny hourglass, shaded with blue and purple hues that give it a 3D quality. If your Pixel watch, or non-Pixel watch (if Google resolves the current issues), updates to version 6.10.571.x, you’ll immediately see these visual changes.
