Smartphone sidelined: Get directions directly on your smartwatch

It will soon be possible to use Google Maps navigation directly on your smartwatch, without necessarily needing your smartphone with you. — Image by wayhomestudio on Freepik

Google has announced that it will now be possible to find your way around with its Maps application without necessarily using your smartphone. All you'll need is your Wear OS watch, provided that it's connected to a cellular or WiFi network.

This new feature will primarily concern owners of a latest-generation smartwatch, compatible with Wear OS 3, and which can connect to the cellular network. The idea is to allow users to bypass their smartphone thanks to an onboard version of Google Maps that offers turn-by-turn navigation, regardless of your mode of transport. This type of use could appeal to joggers or cyclists, for example, who will simply be able to look at their wrists to find their way around, and will no longer have to carry their smartphones, which connect via Bluetooth to their watch.