According to experts, Google could use Wear OS to create a more unified Android smartwatch experience, but that will still take some work.

Google recently introduced Gboard, its popular smartphone keyboard for Wear OS, marking the first major app launch the smartwatch operating system has seen in years. Furthermore, Google assured Android fans that the operating system is still alive and kicking, even going so far as to hint that new features are in the works. Despite these promises, experts say the biggest hurdle for Wear OS is its fragmented user experience.

"The problem with Wear OS is that it's fragmented. Wear OS still feels like a side project and no one really knows which devices it will work well with," Martin Meany, a tech expert at Goosed.ie, told Lifewire in an email. "People who buy Android phones still can't be sure that Wear OS will work for them. They can't be sure that the apps they want to try will work."

Wear OS originally launched in 2014 as Android Wear. Since then, the smartwatch-based operating system has changed names a few times, from Android Wear to Wear OS by Google to simply Wear OS. Despite the rebranding, not much has changed when it comes to mainstream support.