While Material 3 Expressive is not coming to Wear OS 6 until later this year, Google is already beginning to update apps and Tiles with the new design language.
One hallmark of M3 Expressive on watches is embracing the round screen with UI elements that “hug the display.” Arc-shaped buttons placed on the perimeter are an example of that.
One Pixel Watch user has already noticed them on the two Google Calendar Wear OS Tiles: Next event (“Calendar”) and Next tasks (“More”). In comparison, the previous design makes use of pill-shaped buttons that are much smaller. The new approach gives users a larger touch target to hit.
Old vs. new (Credit: u/TurningTablesAgain)
Google Calendar for Wear OS was updated to version 2025.18.1 today, though we’re not seeing the Material 3 Expressive buttons live on watches we checked today. There’s presumably a server-side component to this rollout.
Material 3 Expressive will debut on the Pixel Watch later this year, but app updates are already underway. More broadly, Wear OS Tiles with M3E will get much denser with new layouts that show and offer much more.
More on Material 3 Expressive:
- Material 3 Expressive drops nav drawers on phones as short bottom bars return
- An early look at Material 3 Expressive for Google apps: Gmail, Fitbit, more
- Google announces Android 16’s Material 3 Expressive redesign
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