- Android 15 allows watch companion apps to control the media output of other apps.
- This could let users change the device their phone is outputting audio to right from their watch.
- Google could introduce this feature to the Pixel Watch in a future update, but we don’t know if or when that’ll happen.
One benefit of pairing your Android phone to a smartwatch running Google’s Wear OS platform is that you can control your phone’s media playback right from your wrist. I use this functionality all the time when I want to play or pause a video on my TV while I’m making food or when I want to change tracks in an album on my smart display while I’m working. Sadly, one button that the Wear OS media player is missing when it’s showing media controls for your phone is a media output switcher. This means if you want to change the device your phone is outputting audio to, you need to pick up your phone. That could change in the upcoming Android 15 update, however.
When you go to pair an Android phone to a smartwatch running Wear OS, you typically need to set up a companion app on your phone. This companion app usually not only lets you change various options on your watch from the comfort of your phone’s larger screen but also syncs important data from your phone like its notifications, phone calls, text messages, and more. Before it can collect and send this data, though, the companion app needs to request a lot of sensitive permissions on your phone.