A colossal Wear OS calendar upgrade — Google Pixel Watch and beyond - Computerworld

Google's Pixel Watch has plentifulness of bully things goin' for it. But 1 portion of the Wear OS bundle that remains decidedly meh is its strategy calendar integration.

It's a frustrating regulation not conscionable for the Pixel Watch but for Wear OS connected the full and virtually immoderate associated gadget. Somewhat shockingly, for a institution that claims Google Calendar arsenic 1 of its astir fashionable and important productivity products, Google has yet to grace its wearable operating strategy with immoderate meaningful agenda-interacting interfaces.

Now, sure, you tin ever cheque successful connected upcoming events oregon marque appointments connected your ticker via dependable command — but effort to adhd an existent calendar tile into your watch's swipeable premix of at-a-glance info panels, and your lone existent enactment is thing similar this:

JR

Don't get maine wrong: That's fine. It's functional, if hardly so. But it's lacking successful oh-so-many ways, including immoderate much info-dense docket viewing enactment on with immoderate existent lawsuit editing capabilities.

Well, my chap Wear watchers, I've got conscionable the reply for you. It's a freshly upgraded mentation of my favourite third-party Android calendar app that introduces implicit Wear OS enactment for a dramatically improved smartwatch calendar acquisition — connected the Google Pixel Watch oregon immoderate different Wear OS instrumentality you've got strapped to your branches.

Ready for a smarter smartwatch setup?

Your Pixel Watch/Wear OS calendar upgrade

All right: If you've been loitering 'round these parts for long, you've astir apt heard maine speech astir this app earlier — but surely not successful this specific context.

The app is called Business Calendar 2 Planner. And if you tin forgive that mouthful of a name, my goodness, are you successful for a treat.

[Psst: Got a Pixel phone? Come cheque retired my escaped Pixel Academy e-course. You'll larn each sorts of hidden tricks for that broadside of your tech setup!]

Business Calendar, arsenic we'll telephone it for short, conscionable finished rolling retired a meaty upgrade that expands its scope into the Wear OS domain. The effect is simply a much much utile Wear OS calendar setup — 1 that's much successful enactment with what you'd expect from a Googley productivity gadget.

Just install the Business Calendar app onto your Android phone, past look for the small downward-facing arrow wrong its Play Store Install fastener to adhd the recently contiguous companion app onto your Pixel Watch (or immoderate Wear OS exemplary you've got) close after.

Once that's done, you'll spot 2 important additions. First is simply a caller Business Calendar Agenda tile for Wear OS that's infinitely much utile than the modular Wear OS Calendar tile Google gives you by default.

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Unlike Google's banal option, this tile shows you numerous upcoming events connected your docket astatine a azygous glimpse — and it's afloat interactive, too: You tin pat immoderate lawsuit wrong it to unfastened the lawsuit successful a nicely designed full-screen interface. That some allows you to spot each the event's details and gives you casual one-tap options for rescheduling oregon deleting the lawsuit close past and there.

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On apical of that, the tile has a useful fastener astatine its bottommost borderline that pulls up an infinite-scrolling presumption of your entire calendar docket — thoughtfully designed for the Pixel Watch's circular signifier and acceptable to accommodate to immoderate different Wear OS smartwatch setup arsenic well.

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In summation to making it arsenic casual arsenic tin beryllium to find and browse done your full agenda, that aforesaid presumption gives you elemental one-tap options for adding new events into your calendar — each via intuitive plain-English dependable commands, like:

• Meeting adjacent Friday astatine 8 a.m.
• Professional creation grooming connected February 9th from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Intensive carnal therapy from February 10th to February 12th

There's more, too: Your spiffy caller Wear OS calendar tile includes the enactment to power implicit to a afloat interactive monthly view, successful lawsuit you ever request to zoom retired and summation immoderate broader perspective.

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Tapping connected immoderate idiosyncratic time wrong that view, meanwhile, zooms you consecutive into your docket for that circumstantial date. Not bad, right?!

And remember: All of that's conscionable the archetypal portion of what Business Calendar brings to your Google-powered wrist companion.

Your caller Wear OS 'Next Event' view

Business Calendar's 2nd important summation is simply a much narrowly focused Next Event tile for your Pixel Watch oregon different Wear OS gadget. That tile, arsenic its sanction suggests, shows you only info for the adjacent lawsuit connected your agenda.

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But dissimilar Google's built-in Wear OS equivalent, this tile lets you tap on that lawsuit to zip implicit to a afloat featured info viewing and editing interface, conscionable similar we saw successful that different presumption a 2nd ago. And it has one-tap buttons for switching implicit to the afloat docket surface oregon the monthly setup, too.

All successful all, it's an upgrade that's pugnacious to crook down, erstwhile you recognize it's available. And erstwhile you've got the app installed, it'll instrumentality you each of 20 seconds to get things up and moving connected your watch.

20 seconds to a amended Wear OS calendar

No exaggeration: Getting the Business Calendar tiles into your Wear OS ticker interface is arsenic casual arsenic opening up the companion ticker power app connected your telephone and past uncovering the tile-adding option.

With the Pixel Watch, for instance, you'd look for the aptly named Watch app connected immoderate Android instrumentality you've got connected. Open it, past pat the "Tiles" enactment wrong its main surface and pat "Add tile" connected the surface that comes up next.

As agelong arsenic you've got the Business Calendar app installed some connected your telephone and connected the ticker itself, you should spot the "Agenda: Business Calendar" and "Next Event: Business Calendar" tiles successful the database of disposable options.

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Tap either 1 — oregon both, if you're feelin' particularly feisty — past backmost retired 1 measurement to the main tile configuration area.

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There, you tin interaction your digit to those freshly added tiles and resistance up oregon down to determination 'em wherever you privation successful the list. If you enactment 'em astatine the top, they'll beryllium the archetypal happening that shows up erstwhile you swipe toward the close connected your Pixel Watch ticker face. At the bottom, they'll travel up archetypal with a swipe toward the left.

The nonstop steps whitethorn alteration a spot with the companion apps for different Wear OS watches, but the aforesaid basal logic should apply. And that's each determination is to it.

Business Calendar 2 is escaped to usage with an optional $7 Pro upgrade that removes ads from the app's telephone interface and unlocks definite precocious features (and if you're a subordinate of my Android Intelligence Platinum assets community, by the way, don't hide that you've got a escaped beingness upgrade to that Pro mentation acceptable and waiting arsenic portion of your Platinum Perk Pack!).

The app volition automatically sync with Google Calendar, Outlook calendar, oregon immoderate different calendar supplier you've got contiguous connected your phone. And recently added Wear OS advantages aside, it's a spectacular measurement up from the banal calendar setup on Android itself arsenic good arsenic ChromeOS — each arsenic portion of the aforesaid azygous app and optional Pro purchase.

If you thin connected your calendar arsenic often arsenic I do, it'll beryllium 1 of the astir consequential productivity upgrades you ever springiness yourself — connected Wear OS and beyond.

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Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels astir the quality broadside of technology. Hungry for more? Sign up for his play newsletter to get caller tips and penetration successful your inbox each Friday.