Google making Wear OS app quality reviews mandatory

Google rebranded Android Wear to Wear OS recently, and it looks like the company is taking extra steps to make sure the quality of apps available on the smartwatch platform are solid and worth using.

This week, Google announced an important change to getting apps on the Wear OS platform. There will now be a mandatory app quality review process. Google has actually had this review process in place for quite some time, but up until now it’s been optional. Google says its decision to make this process mandatory is to “improve Wear app quality and their presentation in the Google Play Store.”

The company also outlines some of the recurring issues it has seen with apps, including support for square or round watch faces, app screenshots, and more. Google says that for the app to pass the mandatory app quality review process, it has to have at least one screenshot.

The new mandatory rule doesn’t kick in right away. Google explains it will swing into gear beginning October 1, 2018. All current Wear OS apps will also be required to go through the quality review by March 4, 2019.

Google taking the right steps to make sure the quality of its Wear OS apps is where they need to be. It’s especially nice to see that even existing apps are going to be required to go through the review process, too.

source: androidandme