Tiles

Tiles provide quick access to the information and actions users need to get things done. With a swipe on the watch face, a user can find out the latest forecast, start a timer, and more.

Figure 1. Swipe to one side of the watch face to see the different tiles on a Wear OS device.

Users can choose what tiles they want to see. There are tiles to check the weather, set a timer, track daily fitness progress, quick-start a workout, play a song, scan an upcoming meeting, and send a message to a favorite contact.

Figure 2. Tiles give users easy access to information and actions.

The Tiles API helps developers build custom tiles that users can include on their watch. Using the Tiles API requires targeting API level 26 or higher.

Intended use

Wear OS provides tiles as a way for you to show a small amount of key information, which users can read through after they glance at a tile for a few seconds. To provide this high-quality experience for users, follow these best practices:

• Don't overcrowd tiles with too much content. Instead, allow users to tap on tiles to learn more and take action on another surface in your app.
• Focus on the tile's layout and content. The system takes care of the low-level rendering tasks.
• Don't fetch content frequently or start long-running asynchronous work in your tiles. These workflows consume too many system resources.