In the latest support document for Wear OS, Google announced that the Google Messages app lets its users record and send voice messages from their smartwatches. This means you can use your Pixel Watch or Galaxy Watch to send voice messages without using your smartphone.
Google hasn't shown how the Google Messages UI to record and share voice messages would look. However, it said the ability to send voice messages from a Wear OS device will be available over the next few weeks. According to 9To5Google, the interface could be redesigned and get a dedicated button for recording messages alongside the one for emoji and the on-screen keyboard.
Also, there is no clarity on whether you would be able to listen to the audio on your Wear OS smartwatch. The support document says that playback of the voice message is not supported. So, you still need to use your phone to view the recordings you send and the ones you receive. To send a voice message via the Google Messages Wear OS app, you need to hit the microphone icon in a message, where you will see options to send a voice message or use the voice-to-text feature.
When you choose to send a voice message option, the basic voice recorder will open, and the progress bar will be highlighted by filling the edges of the display. You can either cancel the voice message or go back, but you do not get the option to hear your recording beforehand.
Google promises that the ability to share voice messages from the Google Messages Wear OS app will be available in more regions in the coming weeks. It seems like Google's rollout is in line with WhatsApp's because WhatsApp for Wear OS recently added a dedicated voice memo Tile.
