One UI 6.5 Watch may let you force AOD on apps

On Samsung’s Galaxy Watches, when you open certain apps and then stop using them or put your wrist down, the app becomes blurry and goes into the background with the watch face taking over. That’s because those apps don’t support always-on display (AOD). Apps supporting it, such as Google Maps, Google Keep, and Spotify, will stay active even when you are not using them, albeit looking less colourful and sharp.

Well, with Android 15-based Wear OS 5.1, which came out yesterday, Samsung’s upcoming One UI 6.5 Watch can force apps not supporting AOD to stay active on your Galaxy Watch even when you put your wrist down. With that, if you stop using an app or put your wrist down when the app is open, your watch will keep showing you the last screen you were using. This feature makes it easier for you to use apps intermittently.

Wear OS 5.1 brings Global AOD Experience

The newly released Wear OS 5.1 brings a new feature called Force Global AOD Experience in Developer Options. Enabling this feature will force AOD on apps that don’t support it. So, when you stop using an app that doesn’t support AOD, it will stay active on the screen.

You will be able to find this feature by going to Settings » System » About » Versions and then tap on Build number a few times quickly. This will enable Developer Options. Now navigate to Settings » Developer Options and activate Force Global AOD Experience.

Wear OS 5.1 features and its availability for Samsung Galaxy Watch

Wear OS 5.1 brings two other major features, Credentials Manager and the ability to play media via a smartwatch's speaker. Unfortunately, there's no information about when Samsung will offer it to Galaxy Watches. When it does, it may come with One UI 6.5 Watch.

Image Credits – 9To5Google

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Abid Iqbal Shaik - Writer

First Samsung device: Galaxy S II

I’m a computer science engineer living in Hyderabad, India, who has a keen interest in automobiles and consumer electronics. My journalism career kicked off in 2017 with MySmartPrice where I wrote news, features, buying guides, and explanatory articles about technology among other things, and reviewed many products, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, PC components, smartwatches, audio devices, wearables, and smart home products. Since then, I have worked for 91Mobiles, Apple, and Onsitego, before finally landing on SamMobile.

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