The title says it all: From now on, turn-by-turn navigation on Wear OS smartwatches will work even without a phone connected to the watch. You still need an internet connection, but this is not offline navigation. This means that only Wear OS smartwatches that support LTE (and associated carrier plans) can take advantage of this feature almost anywhere in the world, as long as there is a network signal.
On the other hand, if your Wear OS smartwatch doesn’t have an LTE connection, you can still use Google Maps Navigation without your phone, as long as the watch Connect to a wireless network. How useful this is actually in the wild remains to be seen – after all, Wi-Fi networks are notoriously not mobile much, and “navigating” means a lot of movement.
Nonetheless, the feature is now live and you can get turn-by-turn directions with maps without your phone. It’s unclear if offline navigation will be implemented on a smartwatch near you, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
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