Getting your glucose reading directly on your wrist without needing to pull out your phone is a practical improvement for daily CGM use. xDrip+ supports native Wear OS watchfaces that display glucose, trend arrow, and delta without relying on your phone’s screen.
What Native Wear OS Means
xDrip+ can run directly on a Wear OS watch — not just as a companion app that mirrors phone data, but as a standalone app that collects data directly from a Bluetooth CGM. When your phone is in another room, the watch continues collecting and displaying glucose data independently.
Supported Watches
Any watch running Wear OS 2.0 or later with a functional Bluetooth radio. Tested successfully with Samsung Galaxy Watch 4/5/6, Fossil Gen 6, TicWatch series, and Google Pixel Watch. Older Wear OS 1.x devices have limited support.
Installation
- Install xDrip+ on your Android phone (prerequisite)
- Enable developer options on your watch
- Use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to sideload the xDrip+ Wear OS APK — available on the same GitHub releases page as the phone APK
- In the xDrip+ phone app: Settings → Wear OS integration → Enable
- Select a watchface in the Wear OS app that includes an xDrip+ complication
Watchface Complications Available
xDrip+ provides several complication sizes: small (number only), medium (number + arrow), and large (number + arrow + graph). The large circular complication on Samsung Galaxy Watch faces is particularly readable while driving or exercising.
Battery Impact
When collecting data natively on the watch, expect 15-25% additional daily battery drain compared to the watch without xDrip+. Most modern Wear OS watches have 1.5-2 day battery life, which typically remains sufficient. The Galaxy Watch 6 with xDrip+ typically lasts 36+ hours on a charge.
Limitations
- Requires Android phone (Wear OS pairs with Android)
- Sideloading requires some technical comfort with ADB commands
- Not available on Apple Watch (requires Xdrip4iOS on iPhone instead)