The name says it all: from now on, turn-by-turn navigation on Wear OS smartwatches can work even without connecting your phone to the watch. However, you will still need an internet connection – this is not offline navigation. This means that only Wear OS smartwatches with LTE support (and an associated carrier plan) would be able to use this feature virtually anywhere in the world as long as there is a network signal.

On the other hand, if your Wear OS smartwatch doesn’t boast LTE connectivity, you can still use turn-by-turn Google Maps navigation without your phone as long as the watch is connected to a Wi-Fi network. How usable this will actually be in the wild remains to be seen—after all, Wi-Fi networks aren’t known to move much, while “navigation” means a lot of movement.

Still, the feature is now live and you can get turn-by-turn navigation in Maps and leave your phone behind. It’s unclear if offline navigation will ever make it to a smartwatch near you, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

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