There a built-in browser in Wear OS 4 that doesn’t surf the web

Wear OS 4 ushers in some quite useful changes for Android users but one of those things is not a built-in browser that you can use to surf the web. Firstly, for many that’s probably ok. Because browsing the web on a smartwatch screen is most certainly not the most ideal way to experience all the web has to offer.

Secondly, there are actually some other browser apps you can grab from the Play Store on the watch. If you feel like putting yourself through that for some reason. Interestingly, Wear OS 4 on the Pixel Watch and the Pixel Watch 2 does come with a built-in browser. What’s strange about this is that the browser doesn’t let you surf the web. It seems that it might be dedicated to sending links that you can click from other apps over to your phone. So it does technically work in a roundabout way. But you can’t simply launch the browser and then navigate to a website of your choosing.

The built-in browser in Wear OS 4 isn’t showing up for everyone

It’s not clear why but as 9To5Google points out, the browser doesn’t show up for all users. We were able to find it on our Pixel Watch 2 so it is definitely there though. Located in settings, you can find it under the default apps screen from the apps and notifications menu. Right towards the top you’ll see “default browser” and “Wear OS” will be set as the default. Of course, if you install another browser on the watch, you should be able to change this.

Maybe Google will end up changing this in some way down the line. But for now it’s something that’s kind of just there. And interesting find to say the least. Though it’d be more interesting if it was an actual application you could launch.