The [Android Emulator](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator) lets you test your Wear OS applications on virtual
devices. Much of its functionality is covered in the main [Android Emulator
documentation](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator); this page focuses on features, testing capabilities, and
troubleshooting tips specific to Wear OS development.

For basic setup instructions, see [Create and run an app on Wear OS](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/get-started/creating).

## Wear OS testing capabilities

The emulator provides specialized tools for testing Wear OS features.

### Test Bluetooth audio

See [Test Bluetooth audio on emulators](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/apps/test-bluetooth-audio).

### Simulate sensors

The emulator provides different ways to simulate sensor data from the toolbar,
depending on the type of data.
![Android Studio toolbar icons](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/buttons/emulator-toolbar.png) **Figure 1.**: Android Studio's "Running Devices" toolbar.

- **Health Services data:**
  - Access the dedicated **Health Services** panel directly from the emulator toolbar (look for the heart icon !["heart
    icon"](https://developer.android.com/static/images/tools/e-health-services.png)). This panel allows fine-grained control for simulating data specific to [Health Services](https://developer.android.com/health-and-fitness/guides/health-services), like exercise metrics. For detailed instructions, see [Simulate sensor data with Health Services](https://developer.android.com/health-and-fitness/guides/health-services/simulated-data).
- **Other sensors (such as location, pose, heart rate):**
  - For other sensor types, open the [**Extended Controls**](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-extended-controls) window by clicking the overflow button (**...**) in the emulator toolbar.
  - **Location:** Navigate to **Extended Controls \> Location** to provide single GPS points or simulate routes. This is useful for testing apps with the [Fused Location Provider API](https://developers.google.com/location-context/fused-location-provider) and verifying [approximate
    location](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/versions/4/changes#approximate-location-permission) handling.
  - **Device Pose (Accelerometer \& Gyroscope):** Navigate to **Extended
    Controls \> Virtual Sensors \> Device Pose**. Adjust Rotation (X-Rot, Y-Rot, Z-Rot) and Movement (X, Y, Z) sliders to test motion-based interactions.
  - **Heart Rate \& Additional Sensors:** Navigate to **Extended Controls \>
    Virtual Sensors \> Additional Sensors** . Simulate **Heart rate** and other sensors like **Ambient temperature** , **Magnetic field** , **Proximity** , **Light** , **Pressure** , and **Relative Humidity**.

### Simulate watch inputs

- **Touch and Gestures:** Standard mouse interaction mimics touch.
- **Physical Buttons (including rotating side button and bezel):**

  - Buttons at the top of the [emulator panel](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator#tasks) can be used to simulate
    hardware buttons (Button 1 !["button 1
    icon"](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/run/wear-emu-button-1.png),
    Button 2 !["button 2
    icon"](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/run/wear-emu-button-2.png))
    as well as other physical interactions such as palming !
    ["palm icon"](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/run/wear-emu-palm-button.png) tilting the device
    ![](https://developer.android.com/static/studio/images/run/wear-emu-tilt-button.png)
    and swiping back
    ![](https://developer.android.com/static/images/tools/e-iback.png)

  - For **Rotary input** , open the emulator toolbar's overflow menu
    (**...** ), and select **Rotary input**.

### Pair devices

The emulator supports pairing with physical or virtual phones. Use the **Wear OS
emulator pairing assistant** in Android Studio's Device Manager for a guided
setup. See [Connect a watch to a phone](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/get-started/connect-phone) for details.

## Important considerations

Note the following key technical and performance considerations when testing.

### 64-bit architecture only (recent images)

Emulator system images for Wear OS 4 (API 33) and higher only support **64-bit
architectures** (`x86-64`, `arm64-v8a`).

### Performance differences

Emulator performance, especially regarding battery consumption and rendering
speed, may differ significantly from physical devices. Always test on real
hardware for final performance validation and battery optimization.

## Known issues

This section lists common issues specific to the Wear OS emulator. For general
emulator problems, see the main [Troubleshoot known issues with Android
Emulator](https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-troubleshooting) page.

- **Wrist Tilt Sensor Warnings:** You might see repeated log messages like `the host has not provided value yet for sensorHandle=16`. These can be ignored.
- **Tiles Renderer:** [`DashedArcLine`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/wear/protolayout/LayoutElementBuilders.DashedArcLine) objects, as well as elements constructed by [`circularProgressIndicator()`](https://developer.android.com/reference/kotlin/androidx/wear/protolayout/material3/package-summary#(androidx.wear.protolayout.material3.MaterialScope).circularProgressIndicator(kotlin.Float,androidx.wear.protolayout.expression.DynamicBuilders.DynamicFloat,androidx.wear.protolayout.modifiers.LayoutModifier,kotlin.Float,kotlin.Float,kotlin.Float,kotlin.Float,androidx.wear.protolayout.material3.ProgressIndicatorColors,androidx.wear.protolayout.DimensionBuilders.ContainerDimension)), might not render correctly on the API 36 emulator.