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A dev has figured out how to play Genshin Impact on Wear OS smartwatches, thanks to easy sideloading ability and game streaming from the cloud.
The process involves sideloading Genshin Impact Cloud onto the smartwatch in supported regions.
Android users these days have a better selection of great smartwatches to choose from, thanks to a resurgence of Wear OS as a capable platform and both Google and OnePlus entering the space. Wear OS 4 may still be judged inferior compared to Apple’s watchOS in polish and fluidity, but it is still more than adequate for most users. But here’s something that you can do on a Wear OS smartwatch that you can’t do on an Apple Watch: play Genshin Impact!
Dev MlgmXyysd figured out how to run Genshin Impact on Wear OS smartwatches. Here’s what the experience is like:
In the video above, the dev is playing Genshin Impact on the OPPO Watch X (rebranded as the OnePlus Watch 2 in certain global markets). The smartwatch’s circular display cuts off several important UI elements, such as the joystick, the action buttons, and even the map, making it clear that Genshin Impact was not optimized for running on a circular smartwatch. The dev ran it on the rectangular-display OPPO Watch 4 Pro, and the results were much better.
Still, ignoring the flawed UI, it’s impressive that a Wear OS smartwatch could easily run a game infamous for bringing even the best Android flagships down to their knees.
So what’s the catch, you ask? The catch here is that the smartwatch isn’t actually running Genshin Impact. Instead, it is running a cloud-streamed version of the game that is officially available in certain markets.
Genshin Impact Cloud is available for download on smartphones only, so you would need to find a way to sideload the smartphone app onto the smartwatch. Thankfully, Wear OS allows you to sideload apps easily. The OnePlus Watch 2/OPPO Watch X specifically makes it even easier to sideload apps through ADB, as you just have to use the charging puck to connect your watch to a computer. From there, you can sideload Genshin Impact Cloud through ADB, sign into your account, and play the game on your smartwatch!
Why would you want to play Genshin Impact on your smartwatch, though? The answer is, because you can.
I don’t expect anyone to enjoy playing a game like Genshin Impact on their tiny smartwatch screen with a borked UI. But the fact that you can sideload a smartphone app onto your smartwatch and stream a game over the cloud in minutes is impressive. It’s a nice way to show off what your smartwatch can do that some other popular smartwatches in the market cannot.
If you are giving this a try, note that Genshin Impact Cloud works only in these regions:
Singapore
Malaysia
Indonesia
Thailand
Philippines
Laos
Cambodia
Bangladesh
Myanmar
China
You will get a sign-in error if you try it in other regions. You can probably resolve this by signing in through a VPN, but we haven’t explored that yet, so we would advise caution.
Have you tried playing Genshin Impact on your smartwatch? How was your experience? Will you play an optimized version of the game on your watch? Let us know in the comments below!
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