Latest news with #PixelWatch
Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Tom's Guide
Google Exclusive: How the Pixel Watch 3 got a life-saving feature the Apple Watch can't match
Onboard safety features are a huge selling point of modern wearable devices. These days, the best smartwatches can automatically contact emergency responders and/or loved ones if you take a nasty fall or are involved in an accident, regardless of whether you're wearing the latest/greatest Garmin, the best Apple Watch, or the best smartwatch for Android. While fall, crash and incident detection are all but par for the course on high-end, full-feature smartwatches, a new, more advanced safety feature surfaced last summer that's currently only available on the Google Pixel Watch 3. That's right, not even the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra offers anything like Google's Loss of Pulse Detection tool. Like fall detection, Loss of Pulse Detection is designed to help users out during an emergency — in this case, a medical one, when there may otherwise be no one around. Better yet, setting up Loss of Pulse Detection takes less than 2 minutes, which is not a lot of time considering it could be a literal lifesaver. To find out more about Loss of Pulse Detection, including insights into the development, testing and FDA approval process, I had an exclusive interview with Edward Shi, the product manager on the Google Safety Team who spearheaded the project. Our 30-minute conversation covered a lot, but it's Google's creative approach to testing the new safety feature — something that's crucial for avoiding false positives — that most fascinated me. For one, Shi and his team had to figure out how to simulate a loss of pulse in a living subject, for testing purposes, of course, which is no easy feat. His team also worked with stunt actors to understand how a user may fall when a loss of pulse is experienced. Beyond that, our conversation touched on whether older Pixel Watch devices could get Loss of Pulse Detection in the future, how long until the competition replicates the feature and what the Google Safety Team is up to next. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Edward Shi: I'm a product manager here on our Android and Pixel Safety Team. Our team works on safety products with a goal of giving users peace of mind in their day-to-day lives. These products include, in the past, features such as car crash detection and fall detection. For Loss of Pulse, specifically, I'm one of the main product managers on the project, working across the teams, with our clinicians, our engineers, etc., to bring Loss of Pulse Detection to the Pixel Watch 3. It uses sensors on the Pixel Watch to detect a potential loss of pulse and prompt a call to emergency services with either the user's smartwatch or their connected phone. Shi: It's really for any Pixel Watch 3 user who meets our eligibility criteria. It uses sensors on the Pixel Watch to detect a potential loss of pulse and prompt a call to emergency services with either the user's smartwatch or their connected phone, who can then intervene and potentially provide life-saving care. A loss of pulse is a time-sensitive emergency, and it can be caused due to a variety of different factors, such as a cardiac arrest, a respiratory or circulatory failure, poisoning, etc. Many of these events are unwitnessed today. So around 50% of cardiac arrests, in particular, are unwitnessed, meaning that no one's around to help. Shi: The two main sensors are the PPG sensor as well as accelerometer. We use PPG to detect pulselessness, as well as the accelerometer to look at motion in particular. So if a loss of pulse occurs, what we anticipate is that the user is unconscious, so there shouldn't be excessive motion. So those two sensors combined help form the foundation of the algorithm. The algorithm is trying to balance both detecting that emergency, so in this case, a loss of pulse, while minimizing accidental triggers. Shi: There are a lot of similarities in the sense that all are emergency detection features. Essentially, these are for potential life-threatening emergencies in which a user may not be able to call for help themselves. In those events, we would need to be able to detect that emergency and then help connect [the user] with emergency services. Much of the design and the principles remain the same. The algorithm is trying to balance both detecting that emergency, so in this case, a loss of pulse, while minimizing accidental triggers. That's a really key part of all three of the features. We don't want to overly worry and bother the user with accidental triggers. Also, in particular, we don't want to burden [emergency] partners with accidental triggers in the case where a user doesn't need help. Shi: Once a loss of pulse [or] a car crash [or] a fall is detected, the experience is designed to try to quickly connect the user over to emergency services. If, for whatever reason, the user doesn't actually need help, the user experience is [also] designed so that they can easily cancel any call. We actually worked with stunt actors to induce pulselessness and simulate a fall within a reasonable timeframe to see if it was still able to detect a loss of pulse in those scenarios. Shi: I don't know if I could precisely say exactly how long, but definitely over a year and a half, but it can really vary. One particular [safety] feature isn't necessarily the same as the others. They may look similar on the surface, like a fall or a car crash or a loss of pulse, but each of them has its own unique challenges in validating both the algorithm and developing the user experience. And of course, with laws, we had to go through working with our regulatory partners and regulatory bodies in different regions [for Loss of Pulse Detection]. So there are different complexities for each of them, so the timeline can definitely vary. Shi: It's a bit of both. So, it's definitely algorithmically tested. We also collect hundreds of thousands of real-world user data and run our algorithm over that data to take a look at how often it could be triggered. Internally, we have "dog foods." And then we ran clinical studies. All of that is run to measure how often we're seeing accidental triggers in particular. In addition to honing the algorithm or user experience design, we run user research studies to look and walk [users through the] 'flow,' both during onboarding, as well as when an actual loss of pulse is detected. [We're] seeing that users understand what's happening and are able to cancel out of that flow if they don't need help. So, it's both algorithmic as well as user research. Basically, using a pneumatic tourniquet to cut off blood flow in an arm, [we were able] to simulate temporary pulselessness. Shi: It is pretty difficult, and it took a lot of creativity from our research scientists, in particular. Basically, using a pneumatic tourniquet to cut off blood flow in an arm, [we were able] to simulate temporary pulselessness. We were able to do that and then put our watches on the user at the same time to ensure that our algorithm was detecting that [loss of] pulse when it occurred. We actually worked with stunt actors to induce pulselessness and simulate a fall within a reasonable timeframe to see if it was still able to detect a loss of pulse in those scenarios. Shi: We're very fortunate at Google to have great team members who are familiar with the process and are regulatory experts. Receiving U.S. FDA clearance does go through a rigorous process to ensure quality and understandability of the products that are coming through. So really, it's taking a look at the U.S. FDA established regulatory frameworks and regulations, knowing what we have to conduct in terms of necessary performance testing, what we have to show to prove that the feature is doing what it [says], and in particular, that it's understandable to users who choose to use the product. Shi: The biggest thing that we inform users about, essentially during onboarding, is that it's only meant to detect an immediate loss of pulse. So it's not meant to diagnose or treat any medical conditions, and it's not meant to be a feature that gives you a pre-warning of any health condition. That's a really important distinction that we do try to make as clear as possible within the product itself, so that you don't change any health regimens, etc, and you don't change anything that you've heard from medical professionals. As always, go to your healthcare professional to discuss all of your well-being, etc., and what's best for you. Shi: It's something we can't go into detail about at the moment. We have to look at both the hardware that's available on the older Pixel Watches and see if it's possible. Also, we have to ensure that there is hardware equivalency on each of the different devices. So we have to make sure on the older Pixel devices, if we were to do [Loss of Pulse Detection], that it still performs as expected within the guidelines that we set. We would like to make [the feature] available as widely as we possibly can, so that's what we're going to try to do. Shi: Our top priority when we released this feature was to make sure that it maintains its quality and is able to do what it says it does within the guiding principles that we have. What we anticipate is that as new Pixel Watches are released, it's available on all different Pixel Watches. Of course, it's going to be a hardware-by-hardware validation. We would like to make it available as widely as we possibly can, so that's what we're going to try to do. Shi: I think this is definitely speculation and subjective, but I think in the tech world, people are always looking at other competitors and trying to close the gap or match different features. So I wouldn't be surprised if that's something that people did. In some ways, I think for our team, that this would be a good thing — with safety in particular — if other competitors started trying to copy features. I think as long as everyone maintains high quality, of course, then it's not necessarily a bad thing. But yes, I think it's fair to assume that people are looking at it and they attempt to copy it. Shi: We're always looking at helping users get connected with help if they aren't able to themselves. We know emergencies, hopefully, are a bit of a rare event in users' daily lives, but there could be other scenarios where users may feel unsafe. So, one of our existing features is a Safety Check. When users are going out for a run or going out for a hike and they want that extra peace of mind, they can start a Safety Check, and we can check in with them, and then if they don't respond, we can automatically share their location and reason and context with their emergency contacts. That's an existing feature, and also things that we're thinking about on the safety side. We're looking across the spectrum from emergencies to daily use cases of how we can help, how we can deliver a little bit more peace of mind in your daily life.
Tom's Guide
3 days ago
- Tom's Guide
I walked 6,500 steps with the Fitbit Charge 6 vs Pixel Watch 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner
Want the best Fitbit available today? Your choices come down to the Fitbit Charge 6 and Google Pixel Watch 3. Both devices are powered by Fitbit and produced by Google, but that's where the similarities end. The Fitbit Charge 6 was announced in 2023 and remains the brand's flagship band-style fitness tracker. The Pixel Watch 3, meanwhile, launched in 2024 and is Google's one and only smartwatch offering, though it comes in two sizes. For this test, I pitted the smaller 41mm Pixel Watch 3 ($349) against the Fitbit Charge 6 ($159). With Google winding down the Fitbit brand, there's a good chance that the Charge 6 is the end of the road for perhaps the brand's most beloved wearable line. So, is the Pixel Watch 3 a good replacement for the Charge 6, at least from a fitness tracking standpoint? There's only one way to find out. Let the test begin! The Google Pixel Watch 3 is a full-featured smartwatch with all of Fitbit's best fitness tracking and wellness features built in. Though it's considerably more expensive than the Fitbit Charge 6, the Pixel Watch 3 has way more smart features, too. It also works with a gigantic range of third-party apps. The Charge 6 does not. The Charge 6 could be one of the last devices to bear the Fitbit name. Launched in 2023, this high-end tracker sports a small AMOLED touchscreen and boasts impressive fitness-tracking chops. It also has better battery life than its modern smartwatch cousin and is lighter on the wrist. Did I mention it's also about half the cost of the Pixel Watch? If you've read my previous walk test articles, you can probably go ahead and skip to the next section. For those new here, this is how these comparisons go down: With a smartwatch on either wrist, I begin tracking my walk. As a control, I manually count each step I take; my favorite Bose Quiet Comfort headphones help drown out the distraction. To help me keep track of the total, I click an old-school manual tally counter every hundred steps before starting my tally over again at one. In this case, I repeated that process 65 times before finding a nice quiet park bench to settle down on and record the data. Oh, and as an extra control, I recorded the walk using Strava on my trusty iPhone 12 Mini. Check out the results below: Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Fitbit Charge 6 Google Pixel Watch 3 Control Step count 6,546 steps 6,653 steps 6,500 steps (manual count) Distance 3.01 miles 3.4 miles 3.41 miles (Strava) Elevation gain no data 325 feet 303 feet (Strava) Average pace 22 mins, 21 secs per mile 19 mins, 48 secs per mile 18 mins, 20 secs per mile Average heart rate 114 bpm 114 bpm n/a Max heart rate 164 bpm 164 bpm n/a Calories burned 527 calories 529 calories n/a Device battery usage + 1% - 9% n/a Well, well, well — look at which device was closer to my actual step count total by a whole seven steps; it's the Fitbit Charge 6. For what it's worth, both devices beat Strava's tally of 6,558 steps. Unfortunately for the small but mighty Charge 6, things get a little funky when we move on to distance data. Despite nailing my step count total with impressive accuracy, the device appears to have severely undercounted my distance covered by a whopping 0.4 miles... that's not an insignificant difference. The Fitbit Charge 6 frustratingly also does not report elevation gain data, even though it technically could using the onboard GPS. And while I didn't intend for this walk to be hilly, living in Seattle, Washington, a few hundred feet of elevation gain is par for the course when cruising around town on foot. The Pixel Watch 3 does report climb data, which looks perhaps a tad inflated for this walk — I tend to trust Strava as the gold standard here — but still accurate enough for my needs. Of course, had the Pixel Watch 3 undercounted my climb by 22 feet (compared to Strava), I might not be so forgiving. Strava provides two pace metrics including an average moving pace — reported above — and an elapsed pace, which tends to be slower. In this case, my elapsed pace was 19 minutes and 15 seconds per mile, much closer to the Pixel Watch 3's metric. Inflated pace data from the Fitbit Charge 6, meanwhile, makes sense given it measured a considerably shorter walk, distance-wise. Nothing warms my heart more than two devices capturing similar heart rate data during these head-to-heads, and it doesn't get any more precise than this. The same goes for calories burned. Finally, while the Pixel Watch 3 burned through 9% of its battery during my roughly one-hour-and-seven-minute walk, the Charge 6 somehow managed to gain 1% battery (from 98% when I left to 99% when I returned). In today's battle of the Fitbit-powered Google wearables, the underdog Charge 6 comes out on top. However, even though the Fitbit Charge 6 managed a closer step count total to my manual count, the Pixel Watch 3 proved more accurate across the board. Still, I'm impressed that the older, more affordable wearable was able to keep up with the newer and higher-end Pixel Watch 3. Ultimately, the Charge 6 remains one of the best fitness trackers for the money in 2025, especially if you like easy-wearing devices with great battery and onboard GPS so that you can leave your phone at home. Which fitness trackers and/or smartwatches should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.
Phone Arena
11-06-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
At up to 40% off, the Pixel Watch 2 returns to the spotlight
The Pixel Watch 3, Google's latest and greatest smartwatch, is selling at a lovely discount on Amazon right now, making it an even bigger bargain. So if you're in the market for one, be sure to save while you can. However, if you're a Pixel user who doesn't need the flagship model and is open to going with a slightly older Pixel Watch, don't wait—save with this deal right is selling both the Wi-Fi only and LTE-enabled variants of the Pixel Watch 2 at a generous $100 discount. This lets you get a brand-new high-end smartwatch for around $150, which is a bargain price for all the bells and whistles it offers. $100 off (40%) The Wi-Fi only version of the Google Pixel Watch 2 is selling for $100 off its price on Amazon. This lets you get one for just under $150. The watch is loaded with features, has a stylish design and is a true bargain right now. Don't hesitate! Buy at Amazon $100 off (33%) If you need cellular connectivity, feel free to go for the LTE-enabled Pixel Watch 2. This bad boy is also selling for $100 off on Amazon and can be yours for just under $200. Don't miss out! Buy at Amazon With its sleek, dome-like design, this bad boy complements both casual and formal attire. Wear it during work hours, on vacation, or even to a gala evening—it will never look out of place. In addition, it comes with all the essential health-tracking features a premium smartwatch should offer. It even boasts a skin temperature sensor. And since it runs on Wear OS, you'll be able to download third-party apps directly from Google's Play Store. As for battery life, it can easily last you the day without top-ups, though you'll likely need to charge it overnight. This is completely normal for this type of smartwatch. And even if you need a mid-day recharge, the timepiece reaches 50% in just 30 minutes. So, yeah! The Pixel Watch 2 is an absolute steal at $100 off, so don't waste any more time! Tap the offer button in this article and grab one at a bargain price now!
Phone Arena
10-06-2025
- Phone Arena
Google teases surprise Android 16 release right after iOS 26
Alrighty everyone, just a day after Apple announced its new iOS 26, Google is ready to release the stable Android 16 version. It's been six months of testing, and the Mountain View tech giant has chosen June 10 for the big day. A new teaser by the Android Developers account confirmed the date that the new OS is coming to Pixel already knew Android 16 would launch earlier than usual, but now, in a rare move, Google has given us the exact date! The company has followed this teaser strategy with several beta builds of Android 16, so it's not new, but it's a bit strange when it's about a stable release. Android 16 's release will coincide with the June 2025 Feature Drop, so expect some more exciting things for your Pixel pretty soon. Meanwhile, even the Pixel Watch lineup should get some updates this time around. Keep in mind that if your Pixel is already on the Android 16 QPR1 Beta, it won't receive the OTA to stable Android 16 . Pixels running the Android 15 stable or Android 16 beta channel are said to receive the your phone is on the QPR1 beta channel, for you to receive the Android 16 update, you should leave the beta program and downgrade your Pixel to the stable Android 16 release. It's very important to note, though, that if you do that, all data from your phone will be erased ! The stable Android 16 build won't bring Google's new Material 3 Expressive design just yet. However, it is expected to bring other new features and improvements. These include Live Updates, which is very similar to Apple's Live Activities. Live Updates basically provides you with real-time notification updates, like food delivery status or results from sports events. Also, there's an Advanced Protection mode expected, which is said to unify Android security options into a single menu for your convenience. Other things like Intrusion Logging and Inactivity Reboot are also expected, but it's possible these will go live later in the year. So, both Android and iPhone fans will have to wait for their respective redesigns a bit more. Android 16 is expected to bring a colorful and lively Material 3 Expressive, while Apple is betting on a translucent glass-inspired look. But one is clear – more than ever, the companies are competing for your attention, given that now, things are getting announced more or less on the same day!
Android Authority
06-06-2025
- Android Authority
New Pixel Watch setting could automatically lock your left-behind phone (APK teardown)
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Watch Unlock on the Pixel Watch allows your smartwatch's presence to keep your phone unlocked. Right now, that doesn't work in the opposite direction, and walking away from your phone won't automatically lock it. Google appears to be working on a 'lock on disconnect' option that would finally offer that ability. While there's no guaranteed way to prevent phone theft, making sure you keep your handset locked is probably the single easiest and most effective step you can take. Android already offers plenty of ways to help make sure your phone is locked when it needs to be, like how Theft Detection Lock can use device sensors to recognize when it's been snatched out of your hands, and accordingly lock things down. Today we're looking into another development in this direction, as we spot evidence for a new auto-lock feature. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. Pixel Watch users can already take advantage of Watch Unlock to use the presence of their wearable to keep their phone unlocked — so long as your Watch itself is unlocked, when it's nearby and connected to your phone over Bluetooth, you won't need to enter your PIN or use biometrics on the phone. Watch Unlock works great for what it is — you even get a notification on your wrist and can manually re-lock the phone — but so far it's only really functioned in this one direction. That is, while the presence of your Pixel Watch can be used to unlock your phone, we haven't had the option where its absence locks your phone. That's a shame, because something like that could be handy if you've got an especially long screen timeout setting, and are worried about accidentally wandering off and leaving your phone somewhere while it's unlocked. Code Copy Text Phone will lock when it disconnects from your watch, like when it's far away Lock phone when left behind Looking at version 3.5.0.758720535 of the Google Pixel Watch app, we spot some new text strings that appear to quite clearly describe just that kind of auto-lock ability. This 'lock on disconnect' feature would look for the presence of your connected Pixel Watch, and activate your screen lock when that connection is lost. While we're not seeing this in the app just yet, Telegram user nailsad_eleos was able to coax out an early appearance in the settings menu: @nailsad_eleos / Telegram As you can see, it's not at all functional at the moment, but this is at least where we should expect this control to show up once Google's ready to share it. Admittedly, this feature might be a bit of an edge case in terms of the security need it addresses, but we can imagine that lots of Pixel Watch owners might still appreciate the peace of mind from this kind of extra protection. We'll let you know if and when we're able to get it working. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
