Google’s forthcoming Pixel Watch will require a whole new stand-alone app to operate, it’s been revealed.
You might have assumed that Google’s first Wear OS device would simply utilise Google’s existing Wear OS app. Not so, if a recent discovery by 9to5Google is anything to go by.
The website has been delving into the code for the latest Google Play Services beta, and discovered the following line: “To set up your watch for Smart Unlock, connect it to your phone with the Google Pixel Watch app. Your watch and phone must be connected to use Smart Unlock.”
This sounds very much as if you’ll be required to download an new Google Pixel Watch app if you’re to use all of the Pixel Watch’s features. Whether this is a secondary requirement, meaning you’ll also need the aforementioned Wear OS app to get connected, remains to be seen. That would be a curiously clumsy requirement if so.
The whole mention of Smart Lock, incidentally, refers to a forthcoming update that will let you nlock your Chromebook, Android phone, or Android tablet simply though having your use your Wear OS 3 smartwatch nearby.
After countless leaks and rumours, Google finally announced its Pixel Watch at Google I/O back in May. The Pixel Watch will feature a circular pebble-like watch face, a physical control crown, and tight Fitbit integration.
Google hasn’t offered a release date beyond this autumn, but we’d be surprised if the Pixel Watch didn’t make an appearance in shops alongside the Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro sometime in October.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
