First unveiled at the Google Pixel launch event alongside the Google Pixel 7 and the Google Pixel 7 Pro, the Google Pixel Watch signalled the Californian giants' first foray into the smartwatch world. It built on years of supplying the popular Wear OS to third party manufacturers, and was generally well received.
At launch, Google mentioned a Fall Detection feature which would be coming in the winter. The feature, which was popularised on the Apple Watch, detects when a user falls and can alert your emergency contact if no response is given after a fall of up to 32G.
Now, according to 9to5Google, some users have already spotted the feature appearing on their devices. After resetting their Pixel Watch, the user was prompted to set it up. If active, Fall Detection can be found in the Safety & Emergency section of your settings, and you'll likely get a pop-up notification too.
It's also worth noting that there has been no official announcement about this from Google, and, thus far, no accounts of users trying the feature out. It's always possible that it has been accidentally released and may get pulled back later on. We've seen similar scenarios with features that were released early by mistake. However, it's a good sign that its on the way.
And I'm delighted that it is. The Pixel Watch was fighting an uphill battle from day one, as many put it toe-to-toe with the Apple Watch by virtue of the similar price tag and integration with their relative smartphone. It's kept pace pretty well, and has managed to carve out a fairly dedicated fanbase.
But it will need to improve in order to win over new fans – particularly those already integrated into the Apple way of doing things. Offering a similar core feature set will go a long way towards achieving that.
