Despite its dated internals, the Google Pixel Watch is among our favorite Android smartwatches to buy. It is not as good as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, and its fitness tracking capabilities pale compared to some of the best fitness trackers. Unlike the latter, the Pixel Watch misses out on fall detection, though it has Emergency SOS. During the smartwatch's launch, Google revealed the feature would roll out in the winter. With the promised deadline fast approaching, an APK teardown of the latest Pixel Watch companion app has revealed more details about how fall detection will work.
9to5Google dug through the code in the latest Pixel Watch app (v1.1) and found multiple references and strings to fall detection. They detail that the feature will work using the motion sensors inside the Pixel Watch. There's also a warning that "high-impact activities may trigger fall detection, and your watch can't detect all falls."
When your Pixel Watch detects a hard fall, it will vibrate, sound an alarm, and check if you need help. If you are okay, you can respond to this prompt and prevent the watch from contacting emergency services. Otherwise, the wearable will call emergency services and play an automated message requesting help and informing them about a possible fall. Your location will also be shared so that help can arrive quickly.
Below is the automated message in full:
“You are being contacted by an automated emergency voice service on behalf of a caller. The caller’s watch detected a possible fall, and they were unresponsive. Please send help. Their location is 12.039578 degrees latitude, -121.947872 degrees longitude. This message will repeat 3 times.”
Google intends to bring fall detection on the Pixel Watch in the following regions: Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and the US.
Fall detection showed up for some Pixel Watch users in early January 2023, but the feature never went live. With time now running out for Google, the company will likely roll out the option in the coming days.