If you own a Google Pixel Watch, you may want to check your smartwatch for a new software update. Google has begun rolling out its April 2024 security update for both Pixel Watch models, and it packs a couple of new features you’ll want to try out.
In its blog post announcing the new update, Google says it includes “new features, numerous bug fixes, and performance updates for Pixel Watch users.” In addition to those ever-important bug fixes, there are two specific upgrades we think you’ll really like.
The first is something called “Vibration Watch.” It’s essentially a new way to tell the time using vibrations on the Pixel Watch, and it actually sounds pretty cool. When enabled, you can tap your watch face with two fingers to trigger vibration patterns that will tell you the time. Tapping your watch face once vibrates the hour, while tapping twice tells you the minutes.
You can choose one of two vibration types: Digits or Terse. The Digits option “gives you the current time in decimal format. A long vibration means 10, and a short vibration means 1.” Additionally, the Terse mode “gives the minutes briefly. Each short vibration means a quarter-hour.”
To set up Vibration Watch for yourself, simply open the Settings app on your Pixel Watch, tap Vibration, and then Vibration Watch.
The second big feature in the April 2024 update is an overall improvement to auto-brightness. According to Google, this update provides an “improved experience in auto-brightness settings screen for user to easily perceive the difference when switching levels.”
The April 2024 update is rolling out now to the Google Pixel Watch and Google Pixel Watch 2. To check and see if the update is available for you, go the Settings app on your Pixel Watch and tap System, followed by System Updates. Even if you see the “Your watch is up to date” screen but know you haven’t gotten the update, repeating this process a few times over can force the update to appear if it isn’t for some reason.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.