
The Pixel Watch was launched with much enthusiasm among those that had been wishing for a perfect companion to their Pixel phone and with some skepticism for those that had already used other smartwatch options. Regardless of its first-gen quirks and small size, most would agree that the Pixel Watch is a praise-worthy Wear OS flagship that deserves attention.
Those that purchased the watch found that there was a day-one update available that was installed with the initial setup. However, that was a month ago, and the watch had not seen any updates since. Fortunately, there is a new update rolling out right now to the Google Pixel Watch app, as announced by the Pixel Watch Google Community.
According to the announcement, this is the first update to the Watch app since its launch, and the rollout will go on through the next few weeks. This is an update to the Watch app that lives on your phone, so you should be able to find this update by checking pending downloads on the Play Store. These are the issues the update addresses:
Fitbit
- Fitbit integration setting is now available on the App’s home screen.
- Fitbit is easy to set up through a single tap from within the Pixel Watch App.
- Fitbit sync information is accessible from the home screen.
eSim
- Bug fixes related to the eSim setup.
Tips and Support
- The 3D tutorial of the Watch is now available after OOBE in the “Tips & support” section.
The update applies to both the WiFi/Bluetooth and LTE models of the Pixel Watch, and it seems to address mostly Fitbit integration. Google is putting much of its weight behind the Fitbit by Google and Pixel Watch combination and is opening up more Fitbit features so that they are able to be used on the Pixel Watch as well, such as with Sleep Profiles.
One particular Fitbit feature that I am hopeful comes to the Pixel Watch is the ability to set a sleep schedule so that Bedtime Mode could automatically turn on. It has been observed that having Bedtime Mode on while sleeping with the watch on saves a significant amount of battery and therefore makes it more likely that the watch can be worn for 24 hours straight. Let’s hope we get that feature in a future update, and hopefully soon.