Google entered the smartwatch market later than its competitors and faced challenges with its initial Pixel Watch in late 2022. However, the company made a strong comeback with the Pixel Watch 2, showing it could compete with established brands like Apple and Samsung.The release of the pixel Watch 3 further solidified Google's position, making it one of the top smartwatches available.
The Pixel watch 3 stands out for its impressive battery life, high-quality hardware, and affordable price. It also includes advanced health features that surpass those offered by Apple and Samsung, especially a unique function called Loss of Pulse Detection.
Understanding Loss of Pulse Detection
Heart rate monitoring has been standard in smartwatches for years. though, Loss of Pulse Detection is an innovative feature that seems obvious now but was overlooked by other brands until Google introduced it.
This feature allows the Pixel Watch 3 to sense when there is no pulse while worn on your wrist. It uses optical sensors similar to those used for heart rate tracking. If it detects no pulse, the watch will automatically call emergency services—even if you are unconscious—providing your location and informing them that you are unresponsive.
to prevent false alarms, the watch first vibrates gently to check if your okay. If you move or a pulse is detected again, it cancels the call assuming everything is fine. Google explains that these checks can occur during daily activities when readings may be unreliable; thus they are dismissed as soon as movement or a pulse returns. You can also tap “I'm OK” to cancel any alerts manually.
If there’s still no movement or pulse after 15 seconds,a loud sound will play while starting a countdown for another 20 seconds before calling emergency services unless you confirm you're conscious by tapping “X” on-screen.
Activating Loss of Pulse Detection
This feature does not come enabled by default on your Pixel Watch 3 as Google wants users to understand how it effectively works first. Here’s how to turn it on:
- Step 1: Ensure your watch has Wear OS updated to at least version 15.1 along with Personal Safety app version update number 2025.03.19.x.
- Step 2: Open the Google Pixel Watch app on your smartphone.
- Step 3: Tap on Safety & Emergency settings.
- Step 4: Select Loss of Pulse Detection from options available; ensure you're in an area where this feature is supported (see below).
- step 5: Follow prompts to enable this function; signing into Personal Safety using your Google Account may be required during setup.
- Step 6: Once activated, your watch will monitor for loss of pulse whenever worn correctly for optimal results.
The Devices That Support This Feature
The exclusive device supporting Loss of Pulse Detection currently is only the Google Pixel Watch 3; future models may include this capability too but older versions likely won’t receive updates due to technical limitations requiring reliable performance from advanced sensors found only in newer models like this one.
This feature works across both Wi-Fi and LTE versions but note: Wi-Fi models can only make emergency calls when connected via Bluetooth with their paired phone.
The U.S., Canada along with several EU countries require cellular devices have access even without active plans which applies here too!.
A Look at Availability
The availability list includes Austria, Belgium , Denmark , France , Germany , Ireland , Italy , Netherlands , Norway , Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom united States .Google continues working towards regulatory approval elsewhere adding regions once cleared .< br > < br > < b > keep in mind though: availability depends upon physical location rather than purchase origin! < / p >
For instance if residing within US traveling abroad such as Canada means temporarily losing access until returning home where reactivation occurs automatically!
