The Google Pixel Watch 4 is one of the best smartwatch models, and it already offers useful gesture controls, including "raise to talk," which can be used to "awaken" the Gemini AI voice assistant feature. Now the Pixel Watch 4 is about to get two new gesture controls that sound quite familiar. These include "Wrist turn" and "Double pinch."
No, I didn’t say "Wrist flick" or "Double tap," as those are Apple Watch features, but Google’s forthcoming gesture controls work similarly.
New Pixel Watch 4 gesture controls
Similar to the raise-to-talk gesture, the two new gesture controls for the Google Pixel Watch 4 are designed to make it easier to interact with the watch with one hand.
Wrist turn, like Apple’s wrist flick, can be used to dismiss incoming calls or notifications. When I first tried Apple’s version on the latest Apple Watch Series 11, I seriously wondered how I ever lived without such an intuitive and useful feature. So, yeah, you could say I’m excited for something similar on the latest Pixel Watch.
Double pinch, also coming to the Pixel Watch 4, lets you execute a variety of actions by pressing your index finger and thumb together using your watch-worn hand. These include answering calls, starting a timer, starting/stopping music, and much more.
No word yet on whether either of these controls will ultimately make it to the Pixel Watch 3 or older devices. However, the third-generation watch did inherit the latest raise-to-talk gesture, so I’m hopeful.
Speaking of raise to talk, Google is also rolling out a step-by-step tutorial to help users make the most of the control, which makes me think that some folks are struggling to get it to function as intended. For what it’s worth, I’ve had no issues (hint: set the "wake" sensitivity to max).
Smarter smart replies for Pixel Watch 3 and 4
In addition to the new gesture controls, Google also announced improvements to the smart replies feature on the Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 4. The latest iteration uses an on-watch model (i.e., no internet connection required) that's reportedly twice as fast, while using half the battery power of the prior cloud-based version.
That’s not all. Google also says that the quality of replies has improved. According to a blind study conducted by the tech giant, 97% of users reported that replies were either equally as good or better than before.
When can I try these new Pixel Watch features?
Google’s latest gesture controls and improved smart replies should start rolling out to users ASAP via a firmware update, and I plan to take them for a spin right away. Stay tuned for my impressions.
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