GoKawiilRita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR Google is working on a feature that alerts you on your phone when your Pixel Watch is left behind.
The feature will also automatically lock the Pixel Watch when it’s left behind.
Another feature may also alert you on your Pixel Watch when your phone is left behind.
The Apple Watch and the Galaxy Watch both have a nifty feature that notifies you if your watch gets left behind. Besides reminding you not to forget it while stepping out of the house, the feature can also instantly alert you if your watch gets stolen. While the Pixel Watch lacks this functionality, we’re now seeing signs that Google is working to bring it.
We’ve spotted references to a feature called “Notify when left behind” in a system app that will facilitate this functionality. The following lines of code point to the feature:
Code Copy Text <string name="left_behind_reminder_title">Notify when left behind</string> <string name="left_behind_reminder_setting_title">Notify when phone is left behind</string> <string name="left_behind_reminder_info">To use this feature, your watch must be on your wrist and Bluetooth must be on for both your phone and watch</string> <string name="left_behind_reminder_enroll_fail_toast">To turn on, make sure your watch is unlocked. If that doesn’t work, try again later.</string>
Based on the code we’ve discovered, the feature has a few requisites, especially that both the phone and the Pixel Watch must have their Bluetooth turned on.
It is possible that certain models of the Pixel Watch may support this feature, and that is indicated by the following set of strings from the code:
Code Copy Text <string name="left_behind_reminder_not_supported_message">Update your watch software or use a compatible model.</string> <string name="left_behind_reminder_not_supported_title">Not supported watch</string>
... continue reading