The Google Pixel Watch is already a capable wearable, but it could soon get even more useful, as there’s evidence that suggests Google will add the ‘At a Glance’ feature from its Pixel smartphones.
This evidence was spotted by 9to5Google, which found the feature mentioned by name in lines of code for the latest version of Google Assistant for Wear OS.
The same feature is also described as ‘proactive_complications,’ and its current form would apparently show the weather, along with a countdown to upcoming events, if you have any.
9to5Google claims that, based on the code, At a Glance will likely be displayed similarly to the weather forecast on Pixel phones, an example of which can be seen below.
Interestingly, however, the site notes that this level of detail probably wouldn’t fit neatly in the circular complications found on most watch faces. A rectangular slot might be better, but these are currently only found on the Utility Modular II and Modular III faces.
So this At a Glance feature might be quite limited in terms of where it can be used; but then again, maybe Google will also make some new watch faces to go with it.
Limited details
Still, it’s not just the compatible watch faces that might limit it, as this feature also sounds less useful than it is on the Google Pixel 7 and other phones. On those, At a Glance can display all sorts of things, including your next alarm, fitness data, a stopwatch and timer, package delivery alerts, and more.
As the name suggests, it’s designed to be an at-a-glance way to see much of the most important data on your phone, so limiting it to the weather and event countdowns on the Pixel Watch would make it rather less useful.
Of course, there’s way less space on a smartwatch touchscreen, so it makes sense that less would be shown, so perhaps Google will let users customize what data they want it to display.
That might be the case, as this is an unfinished feature, so Google could make changes to how it's implemented before launch – if indeed it is launching. And even in the limited form suggested by this leak, it sounds like this could still be a useful upgrade to one of the best smartwatches.
