TL;DR
- The Pixel Watch 3 still hasn’t gained the Loss of Pulse Detection feature Google promised back in February.
- The feature was supposed to roll out by the end of March.
- Meanwhile, code within the Pixel Watch app suggests that the feature is on the verge of launching and may require a screening process for activation.
Back in February, Google said that it had received FDA clearance for its critical Loss of Pulse Detection feature, which was first announced in August last year. The safety tool was expected to debut on the Pixel Watch 3, with Google promising a rollout by the end of March. However, as of today, April 1, the feature is still missing from the smartwatch.
What’s interesting is that the Pixel Watch app was updated just a few days ago, and it already contains code strings related to Loss of Pulse Detection.
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An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
In version 3.4.0 of the Pixel Watch app, we discovered the following code:
Code
string name="loss_of_pulse_detection_us_regulation_string">US FDA cleared</stringFurthermore, we uncovered additional evidence of the feature, with code in the Pixel Watch app indicating that users will need to enter their date of birth and answer a screening question before enabling Loss of Pulse Detection. The prompt found in the code asks:
Have you been identified by healthcare professionals as high risk for sudden cardiac death?
This requirement may be tied to regulatory compliance for using the feature. However, it appears easy to bypass, as users could simply enter false information to activate it.
Now the question is: When will Google finally flip the switch and make Loss of Pulse Detection available on the Pixel Watch 3?
Despite an update to the Pixel Watch app a few days back and Google’s Personal Safety app as recently as April 1, there’s still no sign of the feature — something users on Reddit have also pointed out.
