Before long, Google’s Android-powered wearables had hands-free navigation gestures. They fell by the wayside as Google repeatedly sabotaged its wearables strategy, but gestures are back, baby. The Pixel Watch 4 is getting an update that adds several gestures, one of which is straight out of the Apple playbook.
When the update arrives on devices, the Pixel Watch 4 will get a double pinch gesture like the Apple Watch. By tapping your thumb and index finger together, you can answer or end a call, stop the timer, and more. The watch will also tell you times when you can use tap gestures to control things.
In previous incarnations of Google-powered watches, a quick wrist twist gesture would scroll through lists. In the new gesture system, that motion discards whatever is on the screen. For example, you can clear a notification from the screen or dismiss an incoming call. Pixel Watch 4 owners will also enjoy the update when it arrives.
And what about the Pixel Watch 3? At this time that device will not get gesture support. However, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t have the same features as the latest wearables. The Pixel Watch 3 has the exact same Arm chip, and it has the same orientation sensors as the new watch. The main innovation of the Pixel Watch 4 is a new case design that allows for repairs, which was not supported on the Pixel Watch 3 and earlier.
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