The Apple Watch was generally the smartwatch that introduced important health and safety features to the world. The Pixel Watch, Galaxy Watch, and basically every other smartwatch generally adopted these features later after the Apple Watch introduced them first.
That changed dramatically today at Google’s latest Made by Google event. At the event, the company unveiled the Pixel Watch 3, the latest generation of its smartwatch. Along with a new 45mm size, 2,000 nits peak brightness, and new fitness and wellness features from Fitbit, the new Pixel Watch also introduces a brand new health and safety feature called “Loss of Pulse Detection.”
In a press release, Google says, “Loss of pulse detection on Pixel Watch 3 is an optional feature that detects a loss of pulse and automatically calls emergency services when you are unresponsive to provide potentially life-saving assistance.” The company says that loss of pulse can occur due to cardiac arrest, respiratory or circulatory failure, overdose, or poisoning, so there are a number of cases where this feature could come into play and potentially be life-saving.
You can see loss of pulse detection in the following video from Google:
Watch on
Apple needs to bring this feature to the Apple Watch
The Apple Watch already has a ton of health and safety features, including fall detection, car crash detection, high or low heart rate notifications, irregular heart rhythm notifications, and more. However, the watch doesn’t currently have a feature that’s exactly like the Pixel Watch 3’s new pulse loss detection feature.
Just as I talked about how good it is that Google copied Apple’s Emergency Satellite SOS feature for the Pixel 9, I think Apple should copy Google’s Loss of Heart Rate Detection feature for the 10th generation Apple Watch. While there are some features that companies should protect, and we should berate each other when others adopt them, health and safety features are not one of them.
These kinds of features should be available on all devices and platforms. People shouldn’t be greedy for these things and keep them as an exclusive feature on their device, and we shouldn’t reward companies like Apple, Google, Samsung and others for trying to do this.
So, good on anyone who buys a Pixel Watch 3 and enjoys a little extra security with this feature. I hope the next Apple Watch adopts this out of the box.
