The Google Pixel Watch is finally getting a long-awaited feature

Daily steps shown on the Google Pixel Watch. — Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The Google Pixel Watch has been routinely adding new features for owners to enjoy ever since it first launched last year, and now it appears that it’ll be getting a long-requested health feature.

Spotted first on Reddit, it seems like the Pixel Watch is now able to track blood oxygen levels (SpO2.) SpO2 tracking is a pretty common health feature on most other flagship smartwatches like the Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch, so the fact that it wasn’t included at launch on the Pixel Watch made it feel like it was missing a major feature.

What made the lack of SpO2 tracking even more of a head-scratcher was that the Pixel Watch has had the ability to track blood oxygen levels with its hardware since launch. A SpO2 sensor has been sitting dormant inside the watch, just waiting to be used. But it looks like that’s about to change soon.

Two images of a Pixel Watch displaying the new SpO2 tracking feature. — Reddit user u/triforce28

The Pixel Watch has been able to provide estimated oxygen variation since its launch. However, that metric is less helpful than full-on SpO2 tracking, so it’s good to see that Pixel Watch owners will finally be able to measure an important aspect of their health with their watch even though it’s coming a little late.

So far, Google hasn’t officially said anything about the new feature, but at least one Pixel Watch owner is reporting the ability to see it for themselves when using the Fitbit Today app. The app lists a laundry list of health tracking that the Pixel Watch does while on a person’s wrist, and now “Oxygen Saturation” has been added to the list. When selected, the watch displays the SpO2 tracking it’s doing, as well as a brief explanation about how to interpret the information — just like the rest of the health features on the app.

It’s currently unclear what users should expect when it comes to the full rollout of SpO2 tracking since, as mentioned above, Google hasn’t said anything about it yet. Furthermore, the company has already published the Pixel Watch’s June update, which didn’t mention anything about the SpO2 capabilities. It’s possible that Google will drop the feature on a random day in the coming weeks. However, if that’s the case, it’s a little odd that it wouldn’t go live with the June update. That said, Google tends to be a little odd and throw curveballs at its user base from time to time, so we also wouldn’t be too shocked.

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