Google is reportedly preparing to roll out new features for the Pixel Watch with the upcoming Wear OS 6 update, including stopping accidental touches in water, an enhanced battery optimization feature, and the ability to lock your phone when it disconnects from your watch. Here’s a breakdown of the upcoming features.
Water Lock
This feature is designed to prevent the Pixel Watch touchscreen from behaving erratically when it comes into contact with water. As you may already know, most smartwatches use capacitive touchscreens, which tend to register false touches or lose sensitivity when wet. Interestingly, the Pixel Watch already has a similar feature called Touch Lock, which disables touch input to avoid accidental taps.
This raises the possibility that Google might either rename the existing feature to Water Lock for better clarity or enhance it to activate automatically when water is detected.
For context, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series already includes a Water Lock mode that goes beyond just disabling the touchscreen — it even plays a high-frequency sound to eject water from the speaker grill. However, Android Authority’s leak did not mention any such speaker-clearing function for the Pixel Watch.
Adaptive Charging
To extend a device’s battery lifespan, it’s generally recommended not to leave it plugged in for long periods and to avoid charging it to 100% all the time. In fact, many experts suggest limiting the charge to around 80% to reduce battery strain. That’s why many smartphone manufacturers now offer features like adaptive charging and charging limits to help protect battery health.
Now, it looks like the Pixel Watch will be getting a similar feature with the upcoming Wear OS 6 update. Mishaal Rahman from Android Authority discovered a few text strings in the ClockworkSysUiGoogle app hinting at a new adaptive charging feature.
When enabled, the watch will likely charge only up to a certain point — most likely 80% — and then resume charging to 100% just before a specific time, possibly based on your usage or charging patterns. Samsung is also reportedly working on a similar battery protection feature for its upcoming One UI Watch 8 update.
Lock Phone When Disconnected
Pixel Watch users already have a feature called Watch Unlock to keep their phone unlocked as long as both devices are connected via Bluetooth. This eliminates the need to enter a PIN or use biometrics every time to unlock your phone.
Now, it seems Google is working on doing the opposite. New text strings found in version 3.5.0.758720535 of the Google Pixel Watch app describe what’s known as “lock on disconnect” — a feature that will lock your phone when it gets disconnected from your watch. Apparently, Google is calling this feature “Lock phone when left behind.” You can check the screenshot shared by Telegram user nailsad_eleos.
We’re not sure when these features will arrive, but it’s safe to assume they’ll launch with the upcoming Wear OS 6 update, expected later this year.
