Pixel Watch Emergency SOS adds new confirmation step

Modern connected mobile devices do a whole lot more than just keeping us entertained, and whether we’re talking about emergency satellite messaging or being able to detect a car crash, they also offer plenty of tools for making sure we stay safe. Earlier this week we uncovered some work Google was prepping to improve the flexibility of how Pixel Watch models handle emergency calls, and now Google is already making those changes official.

What we spotted was a modification to the way that the Emergency SOS gesture operates on the Pixel Watch. Normally, you’d tap on your watch’s crown five times to trigger this mode, upon which you’d see a short countdown letting you know that emergency services are about to be contacted, giving you the chance to abort if you had triggered it accidentally.

Instead, we unearthed a new workflow for this mode that instead prompts the user after performing those five crown taps to press and hold on the screen for three seconds to initiate the emergency call. While this requires more interaction (which may be difficult during an actual emergency), it also feels far less likely to result in unwanted, accidental emergency calls.

Today Google shares that not only is this change arriving already, but that this new press-for-three-seconds behavior will become the default for Emergency SOS. While you’ll be free to go back to the old auto-call-unless-you-cancel functionality, you’ll have to manually change it back by navigating to  Settings > Safety and emergency > Emergency SOS > Ways to start SOS on your Pixel Watch.

Google further clarifies that after this mode is activated, you have 20 seconds to confirm by pressing and holding the screen. If you fail to confirm within that window, you’ll have to start again.

Pixel Watch owners (or at least those who find themselves in emergency situations) will start noticing this new behavior coming to their watches over the next few weeks.