You might soon be able to unlock your Android phone with a Wear OS watch

Date:
Fri, 18 Aug 2023 10:00:44 +0000

Description:
Google's Watch Unlock may soon be enabled, so you can conveniently unlock
your phone without a fingerprint or face.

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Theres no shortage of ways to unlock the best Android phones , with most of them having a fingerprint sensor and face unlock, on top of the classic gamut of PIN, password, and pattern options. But it looks like Google is about to add one more option. At least, for owners of the Google Pixel Watch , and possibly other Wear OS watches too.

You see, a Watch Unlock feature that Google showed off for the Pixel Watch
way back in January at CES 2023 looks like its finally about to launch, as AssembleDebug (via GSMArena ) has found the feature buried within Android.
Its not yet active, but you can see a video of the setup process in the post below.

Based on that, it appears the Watch Unlock feature is designed to be enabled alongside another unlock option, such as face unlock or a fingerprint, and would kick in when one of those options fails, such as if the screen is wet and cant read your fingerprint. Seems like ready to roll.... just need a
smart watch now... the black screen in recording is just password unlock. pic.twitter.com/WBDz6SaoE1 August 16, 2023 See more

In those circumstances, with Watch Unlock enabled youd be able to swipe up on the lock screen, and then tap a notification. This would then unlock your phone.

For your Pixel Watch or other Wear OS watch to be able to work with Watch Unlock, it needs to first be connected to your phone, on your wrist, and unlocked itself, all of which would generally apply anyway if its your main
or only smartwatch. Not so secure

While this security option could be convenient at times, enabling it makes your phone a lot less secure than any of the other security options. The
setup screen for Watch Unlock specifically says that it might be less secure, and worryingly also notes that in some cases your watch might unlock your phone, even if the watch isnt on your wrist or within reach.

So whether you should activate Watch Unlock really depends on how you balance security with convenience. If youd like to though, we imagine you might be able to do so soon.

Theres no word on when exactly Watch Unlock will roll out publicly, but given how complete the setup process appears wed imagine it will land soon. Perhaps it will be an Android 14 feature with that OS upgrade expected in September, or maybe it will land alongside the Pixel Watch 2 and the Pixel 8 , both of which are likely to land in October.

Were not sure for now, and its also unclear what devices it will actually
work on, but wed imagine that initially, at least, it may require a Pixel phone, and it might also only work on the Pixel Watch for now; as that's what it was advertised for at CES. But either immediately or later we'd think
other Wear OS watches will probably get access to this too. You might also like Google Pixel 7 review The best Wear OS watch: top smartwatches on Wear
OS 3 Google reveals when your Wear OS 2 watch will get a big downgrade



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/you-might-soon-be-able-to-unlock-your-android -phone-with-a-wear-os-watch


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