The Google Pixel Watch received its first OTA update in December, but some issues remained. The January update for the Google smartwatch is now in a gradual rollout. However, the new firmware is still taking its time – the distribution should continue until next week.
The biggest bug that Google has fixed in the new version concerns third-party watch faces. The watchfaces switched themselves off after 15 minutes, even if you had activated the Always On Display (AOD) mode. The bug apparently only affected older watch faces that weren’t yet using the new Jetpack Watch Face library. But the problem should be fixed now.
The update also includes the January 5 security patch. The firmware has the version number RWD9.220429.073 for the worldwide market and the extension “.J1” for Japan and Taiwan. One change not found in the official changelog concerns the fall detection feature. The feature is hidden after the update. According to Google, the fall detection is not ready and has not yet been fully tested. The fact that it showed up in the Google Pixel Watch menus at all was an unintentional error. In fact, it could still be several months before it is finally activated.
