Overview
- Google’s December firmware update begins rolling out, delivering one‑handed Double Pinch and Wrist Turn controls to Pixel Watch 4 and upgraded Smart Replies to Pixel Watch 3 and 4.
- Double Pinch can answer or end calls, snooze alarms, manage timers and music, take photos, scroll notifications, and select a Smart Reply without touching the screen.
- Wrist Turn dismisses incoming calls and closes alerting notifications for quick, discreet control when hands are occupied.
- Smart Replies now run on a Gemma‑based model on the watch, working without a phone connection, with Google claiming 2x faster generation and nearly 3x better memory efficiency plus a 97% quality parity-or-better rating in a blind study.
- Google adds on‑screen Gesture Hints with user‑set frequency options and introduces a step‑by‑step Raise to Talk tutorial to improve discoverability of Gemini voice activation.