Google Pixel Watch gets fall detection to add insult to Fitbit’s injuries

Good news for Pixel Watch fans, but Fitbit falls further behind

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TheGoogle Pixel Watchhas finally rolled out a potentially life-saving ‘fall detection’ mode that’s good news for owners of the smartwatch, but less so forFitbitusers.

The feature, which is rolling out from today (February 28), uses a combination of motion sensors and machine learning to tell when you’ve taken a hard fall. If you don’t move or respond within a certain timeframe, yourGoogle Pixel Watchwill then call the emergency services.

Before that happens, you’ll get a chance to steer it away from making a call. If the Pixel Watch detects that you haven’t been moving for about 30 seconds, Google says it’ll vibrate, sound an alarm and display an on-screen notification for you to tap. If you don’t need help, you can just tap ‘I’m OK’ – or if you’re at the bottom of a ravine, you can tap ‘I fell and need help’ to get connected to emergency services.

Fall detection isn’t a new idea, with most of thebest smartwatchesalready boasting the feature. If you own anApple Watch SEorApple Watch Series 4(or later), you can turn the feature on or off in your iPhone’s Watch app, and can even decide to only have fall detection turned on when you’re working out.

Most recent Galaxy Watch models, including theSamsung Galaxy Watch 5, also have a ‘detect falls’ feature, which is an optional mode in the Galaxy Wearable app on Android phones. The Pixel Watch, then, is very much playing catch-up on this front, with Google having promised that the feature was coming back in October.

But it’s also another slight slap in the face for the Google-owned Fitbit and owners of smartwatches like theFitbit Sense 2, who’ve recently seen Community features likeFitbit Challenges and Groups removedfrom their fitness trackers. In fact, we’ve even gone as far as to argue thatFitbit as we know it is already dead,thanks to Google’s antics – and seeing features like fall detection added to the Pixel Watch only rubs salt into the wound for Fitbit fans.

Analysis: a life-saver with large asterisks

Fall detection has now become a standard feature on smartwatches, but the different implementations all work slightly differently – and their digital safety net has some potentially large holes in it.

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Google says the Pixel Watch’s fall detection is “dependent upon network connectivity and other factors”. So if you’re planning a trip to the wilderness, you may want to also pack a satellite-connected sidekick likeMotorola’s new Defy Satellite Link.

Google is also keen to point out that “fall detection may not detect all falls” and that “your watch may not be reliable for emergency communications”. In other words, it’s very much a bonus extra for some additional peace of mind, rather than a superhero in smartwatch form.

Still, this is unfortunately more than Fitbit owners are likely to get, as even thebest Fitbitslack fall detection or emergency SOS features. With Google actively removing features like offline music access and community extras like Challenges, let alone failing to add new features, it seems that Fitbit fans will need to move to the Pixel Watch to access the latest smartwatch tricks, or make the leap to one of thebest Garmin watchesinstead.

Mark is TechRadar’s Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he’s contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph’s Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London’s Square Mile.

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