Skip to main content

Big Pixel Watch March 2023 update rolling out: AOD, alarms, faces, and more

Google is now rolling out the Pixel Watch’s March 2023 update two weeks after it was originally expected, and it’s a sizable release.

After this update, the Pixel Watch is now on the March 5, 2023 security patch level. RWDA.230114.008.R1 is the new build number with a RWDA.230114.008.J2 variant for watches in Japan and Taiwan. Compared to the last three updates, it’s no longer RWD9.220429.x.

This is a bigger update compared to the last three months across: Watch Faces, Display, Touch, Settings, Alarms, and Settings.


Watch Faces

  • Digital Clock is now available with button press when the device is powered down. The time will now appear upon crown push, alongside the red low battery indicator.

Display

  • In addition to enabling AOD in the settings on your watch or companion app, you can now turn AOD on by  rotating the haptic crown, and the screen activates in AOD off and brightens display in ambient mode. Simplified to: In addition to tap, tilt, button press to wake the watch, you can now rotate the Crown to wake.

Touch

  • Optimizations have been added to improve sensitivity of touch screen behavior.

Settings

  • Battery saver enable/disable single tap support in QSS has been fully enabled in this release.

Alarms

  • In the coming weeks, a fix will be rolled out via PlayStore to update the Clock app that addresses some alarms which have been having a delayed or false start. 
  • Ensure Auto-update apps is selected in Play Store > Settings on your watch and you will get this update once it’s available when your watch is on charger and connected to Wi-Fi.

As highlighted in our March Feature Drop post, these features are now also available with this software update:

Settings

  • Mono-audio which limits the disorientation of split-audio
  • New color-correction and greyscale modes that better optimize the display for a wider range of vision preferences.

Fall Detection

  • Your Pixel Watch now has fall detection which can detect if you’ve taken a hard fall and connect you to emergency services. Once connected to emergency services, your Pixel Watch will play an automated message to request help to wherever you are.

In past months, Google updated the Pixel Watch and its phones on the same day. That was clearly not the case in March. The Pixel 4a-5a and 7 series was updated last Monday, with the Pixel 6, 6 Pro, and 6a releases only coming today.

Meanwhile, the build number is not the same — “.R1” added — as the premature Verizon changelog that was published in late February.

Tapping the update screen multiple times is not currently pulling down the OTA.

All supported Pixel Watch devices running Wear OS 3.5 will receive these software updates starting today. The rollout will continue over the next week in phases depending on carrier and device

Updating…

More on Pixel Watch:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com