The Google Pixel Watch is a decent first attempt by the company to offer a streamlined smartwatch experience based on Wear OS. It’s no secret that the upcoming Wear OS 4 software — based on Android 13 — will ring in a sea of improvements, with a focus on bridging the gap between Wear OS and Android, especially in terms of UI design. These efforts have already been underway, though, with features like the At a Glance widget making it to the Pixel Watch running Wear OS 3.5 this June. It’s now coming to light that Google may have quietly removed this complication from its smartwatch operating system as part of a recent server-side update.
While it was available, the At a Glance complication/widget for the Pixel Watch was only visible from the Utility watch face while choosing the customizable Modular II or III layout. Enabling this particular complication gave users instant access to Weather, agendas and Calendar events coming up, Commute time, and Time to leave. Most of these features expectedly require access to your Home and Work addresses, Calendar, and general location.
The At a Glance home screen widget is bundled with the Google Assistant app for Wear OS, so it’s likely that a recent update may have broken compatibility with this particular complication. The removal appears to be a relatively recent occurrence, so Google hasn’t publicly commented on it yet.
The At a Glance complication when it was available (left); Its disappearance from the list of complications (right)
There’s a support page entry carrying instructions for enabling At a Glance on the Pixel Watch, leading us to believe that the removal was accidental. It’s not a life-changing Pixel Watch complication by any means, but those who did have it enabled previously will now just see the date, 9to5Google points out. Meanwhile, At a Glance is also missing from the list of complications, both on the wearable itself and the companion app.
Looking to the future, Google is expected to debut the Pixel Watch 2 in October, accompanied by the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Among the most anticipated visual features expected on the second-gen Google smartwatch would be Dynamic theming, as showcased by a recent leak. This would finally bring a staple of the Pixel smartphones to its wearable counterpart, enabling the UI to cleverly use colors from the wearable’s watch face across the board.
