Google Pixel Watch gets SpO2 tracking ability: How to use
Google is finally allowing blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) tracking on the Pixel Watch. The ability is discreetly making its way to some smartwatches. A Reddit user, who goes by the username triforce28, has discovered a dedicated oxygen saturation card on their Pixel Watch. It was reportedly found while scrolling to the bottom of the Fitbit Today app feed. Here's how the feature works.
Why does this story matter?
Google's Pixel Watch had the ability to track blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) ever since it launched, but oddly the feature wasn't enabled yet. Some claim that Google was holding off because the company was awaiting FDA approval, but that isn't necessarily true. The Pixel Watch has the necessary hardware to support SpO2 tracking, and hence the tech giant might finally be enabling the feature.
A dedicated card shows data related to SpO2 tracking
The Pixel Watch's dormant SpO2 sensor may be coming to life, recording data for some users. According to triforce28, a dedicated Oxygen saturation card appeared on their Pixel Watch at the bottom of the feed within Fitbit Today app. It shows a brief overview, including the oxygen saturation percentage during their sleep session. When tapped, the card redirects to another page, offering additional details.
Pixel Watch showed "feature not available" message till now
Since its debut, entering the Heart Metrics dashboard on the Pixel Watch would display "no recent data" for SpO2 or skin temperature, with a note stating, "This feature is not available for your current device." This appears to have changed, filling a significant feature gap in the Pixel Watch to be considered a health device, given Fitbit Inspire 3-like devices also offer this capability.
The information appears at the bottom of the feed
The data appears at the bottom of the app feed. The SpO2 data with a percentage score for the "last sleep session" gets recorded. Tapping on this information takes you to a full-screen statistics page, providing more explanation on SpO2.
What are the use cases of SpO2 sensors?
SpO2 sensors estimate the amount of oxygen in your blood. A score of 95% and above is good. While anything above 92% is considered to be normal. In wearables, the metric has a number of uses. It is often used as a way of assessing sleep quality, signs of sleep apnea, or blood oxygen levels at high altitudes.
Google might be testing the feature in a limited capacity
Google recently pushed the June 2022 update but the SpO2 tracking feature wasn't listed anywhere. The SpO2 monitoring could be a server-side change, which the tech giant might be testing at the moment. The facility is likely to be widely released in the upcoming update.
