Overnight blood oxygen saturation monitoring is now officially available
After initially appearing early for some users, an update to the Google Pixel Watch will officially roll out SpO2 monitoring data to all owners of the smartwatch.
Until now, the sensor has laid dormant, with no data appearing within the Fitbit app or on the watch. An ‘estimated oxygen variation’ has always been available in the app, though the Health Metrics dashboard – which is now free after an update in March – showed no data relating to SpO2 or skin temperature.
That’s all changing with the company’s June update for the Pixel Watch, however, with the official blog post indicating that the smartwatch will show an ‘Oxygen saturation’ card in the watch’s Fitbit Today app.
In this section of the watch, users will see their blood oxygen percentage from their tracked sleep session, with a tap-through showing additional details and more information about SpO2 monitoring.
It’s not the only long-awaited health feature arriving on the Pixel Watch, either, with Google also adding support for high/low heart rate notifications.
This works similarly to other smartwatches, monitoring your heart rate for big deviations in the background during the day and night.
Another basic feature that was previously omitted is also being added: auto-pause during workouts.
Google notes that this is supported during running, cycling, or walking workouts, with the timer unpausing once it detects you’re on the move again.
As ever, this latest monthly update consists of some encouraging additions – even if they should have arguably been present since the smartwatch’s October release.
We’re expecting more significant upgrades to arrive through the Google Pixel Watch 2 later this year – including much-improved battery life – so stay tuned for rumors and details emerging between now and then.
