Google brings gesture controls back to Pixel Watch 4 with Double Pinch and Wrist Turn features

Google is reviving wearable gesture controls, but only for the Pixel Watch 4

Long ago, Google's Android-powered wearables had hands-free navigation gestures. Those fell by the wayside as Google shredded its wearable strategy over and over, but gestures are back, baby. The Pixel Watch 4 is getting an update that adds several gestures, one of which is straight out of the Apple playbook. When the update hits devices, the Pixel Watch 4 will gain a double pinch gesture like the Apple Watch has. By tapping your thumb and forefinger together, you can answer or end calls, pause timers, and more. The watch will also prompt you at times when you can use the tap gesture to control things. In previous incarnations of Google-powered watches, a quick wrist turn gesture would scroll through lists. In the new gesture system, that motion dismisses what's on the screen. For example, you can clear a notification from the screen or dismiss an incoming call. Pixel Watch 4 owners will also enjoy this one when the update arrives. And what about the Pixel Watch 3? That device won't get gesture support at this time. There's no reason it shouldn't get the same features as the latest wearable, though. The Pixel Watch 3 has a very similar Arm chip, and it has the same orientation sensors as the new watch. The Pixel Watch 4's main innovation is a revamped case design that allows for repairability, which was not supported on the Pixel Watch 3 and earlier. Limiting gestures to the Pixel Watch 4 thus seems rather arbitrary. When pressed on this, Google declined to explain why only its latest watch is getting these features. We can only assume the company is trying to make the new watch a more attractive upgrade. Regardless, the Pixel Watch 3 is still getting some love. Both the Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Watch 3 are getting upgraded Smart Replies in this update, thanks to a new on-device AI model. It's based on Google's open (and potentially libelous) Gemma models, using the context of a chat to produce suggested replies on the fly. Entering text on a watch is a pain, so Smart Reply can be a big help. Google says its testing has shown that the new model is twice as fast and uses one-third as much memory as the old version. The company claims that users rate the Gemma-based suggestions as the same or higher quality than the previous model in 97 percent of cases. You'll be able to judge for yourself in the coming days as the new features make their way to devices.

Google took notes from Apple with its latest Pixel Watch update

Double Pinch and Wrist turn accept or dismiss Pixel Watch pings. Pixel Watch's features are looking a lot like Apple's these days. On Tuesday, Google unveiled a few new features that expand on its one-handed gestures and smart replies. With these new gestures, people no longer have to use their other hand to select information or dismiss notifications. Now, these pings can be dismissed or accepted with the turn of a wrist or the pinch of the index finger and thumb. Also: A month with Fitbit Premium on my Pixel Watch changed my mind on AI health coaches The Double Pinch gesture can snooze alarms, capture photos while using the Pixel Camera app, accept calls, and pause timers. Hints for Double Pinch pop up when a relevant action has been initiated. Apple calls this gesture Double Tap, which people can use to answer calls, respond to messages, or activate the Smart Stack. Google's Wrist Turn gesture works for silencing calls and closing any notifications or pings, similar to Apple's Wrist Flick. In addition to the two new gestures Google introduced on Tuesday, the tech giant also updated its Smart Replies feature. Google is adding its on-device Gemma-based language model to Smart Replies on Pixel Watch 3 and 4. Google says the model is twice as fast and three times as efficient in memory usage compared to previous models. Also: Pixel Watch 4 review When Google unveiled the Pixel Watch 4 in August, it launched its first one-handed gesture, Raise to Talk. The feature activates Gemini without having to say "Hey Google" or touch the crown of the smartwatch. The new gestures highlight the hands-free features smartwatches are implementing into their devices. These make the smartwatch easier to use when someone has their hands full, and they create a frictionless experience when sending a text, selecting an option, or dismissing a call.

The Pixel Watch 4 just learned two new nifty tricks

Google's rolling out a mini drop that brings two new features to the tech giant's latest Pixel Watch 4 and one new feature to last year's Pixel Watch 3. Google Pixel Watch 4 review: Just plain good The design is a snoozefest, but the rest makes up for it Posts 3 By Andy Boxall Nov 6, 2025 A significant software update is not just bringing smarter 'Smart Replies' to both the Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 4, it's also bringing new one-handed gestures to the latest Pixel wearable. Double Pinch 8 small Pixel Watch 4 settings that made a surprisingly big difference Simple tweaks, big improvements Posts 2 By Rajesh Pandey Nov 12, 2025 Google wants all Pixel Watch 4 users to be able to take quick actions like answering/ending calls, pausing timers, snoozing alarms, and more with a simple pinching gesture. If this sounds similar to functionality offered by Apple and Samsung, that's because it is. "If your hands are full wrapping gifts, a double pinch of your fingers can answer an incoming call," wrote the tech giant, adding that it will soon begin offering helpful context hints right on the Pixel Watch 4's screen to inform users when to use the feature. Wrist Turn Similar to double pinch, Pixel Watch 4 users are also gaining a wrist turn gesture that can quickly dismiss incoming calls, turn off alarms, or timers, silence notifications, and more. Think of it as a way to quickly flick a notification away to discreetly dismiss it. Smarter 'Smart replies' 7 Wear OS features you're probably not using -- but should Wear OS has hidden gems Posts 5 By Sanuj Bhatia Aug 15, 2025 Although the new Double Pinch and Wrist Turn gestures are exclusive to the Pixel Watch 4, enhanced Smart Replies are coming to both the Pixel Watch 3 and Watch 4. It's worth noting that Smart Replies isn't a new feature. Google is simply enhancing the feature's quality. The two wearables, leveraging an on-watch AI model that's reportedly "twice as fast and uses half the battery to ensure you stay connected" (when compared to its predecessor), will now deliver a noticeable bump in reply suggestion quality. "In a blind study, 97% of users found the quality equal to or better than before," wrote the tech giant. Smarter smart replies and the two new gestures are rolling out now and should be widely available in the coming days!

Your Pixel Watch 4 is Getting 3 Sweet New Features

We may earn a commission when you click links to retailers and purchase goods. More info. The Pixel Watch 4 is seeing its own little Feature Drop this morning with a handful of new features. Google is adding a couple of new gestures to the watch, as well as smarter smart replies in apps like Google Messages. And if you own a Pixel Watch 3, you'll also get the new replies, thanks to the on-device Gemma-based language model. The new Pixel Watch 4 gestures will allow you to double pinch fingers or turn your wrist to make things happen. For Double Pinch, Google says you can pinch together to answer or end calls, pause timers, pause music, etc. Should you not remember to pinch, on-screen hints should show up from time-to-time to remind you that a pinch might be easier than physically touching your watch screen. And for Wrist Turn, this gesture will mostly be to dismiss incoming calls, but I'd imagine it could also scroll through something like notifications. We'll have to get it activated on the wrist to report back. When it comes to these Smarter Smart Replies, Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 4 owners will get this feature. These watches will take advantage of a new on-watch language model that is supposedly twice as fast and less power hungry to generate Smart Replies that are...smarter. It should work even when you aren't connected to your phone too. We have a couple of examples of smarter replies below. You can see someone in Google Messages ask for another person if they can pick up lemons. The new AI smart replies offer options like "How many lemons do you need?" and "Regular ones or Meyer lemons?" See, they are smarter and context-aware. You get the idea