Subj : You might soon be able to unlock your Android phone with a Wear O
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Fri Aug 18 2023 11:15:03

You might soon be able to unlock your Android phone with a Wear OS watch

Date:
Fri, 18 Aug 2023 10:00:44 +0000

Description:
Google's Watch Unlock may soon be enabled, so you can conveniently unlock 
your phone without a fingerprint or face.

FULL STORY
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Theres no shortage of ways to unlock the best Android phones , with most of 
them having a fingerprint sensor and face unlock, on top of the classic gamut 
of PIN, password, and pattern options. But it looks like Google is about to 
add one more option. At least, for owners of the Google Pixel Watch , and 
possibly other Wear OS watches too. 

You see, a Watch Unlock feature that Google showed off for the Pixel Watch 
way back in January at CES 2023 looks like its finally about to launch, as 
AssembleDebug (via GSMArena ) has found the feature buried within Android. 
Its not yet active, but you can see a video of the setup process in the post 
below. 

Based on that, it appears the Watch Unlock feature is designed to be enabled 
alongside another unlock option, such as face unlock or a fingerprint, and 
would kick in when one of those options fails, such as if the screen is wet 
and cant read your fingerprint. Seems like ready to roll.... just need a 
smart watch now... the black screen in recording is just password unlock. 
pic.twitter.com/WBDz6SaoE1 August 16, 2023 See more 

In those circumstances, with Watch Unlock enabled youd be able to swipe up on 
the lock screen, and then tap a notification. This would then unlock your 
phone. 

For your Pixel Watch or other Wear OS watch to be able to work with Watch 
Unlock, it needs to first be connected to your phone, on your wrist, and 
unlocked itself, all of which would generally apply anyway if its your main 
or only smartwatch. Not so secure 

While this security option could be convenient at times, enabling it makes 
your phone a lot less secure than any of the other security options. The 
setup screen for Watch Unlock specifically says that it might be less secure, 
and worryingly also notes that in some cases your watch might unlock your 
phone, even if the watch isnt on your wrist or within reach. 

So whether you should activate Watch Unlock really depends on how you balance 
security with convenience. If youd like to though, we imagine you might be 
able to do so soon. 

Theres no word on when exactly Watch Unlock will roll out publicly, but given 
how complete the setup process appears wed imagine it will land soon. Perhaps 
it will be an Android 14 feature  with that OS upgrade expected in September, 
or maybe it will land alongside the Pixel Watch 2 and the Pixel 8 , both of 
which are likely to land in October. 

Were not sure for now, and its also unclear what devices it will actually 
work on, but wed imagine that initially, at least, it may require a Pixel 
phone, and it might also only work on the Pixel Watch for now; as that's what 
it was advertised for at CES. But either immediately or later we'd think 
other Wear OS watches will probably get access to this too. You might also 
like Google Pixel 7 review The best Wear OS watch: top smartwatches on Wear 
OS 3 Google reveals when your Wear OS 2 watch will get a big downgrade



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/phones/you-might-soon-be-able-to-unlock-your-android
-phone-with-a-wear-os-watch


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