What you need to know
- Google appears to have a Find My Device app for Wear OS in the works.
- A version of the app was spotted in a five-month-old promotional video for the Pixel Watch 3.
- The app could be released in a future Pixel Feature Drop, Wear OS 5.1, or alongside a future Pixel Watch model.
Google appears to have a Find My Device app for Wear OS in the works, as evidenced by a frame hidden in a Google Pixel Watch 3 promotional video that first aired five months ago. The ad, surfaced by a Reddit user, shows a Find My Device app optimized for Wear OS with a map and more (via 9to5Google). Despite the video airing so long ago, we haven’t heard much about a Wear OS version of the Find My Device app since.
Most of the apps showcased in the video, called “Meet Google Pixel Watch 3 | Big Screen, Bigger Strides,” are showcasing apps and functionality we’ve seen before. There is a Nest Doorbell look-in video feed and a TV remote control panel, both of which are new to the Pixel Watch 3. There are also Pixel Watch staples, like playback controls for now-playing media and Fitbit app integration.
However, the final app screen in this specific frame shows an unreleased app with a map, the date and time a device was last seen, a button to play a sound on the device, and the device’s battery life. While not specifically named, this app appears to be a version of Find My Device made specifically for the Pixel Watch 3.
Find My Device for Watch shown in Official Pixel Watch 3 commercial? from r/PixelWatch
Pixel Watch wearables can already be used to play a sound with a companion Pixel phone. It’s possible that the app snippet shown in the video is an expansion of this existing feature, but it’s more likely that it is a sneak peek at a native Find My Device app for Wear OS. Aside from adding a map with more location details, a Find My Device app would enable users to see the location of their earbuds, tablets, and other compatible products.
One Reddit user shared that it is possible to sideload the Android version of Find My Device onto a Pixel Watch, though it isn’t the easiest to navigate.
It’s unclear when the Find My Device app for Wear OS might become available for Pixel Watch users, or users of other Wear OS watches. Google hasn’t acknowledged the development of this app outside of a quick appearance in this Pixel Watch 3 debut ad. It’s possible that it makes an appearance in a future Pixel Feature Drop, Wear OS 5.1, or alongside a future Pixel Watch model.