Google Pixel Watch 5 gets offline Gemini and new gestures in September update

Google has released the first major Wear OS 7 update for the Pixel Watch 5 ($399 on Amazon). According to Google, it will take several more weeks before the update is available for download to every Pixel Watch 5 user. As soon as the update is available, a notification will appear on the smartwatch’s display.

The September update primarily improves Google Gemini. After the update, the voice assistant can also be used offline, for example to start a timer or a workout. The voice assistant should now launch more reliably when the smartwatch is moved close to the mouth. Gemini gains deeper access to personal data, such as calendar entries or emails, to answer questions more accurately. Gemini can also proactively make suggestions, for example, if a message asks what time a planned meal is taking place, Gemini searches for this information in the calendar and displays it immediately.

Google Health is now designed to display the route recorded via GPS after a run or bike ride with greater precision. Google is expanding the functionality of the "double pinch" gesture, in which the thumb and index finger of the hand wearing the Pixel Watch 5 are tapped together twice in quick succession. 

In the future, this gesture can also open notifications, scroll through Gemini replies, switch between weather maps, scroll through workout results, or switch the view in Google Maps. After the update, turning the wrist outward acts as a universal "back" gesture. This is intended to significantly simplify one-handed operation of the Pixel Watch 5.