Pixel Watch preps ‘At a Glance’ Wear OS complication powered by Assistant

The Pixel Watch and Wear OS could stand to be a bit more contextual, and Google may be addressing that with an Assistant-powered “At a Glance” complication.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

Google Assistant on the Pixel Watch today is a straightforward voice assistant that can be launched via the “Hey Google” hotword, a press of the side button, or an optional complication on your watch face.

The existing complication is just the Google Assistant icon, which was recently updated to match your set watch face color.

<string name=”proactive_complications_provider_description”>At a Glance</string>

<string name=”proactive_complications_tap_to_activate_assistant”>Tap to Activate Assistant</string>

The latest version (1.5.67.x) of Google Assistant for Wear OS reveals work on new “proactive_complications” that are elsewhere described as “At a Glance.” For it to work, the Assistant will have to be set up. We’ve seen signs that the At a Glance complication is limited and exclusive to the Pixel Watch.

In terms of what information At a Glance could show, the current feature set looks to be the weather and possibly a countdown to upcoming events. For example, if you have no upcoming events, the complication could just show the weather.

<string name=”location_permission_disclosure_text”>Assistant collects location data to enable weather in At a Glance even when the app is closed or not in use.</string>

<string name=”daily_weather_forecast_display”>Today %1$s\xb0 / %2$s\xb0</string>

In fact, the format looks similar to the daily weather forecasts introduced on Pixel phones last year.

<string name=”in_x_minutes”>In ^1</string>

<string name=”now”>Now</string>

Design-wise, this complication likely needs more space than what can be offered by the circular slot, though it could technically fit into something smaller. A rectangular slot would be more ideal. On the Pixel Watch today, this shape is only available with the Utility face in the Modular II and III configurations, though Google could always add more face designs — a frequent request — before rolling out At a Glance.

Other At a Glance functionality from Pixel phones that would be useful are commute and time to leave prompts, air quality, severe weather and earthquake alerts, and other Calendar reminders.

This functionality is not yet live.

Thanks to JEB Decompiler, from which some APK Insight teardowns benefit.

Kyle Bradshaw contributed to this post