Google's first smartwatch, the Pixel Watch, might finally catch up with Samsung's smartwatches and could soon start offering overnight SpO2 monitoring. This feature has been available for Samsung's smartwatches beginning with the Galaxy Watch 3 (through an update). It is a part of the user experience for Samsung's Wear OS wearables, including the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 lineups.
The Pixel Watch could get continuous overnight SpO2 monitoring through the Fitbit Today app. In fact, at least one Reddit user (u/triforce28) appears to have gained access to continuous SpO2 reading on their Google Pixel Watch.
As shown in the screenshots below (via 9to5Google), the Fitbit Today app for Reddit user triforce28 contains a new “Oxygen saturation” card that includes SpO2 information from the “last sleep session.” When users tap the card, they get redirected to a statistics page containing more information.
Pixel Watch oddly omits key features
Thankfully, Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 users need not worry about this feature missing from their smartwatches. Both lineups offer continuous overnight SpO2 monitoring through One UI Watch 5 and the Samsung Health app. It's independent of Fitbit Today and has been working just fine for the past couple of years.
Unfortunately for Pixel Watch users, there's no official information as to when the continuous SpO2 monitoring feature might go live or whether or not it's already rolling out in stages. The recent event might have been a fluke or could be evidence of what's coming to the Pixel Watch.
In any case, if you are looking for a smartwatch that can monitor your SpO2 level overnight and you're wondering if the Galaxy Watch 4 or Watch 5 are in the same predicament as the Pixel Watch, well, they aren't. Samsung has got you covered. It is odd to think that Samsung is seemingly using the Wear OS platform better than even Google itself, but that indeed appears to be the case.
