Does the Google Pixel Watch have an EKG? | digital trends

Google has thrown its hat into the smartwatch ring with the Pixel Watch, a striking new Wear OS device on a playing field already occupied by veteran Android smartphone makers like Samsung, Moto and Oppo.

The fact that Google makes it is perhaps the most fascinating thing about the Pixel Watch. Coming from the company that created Android and Wear OS in the first place, not to mention its successful Pixel smartphone lineup, Google’s new smartwatch has been one of the most anticipated wearables in years.

While many had dreamed of Google knocking it out of the park with its first smartwatch, the company seems to have decided to play it safe and debut the Pixel Watch with a relatively walkable set of features – things that everyone will love modern smartwatch standard – rather than opting for something remarkably innovative.

As a result, many people are wondering what health and fitness features Google’s Pixel Watch offers and how it compares to behemoths like the Galaxy Watch 5 and Apple Watch Series 8. One of the biggest questions is whether or not the Pixel Watch will have ECG support.

Is there an ECG app on the Pixel Watch?

While Google isn’t exactly pushing the limits of technology with the Pixel Watch, it hasn’t been stingy with its health sensors either. It’s fair to say that everything you’d expect from a smartwatch is here, including a heart-rate monitor and a “multipurpose electrical sensor”. These sensors include support for an ECG app that can assess your heart’s rhythm to detect signs of atrial fibrillation.

Of course, those are table inserts for any modern smartwatch, so it would have been absurd for Google to omit them. Apple introduced an ECG app on the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018, and Samsung added it to the Galaxy Watch 3 two years ago.

It helps that Google now owns Fitbit, which controls much of the tech in the Pixel Watch. Fitbit has offered devices with EKG capabilities since Fitbit Sense launched in 2020. With Google marketing the Pixel Watch as “health and fitness by Fitbit,” it’s fair to say that the ECG tech is an evolution of what’s found on Fitbit-branded wearables.

Because Fitbit is platform agnostic and the Pixel Watch works with any smartphone running Android 8.0 or later, ECG capabilities should be available no matter what device you pair with your Pixel Watch. That’s in stark contrast to the Galaxy Watch 5, which requires you to pair it with a Samsung phone since the Samsung Health Monitor app is only available on the Galaxy Store.

Where is the Google Pixel Watch ECG available?

ECG is a medically regulated feature, which means it must be approved by state health authorities and regulatory agencies. Google has to follow the same rules as other smartwatch makers like Apple when rolling out this feature, which means it’s not going to be available everywhere.

Luckily, Google has a head start here. Because the Pixel Watch’s health features are built on top of Fitbit’s technology, the Pixel Watch boasts ECG support in 28 of the 30 countries and regions where the Fitbit ECG feature is available.

As of this writing, these include American Samoa, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania , South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and US Virgin Islands. While the Fitbit Sense 2 and Fitbit Charge 5 also offer the ECG app in India and Singapore, those two countries are still not on the list for the Pixel Watch for whatever reason.

Google will no doubt expand this list as it receives regulatory approval in more countries. Though it’s starting from the back – the Apple Watch ECG app is now available in 147 countries and regions – it still boasts impressively broad international support from the start. In comparison, the Apple Watch Series 4 introduced its ECG feature exclusively in the US, and it wasn’t expanded until six months later to reach a similar number of locations.

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