Google has just announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the pulse loss detection feature in the Pixel Watch 3. It will start appearing on devices in the US sometime in late March.
The pulse loss detection feature is exactly what it sounds like: if Pixel Watch 3 senses that you’ve lost your pulse due to a heart attack or overdose, it will send you a notification. If you don’t respond, it will automatically call the emergency services on your behalf. Back in August, Sandeep Varaj, Google’s senior director of product management for Pixel devices, told The Verge that the Pixel Watch 3 can distinguish between a real loss of pulse and the fact that a person has simply taken off the watch.
This feature will be available in the European Union from September 2024. However, health-critical features such as pulse loss detection require regulatory authorization, and each country has its own governing bodies and procedures. Whether this feature is extended to other regions will depend on the relevant local regulatory authority.
