Wear OS 6 could finally add a Water Lock mode on the Pixel Watch
The new Water Lock mode will likely turn off your watch’s touch screen to prevent accidental actions while you’re swimming
- Google appears to be developing a “Water Lock” shortcut for Wear OS, and it could arrive on the Pixel Watch with the upcoming Wear OS 6 update.
- This feature would likely disable the watch’s touchscreen to prevent erratic behavior and false touches when the device gets wet.
- However, evidence of an accompanying water ejection sound is missing, and there’s no guarantee the feature will be in the final release.
The best smartwatches are typically highly water-resistant, so you can take them into the swimming pool or shower without worry. However, while getting them wet won’t cause damage, it can make them act up. That’s because most smartwatches use capacitive touchscreens, which often behave erratically when water lands on them, leading to annoying false touches and a loss of sensitivity.
To prevent these issues, many smartwatches feature a dedicated “Water Lock” mode that disables the touchscreen. This mode is often paired with a water ejection feature that plays a specific tone to clear water from the speaker port. On most devices, like those from Samsung and Apple, this water ejection is triggered automatically when you turn off Water Lock, but it can also be activated manually.
