Your Wear OS smartwatch will finally be able to unlock your Android phone and Chromebook
Google is working on a new feature that will let you unlock your Android phone and Chromebook with a Wear OS smartwatch. The company announced the upcoming feature as part of its CES 2022 keynote, along with a bunch of other features that improve interoperability between Android phones, Chromebooks, and other devices in Google’s vast portfolio.
The upcoming feature will let you use your Wear OS smartwatch to unlock your Android phone and Chromebook right from your wrist. As you can see in the attached GIF, the feature will let you unlock your Android phone or Chromebook by drawing the pattern lock or entering the PIN on a Wear OS smartwatch. Once unlocked, the feature will also present a new button to help you quickly lock the devices after you’re done using them.
At the moment, Google has not shared any additional details about this upcoming feature. The company says that it will start rolling out to users in the coming months and we expect to learn more about the feature in the weeks leading up to the rollout. The feature will likely function just like the one found on the Apple Watch, which lets you quickly unlock a connected iPhone or Mac using the smartwatch.
It’s worth noting that you can currently use Android’s Smart Lock feature to unlock your phone with your smartwatch by adding it as a trusted device. However, the feature doesn’t let you set up a PIN or pattern. It just automatically unlocks your device if the connected smartwatch is in the vicinity. Due to this, the feature hasn’t really caught on with users. The upcoming feature addresses this issue, so we expect it to gain more traction.
What’s your take on the feature? Will you use it on your Wear OS smartwatch to unlock your Android phone or Chromebook? Let us know in the comments section below.
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