Google Pixel Watch 2 set to get the Fitbit Sense 2's best feature

The long-rumoured Google Pixel Watch successor dubbed Pixel Watch 2 might be capable of tracking the wearer's stress levels. Earlier this week, sources told 9To5Google that the Pixel Watch 2 will probably boast cEDA (continuous electrodermal activity), which is the best feature of the Fitbit Sense 2.

Last year, Google introduced new sleep features to the Pixel Watch for Fitbit Premium subscribers. The search giant also shared a blog post earlier this month, explaining how it trained Fitbit's Body Response feature to detect stress. In fact, Google says the Sense 2 is capable of tracking the wearer's "stress in real-time."

A new feature coming to Pixel Watch 2

Apparently, the smart wearable uses a machine learning algorithm that understands what to look for, like heart rate, sweat levels, skin temperature, and heart rate variability. The wearable might suggest you take a walk or do some breathing exercises if it determines your skin temperature has dropped and your heart rate has increased.

The watch is configured to the unique baselines of a wearer over the first month of use. However, Google recently confirmed that the original algorithm was trained on participants who were put through a series of stressful situations. This includes a horrible sounding "surprise math test" and mock job interviews for a dream role.

The company put the participants under more pressure by putting them through these situations while being watched by three judges. Google noted that it used the "data gleaned from this test to train the Body Response algorithm." This is a classical machine learning algorithm that can identify physiological signs of autonomic arousal in the participants.

However, measuring stress is a complicated process because similar symptoms occur even when people are excited. So, Fitbit disables the stress level tracking feature when the wearer is exercising. Other exciting things such as going on a promising first date are likely to trigger the feature. So, the Pixel Watch might ask you to relax.

"This is where you play an important role in logging how you were feeling at that moment on your device, or later in the Fitbit app," Google notes.

Pixel Watch 2 rumoured features, release date

Google has neither confirmed nor denied these speculations yet. However, the folks at Tom's Guide believe the Pixel Watch 2 is likely to adopt the stress level tracking feature. To recap, the original Pixel Watch costs $50 (about £40) more than the Fitbit Sense 2. Still, some sources claim Google managed to ship nearly 900,000 Pixel Watches last year.

So, it is safe to assume that the upcoming Pixel Watch 2 smartwatch will get all premium features. Also, it is worth noting that Google paid a whopping $2.1 billion (about £1,695,736,434) to buy Fitbit. So, it will try to take full advantage of all features offered by the fitness company. Google is prepping to fully absorb Fitbit accounts as well.

According to a Droid Life report, Fitbit is set to get Google account login on June 6. However, it will be optional, and won't be forever. Reportedly, Fitbit logins will be discontinued by 2025. Google says it will not use Fitbit wellness and health data for targeted advertising due to privacy concerns. The company will put all speculations surrounding Pixel Watch 2 to rest this fall when it could finally unveil the all-new smartwatch.

In the meantime, the Pixel Watch 2 could continue floating around the rumour mill. Last month, reliable leaker Evan Blass posted an image with the words "Pixel Watch 2" via a tweet. Regrettably, Blass did not confirm whether the image was shared by an official source. Aside from this, some Pixel Watch 2's specs surfaced online not long ago.

Google is reportedly on the verge of unveiling the much-awaited Pixel 7 series successors, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. The word on the street is that the American tech giant will take the wraps off the Pixel Watch 2 at the Pixel 8 series launch event. Notably, Google has a reputation for announcing Pixel phones in October. So, we might get our first glimpse into the Pixel Watch during an October launch.