Google Pixel Watch app reveals code for double pinch gestures
Google is preparing to bring more natural gesture controls to the Pixel Watch. The latest 4.2 version of the companion app includes code that hints at upcoming support for double-pinch and wrist-turn actions, opening the door to one-handed commands like silencing calls or snapping photos without touching the screen.
These additions suggest the company is closing a gap that has been frustrating Pixel Watch users for a while. Hidden in the APK are clear references to a double-pinch gesture that would let you interact with notifications, answer or dismiss calls, and even trigger the camera just by tapping your thumb and forefinger twice. The descriptions found by Android Authority leave little room for doubt. It looks like proper gesture input is finally making its way to Wear OS in a serious way.
Here are the strings that were found.
<string name="wrist_turn_gesture_title">Wrist turn</string><string name="wrist_turn_gesture_summary">Use wrist turn to silence calls, and close alerting notifications</string>
Double-pinch gets the spotlight
The double-pinch stands out because it is simple and immediately useful. It mirrors what Apple recently introduced as a headline feature and builds on what users are already familiar with. But it is the return of the wrist-turn gesture that long-time smartwatch users might appreciate even more.
Anyone who used early Android Wear watches will remember flicking the wrist to scroll through cards or silence alerts. It was not perfect, but it worked. Google seems to be bringing this back in a more focused form. According to the new code, turning your wrist will silence incoming calls or dismiss active alerts. That could be a big help, for example, when your hands are full or when discretion matters.
Why this matters now
Google Pixel Watch 4 already includes a handful of gesture features. Raise to Talk activates Google’s Gemini assistant, and you have options like tilt-to-wake, touch-to-wake, crown rotation, and button combinations. But most of those still require either voice input or deliberate screen taps.
Adding physical gestures like pinch and wrist-turn starts to chip away at one of the biggest smartwatch annoyances: having to stop what you’re doing just to deal with a minor alert. It puts the emphasis back on glanceable, ambient interaction. This is the very thing smartwatches were supposed to be good at.
Playing catch-up, but with potential
Apple and Samsung have both leaned into gesture controls for several years. Apple even used the double-tap gesture as a flagship feature in its most recent Watch models. Google clearly knows it is behind in this area.
The real question is whether these gestures will work across all Pixel Watch generations. The APK teardown only confirms that the functionality is present in the companion app. There’s no confirmation yet that older models will support it, and it is possible that only newer hardware will have the right combination of sensors or processing power to handle gesture recognition effectively.
If support is limited to the latest models, that could frustrate early adopters, especially since wrist gestures were part of Wear OS years ago. At the same time, tying these gestures into broader Google services like Assistant, Photos, or even Smart Home shortcuts could give the feature more weight than it has had on other platforms.
There is no official rollout timeline yet. Features uncovered in APK teardowns often take time to reach users and are occasionally scrapped altogether. Still, the level of detail here suggests Google is fairly far along in development.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter! Check out our YouTube channel.
And of course, you can follow Gadgets & Wearables on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.
