The Emergency SOS feature on the Pixel Watch is great for quickly calling for help in urgent situations. You just need to press the watch’s crown five times fast. This works well for emergencies, but it can also cause the watch to dial 911 by accident.

Good news is, Google is working on a fix to stop these unwanted calls. In the newest update of the Pixel Watch app (version 3.3.0.714022638), we found hints that Google might add a new “Touch and Hold to Call” option for the SOS feature.

With this new method, after you press the crown five times, you’ll need to touch and keep your finger on the screen for three seconds before the call starts. This extra step should cut down on the number of accidental emergency calls.

We’ve seen a preview video of how this will work when it’s ready, and it looks promising. Importantly, this won’t be the only way to activate SOS. People will still have the choice to use this new touch-and-hold method or stick with the current way, which will now have a five-second wait before calling.

This new way to trigger Emergency SOS isn’t ready yet in the current app version, but it should come in a future update. We’ll keep this article updated once it’s available for everyone to use.

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Today, Google made a big announcement at the Galaxy S25 launch, focusing on the new AI features coming to Pixel 9 phones.

If you have a Pixel 9, or are thinking about getting one, you’ll be excited to know about the fresh updates. The Google Store now has a banner that says, “New Gemini Live and Circle to Search features for Pixel 9.”

The star of the show is Gemini Live, which lets you talk about the photos, files, and videos on your phone. Here’s how it works:

• Images: You can add a photo to your chat with Gemini Live, and it will give you info or advice about it, or even help fix issues on the spot.
• Files: Share a document, and Gemini Live can talk through it with you.
• Videos: Discuss YouTube videos, getting explanations and insights in real time.

The updated Gemini interface lets you snap a new photo or pick one from your gallery. You can also ask questions about what’s on your screen, like PDFs or videos. After you upload something, you see a “Talk Live about this” button, which leads you straight into a conversation with Gemini Live, with your content highlighted in a cool blue/purple color.

These features are starting to roll out today for the Pixel 9 series, along with the Galaxy S24 and S25. They’ll come to older Pixel models like the Pixel 6 soon.

Google also teased Project Astra, which will add screen sharing and live video streaming to Gemini in the coming months. Plus, they’re rolling out Deep Research for Gemini Advanced users on mobile, following its web debut last month.

Right now, you can use Gemini to handle multiple tasks at once, like asking for lunch recipes and saving them to Google Keep, or sharing activity ideas with friends via Google Messages.

Beyond Gemini, there’s Circle to Search, which gives you quick AI insights on whatever you circle on your screen, whether it’s a place, an image, or a URL. This feature also makes it easy to call, email, or browse with just one tap. The new design for Circle to Search looks clean, with all options in a handy pill-shaped box, though it’s not fully available yet.

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The way Android gets updates has gotten better over time. Google has been working on making these updates more regular, and other phone makers have followed suit. If you own a Pixel 9 and use T-Mobile, you’ll be happy to know that the January 2025 update is now ready for your phone.

Better Late Than Never

Google kicked off the year with its first Android update in early January 2025. While it’s not a massive update, it brings several fixes that tackle some common annoyances. Google pushed this update out two weeks ago, but if you’re with T-Mobile, you’re just getting it now.

T-Mobile is currently sending this update to all Pixel 9 devices on its network. Google rolled out this update earlier, and it includes improvements in performance and fixes for bugs. One notable fix is for the issue where dark icons would unexpectedly switch to light ones after the December 2024 update.

The update also tackles problems like flashing lines on the screen, audio delays, app stability, and camera issues when switching to external cameras.

This update is available for all models of the Pixel 9 series including the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Carrier Testing

It’s common for updates to take a bit longer for those using carrier-locked phones, like those from T-Mobile. When you buy a phone directly from a carrier, they do extra checks to make sure the update works well with their network, avoiding issues like dropped calls.

If you have an unlocked Pixel 9, you’ll get the update as soon as Google releases it. However, carrier versions like those on T-Mobile might see a delay, which in this case was about two weeks.

This delay can be a bit frustrating if there are urgent fixes for security or app issues. If you’re on T-Mobile, you can check if the update is available by going to Settings > System > Software updates > System update, or you can manually update using the OTA images from Google’s website.