Google rolled out the Wear OS 6 update for the Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 in early October. The build brought several underlying changes alongside Material 3 Expressive and smoother system animations. The original Pixel Watch never got the Wear OS 6 update due to its aging hardware. Now, Google is pushing out one final October build for its first Pixel smartwatch, as it reaches the end of its software support cycle.
The BW1A.251005.003.W build is still based on Wear OS 5.1 and only packs “security updates and bug fixes.” Unfortunately, despite rolling out in October, the firmware does not contain the latest (October) security patch — it’s still stuck on June.
If you own the original Pixel Watch, you can download the latest October update by tapping the “Your watch is up to date” screen from the Settings → System → System updates page. Before doing this, ensure the watch is on charge and connected to a Wi-Fi network.
It’s the end of the road for the Pixel Watch
The original Pixel Watch launched in October 2022 with a promise of three years of updates. That timeline now comes to an end, with the BW1A.251005.003.W possibly being the wearable’s final update. Google may roll out another build for the watch if there are any serious security vulnerabilities; otherwise, don’t expect future updates.
Google shipped the original Pixel Watch with Wear OS 3.5 and rolled out Wear OS 4.0, Wear OS 5, and Wear OS 5.1 in the following years. So, the watch has received several important updates in its lifetime, making it a better wearable than it initially was.
Weirdly, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, which launched in 2021, will officially get the Wear OS 6 (Android 15) update. That makes Google’s first smartwatch an outlier and a poor buy in comparison.
The original Pixel Watch was praised for its build quality but widely panned for its slow performance, poor battery life, and chunky bezels. In the years since then, Google has steadily refined its smartwatch formula, addressing almost all major shortcomings with each new generation, culminating in the excellent Pixel Watch 4 this year.
