Google Pixel Watch’s August 2024 update is here, but with a twist

Summary

• Google is rolling out August’s security patch for Pixel Watch ahead of its phones.
• To get the latest update, navigate to Settings > System > System updates and tap the watch icon on the “Your watch is up to date” page.
• After installing the new firmware, your watch will still show that it is running the July 2024 security patch.

Like clockwork, Google has been rolling out monthly security patches for its Pixel Watch lineup. Initially, the watch’s update used to go live a few days after the Pixel phones. But for the second consecutive month, Google has made the Pixel Watch’s monthly security patch live ahead of its phones. Similar to the July 2024 patch, the August patch for the Pixel Watch only contains patches for known security vulnerabilities, but there’s a twist.

Google announced the release of the latest monthly Wear OS 4 security patch for the Pixel Watch on its support forums. The short changelog for the TWD9.240805.001.A2 build only mentions containing “the latest security patches” and little else. The August 2024 Pixel Watch security bulletin is not yet live, so you must wait a bit longer to know about all the vulnerabilities that Google has patched with this update.

As always, you can wait for Google to push the new build to your Pixel Watch. Or you can grab it right away by navigating to Settings > System > System updates and repeatedly tapping the watch icon on the “Your watch is up to date” page.

While Google says this is the August 2024 security patch, your Pixel Watch will show the security patch as July 2024 on the System updates page. This is despite the build number (240805.001.A2) matching what Google mentioned in its announcement. It appears the company forgot to change the security patch’s month with this release. Still, you should rest assured knowing your watch is running the latest security patch despite the watch’s About page saying otherwise.

Wear OS 5 for the Pixel Watch could arrive next month

Google’s next major product launch event is scheduled for August 13th. In addition to the Pixel 9 series and the rumored Pixel Buds Pro 2, the company might also announce the Pixel Watch 3 in 41mm and 45mm variants. Besides the usual yearly hardware upgrades, the smartwatch should launch with Wear OS 5.

Announced at Google I/O 2024, Wear OS 5 is based on Android 14 and packs several underlying power and efficiency improvements for better performance and longer battery life. After the Pixel Watch 3’s release, Wear OS 5 should make its way to Google’s first and second-generation smartwatch soon after, presumably with the September firmware update.