Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Recent code findings in the Satellite Gateway app corroborate that the Pixel Watch 4 could feature emergency satellite communications.
- This satellite connectivity feature appears to be exclusive to Pixel Watch devices, with code specifically referencing “isPixelWatch.”
- It’s possible the feature could be routed through a satellite-compatible Pixel phone, potentially allowing it to come to older Pixel Watch generations in the future.
The Pixel Watch 4 is expected to introduce some nifty changes, like its polarizing new charger, which you can love and hate simultaneously, and even a Breathing Emergencies tool to detect when your oxygen level falls too low. Leaks have suggested that we can look forward to Emergency Satellite Communications on the Pixel Watch 4. Now, we’ve spotted more clues to corroborate that this feature is indeed coming to Google’s upcoming smartwatch.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
The Satellite Gateway app is one of the apps responsible for the Satellite SOS features on Pixel phones. In the latest v20250707 of the Satellite Gateway app, we’ve spotted several bits of code that directly reference the feature within the context of a smartwatch:
Code
intent.setClassName("com.google.android.apps.scone", "com.google.android.apps.scone.satellite.watchui.MainActivity");Here, “com.google.android.apps.scone” references the Adaptive Connectivity Service app, which helps direct the UI for pointing your device towards a satellite for connection. We also see a mention of “watchui” in the activity, which clearly indicates the feature making its way to a smartwatch.
But is the emergency satellite communications feature coming to all Wear OS smartwatches? Several parts of the obfuscated code for the satellite connectivity feature includes checks like “isPixelDevice:%s” and, more importantly, “isPixelWatch:%s,” indicating that the feature is most likely destined only for the Pixel Watch.
The next question is whether the emergency satellite communications feature will be exclusive to the Pixel Watch 4. We haven’t spotted any code that specifically ties the emergency satellite communications to the Pixel Watch 4. Further, devices need specialized hardware for satellite connectivity. We’ve seen Google’s biggest competitor, Apple, offer features like Emergency SOS via satellite for the Apple Watch, but this connection is routed through a compatible iPhone rather than undertaken through the smartwatch itself. It would make sense if Google adopts a similar route, as internal space is significantly constrained within a smartwatch.
Suppose Google routes Pixel Watch 4’s upcoming emergency satellite communications feature through the phone (potentially a Pixel phone only, i.e., serving merely as an extension for Satellite SOS on Pixel). In that case, there’s also the possibility that the feature could come to older generations of the Pixel Watch. Don’t hold your breath, though, as the company might keep the feature exclusive to the new watch hardware and only open it up to older watches through software updates farther in the future.
Google hasn’t shared any confirmation for the Pixel Watch 4 or its leaked Satellite SOS feature. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.
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