Google is also reportedly testing a significant enhancement to Watch Unlock that could make it so that your Pixel Watch doesn’t just unlock your Pixel phone but can even directly access select pats of apps on the device. If it ships widely, the feature would surface “Open on phone” prompts much more commonly as one-tap actions that not only wake a locked screen to the furniture-identifying snippet of a given link but which also have deep links built in from where they’re opened — saving users precious seconds of back-and-forth pin-code re-entry and navigating, say if you want to save some search results or improve your life by investing in more mid-century bar stools.
What’s changing with Watch Unlock
Today, on Watch Unlock, as long as your Pixel phone is in range of your Pixel Watch, you can easily swipe up or tap through a lock screen notification to unlock it. In the new experiment, internal strings reference an “Authorized Apps” entitlement related to Watch Unlocking in the context of specific apps. In more practical terms, tapping an “Open on phone” button on your watch might unlock the phone and load a specific page within a paired app.
The feature was found in Google Play Services beta version 25.37.31. It’s not working on most peoples’ end and looks to be server-side-flagged, like first-party PSU experiments tend to. Just like previous Watch Unlock improvements before it, the work is based on Play Services not a full OS update which indicates that possible release an be independent of a big system launch.
How ‘Authorized Apps’ might function
Per the descriptions in the beta, app launches from lock screen will be restricted to a curated collection of “Authorized Apps.” You can control this list in Settings, where you may add or remove titles according to your comfort level. You can expect Google’s own apps and popular communication apps to be first in line, with the possibility for more as developers adopt the right intents and deep links.
Consider a few examples. Say, from a watch notice, “Open on phone” in Messages could unlock your Pixel and drop you right into the same conversation you were viewing on your wrist. A tap on a maps complication might open the phone into turn-by-turn directions for a saved location. A note-taking app might be able to leap straight to a particular list you pinged from your watch. The common thread is continuity: begin on the wrist, end on the phone with fewer steps.
These are deep links, so the launch target would be more specific than a general app open. It’s that accuracy where you find the time savings — and where the security guardrails count. Keeping that behavior to apps you trust helps avoid the possibility of an errant tap causing more harm than necessary.
Security and privacy guardrails
Watch Unlock already relies on several safeguards: your watch has to be on-wrist as well as unlocked, and the phone uses short-range signals to confirm that it is near. The additional app-launch step doesn’t eliminate those checks; it just layers a managed deep link on top. According to Android’s security model and the wording in the beta, the jump will only take place for apps on your allowlist, and then only when your watch is in a trusted state.
That is a marked improvement over the older “Trusted devices” Smart Lock method, which was convenient but also a bit too permissive. Contemporary guidance (e.g., from NIST’s multifactor and proximity-basedAuthenticators), recommends ephemeral, device-bound signalsand user intent as the foundation of trust. FeatAuthorizing a deep link from the watch fits in with that philosophy: it’s quick, local and user-driven.
There are limits. For now, the feature will only be available for Pixel phones (the 4a or later) and a Pixel Watch. It’s not known if Google will bring it to other Wear OS watches. Users who are worried about lock screen exposure can opt out completely or limit the feature to a few trusted apps.
Why it matters for Pixel and Wear OS
Small tweaks to friction have a big effect. So you end up doing a quick triage step most of the time you engage with your smartwatch: glancing at a message, starting a timer, checking some information or responding to an alert. On those occasions when you do need the phone, jumping directly to the right screen beds up saving a few taps dozens of times each day. That’s the same continuity principle that has helped cross-device experiences like handoff and quick-pairing stick with users even if they don’t know how to define why.
From an ecosystem point of view, more granular watch-to-phone control makes it even more appealing to stay within the Pixel fold. Wear OS has improved with each cycle and features like this make the watch feel more like a phone controller for a few of your devices core tasks, and less like its just mirrored its notification view.
What to look for next
And since the changes in question ride on Google Play Services, don’t be surprised if any public release simply arrives unceremoniously one day, possible gradually.
If you have a Pixel Watch and and a compatible Pixel phone, be on the lookout for Settings > Security & privacy > Watch Unlock. When you see “Authorized Apps,” you’ll get to a management page where you can review and modify the allow list.
In the meantime, spotify your enthusiasm: developers won’t necessarily be going deep a day into this new functionality (and Google itself may change the rules before final release).
But the direction is clear. Your watch is just becoming a more powerful remote for your phone and the next tap on your wrist will take you exactly where you want to go on your Pixel.