Always On Display Update for Pixel Watch Enhances Media Controls

At a glance

• Update: Google’s Pixel Watch now features an enhanced always-on display for better functionality.
• Capabilities: Users can control media and timers without display fading.
• Recognition: The Pixel Watch 4 was awarded best Android smartwatch of 2025 by Mashable.
• Impact: The improved display is particularly beneficial for runners and those tracking workouts.

Google’s Pixel watches are rolling out an improved always-on display.

Tech site 9to5Google spotted that with Wear OS 6, the Pixel Watch has added always-on capabilities for media controls (such as controlling your music) as well as the timer app. Previously, these sorts of tools would blur after a certain amount of time. Now, they remain on the screen, with the display having been slightly changed from its previous iteration.

That could mark a major improvement for people who use their watch to, say, time a workout or track what they’re cooking. Mashable named the Google Pixel Watch 4 the best Android smartwatch of 2025 — so it’s an improvement on an already good product. Tech Editor Timothy Beck Werth wrote it was “elegant enough to wear to the office, but comfortable and smart enough to monitor workouts.” Senior reporter Christianna Silva, meanwhile, wrote in their review that the “Pixel Watch 4 is a true runners’ watch, and it’s gorgeous too.”

So now, if you’re a serious runner doing sprints on a track, you won’t need to fiddle with the display to check your times. That’s a small change that could have a big impact.