Saw in another thread that there are plans to put GrapheneOS on the Pixel tablet. Any plans for the Pixel Watch as well?
Pixel Watch and GrapheneOS
BalooRJ I don't have any inside knowledge, but would venture to say that GOS on a Pixel watch would be significantly more challenging than GOS on a Pixel tablet. The native tablet is already running Android, whereas the I am pretty sure the Pixel watch is natively running wearos. But anyone please feel free to correct me if I am incorrect.
My suspicion as well.
And as you mentioned earlier, ISTM that the wearos watch - given its dependency on Google stuff on the phone, and especially in LTE version - would serve to increase the attack surface of your P6/7.
For me, a smart watch is very important (presently have an Apple watch), and FWIW am looking at Zepp/amazfit watches running gadgetbridge as a possibility; don't have a P7 yet.
mylesofsmiles do you know which permissions the watch needs exactly? And does it need them permanently or just for the initial setup?
Duct9143 Initially when I was setting it up I couldn't pair the watch until it had enough permissions to connect to my phone and Google Play Services. The watch app is using the following permissions: Calendar, Call logs, Contacts, Nearby devices, Phone and SMS. All are relatively harmless from my perspective compared to the additional utility they provide but everyone has a different threat model. Could you get away with fewer permissions? Possibly? I am not the one who is going to try it though because everything works great as it is!
mylesofsmiles How's the watch working out for you on GOS? Do you get security updates? I'm also curious if the step counter is accurate. Battery life?
mylesofsmiles I too would like to know how your experience has been. Did you find any permissions that you were able to delete post installation? Also, is your watch bluetooth only, or does it have LTE, and if so, were you successful in getting the LTE activated on your carrier?
I was finally able to get a chance to test out GPay today on the Pixel Watch and I am pleased to report it works flawlessly!
Fhggyy5767 Yep, it works great. It does everything I allow it to without any issues. I have the LTE version and can easily get the 24 hours they claim. I could technically go longer but I charge it nightly to have enough battery for sleep tracking. I did turn off always on display, tilt to wake and always on Google Assistant which definitely help extend battery life.
mylesofsmiles Hello. I'm glad you replied. My Galaxy 46 stopped tracking sleep about a week ago. I was hoping you didn't get burned out on your watch and vanish. lol. I'm excited about picking one up again.
Kamaehuakanaloa It has been nearly perfect. I have the LTE version and I haven't bothered playing around with permissions because I granted each one as I went along to use features as needed. I mentioned it earlier but I will write it again: you can't activate LTE service from GrapheneOS. You have to use another device with your SIM card if T-Mobile (US) is your carrier.
mylesofsmiles I remember you saying that you had to activate on another device to get the LTE running. Can you please post the settings you had to permit to get the watch up and running again or point me to the post you made with the settings? After I get it up and running I'll experiment with revoking as many permissions as possible while keeping everything running and post those settings back on this thread.
mylesofsmiles Actually if you already know the minimum amount of permissions needed I'll follow your guide.
Can someone say wich permissions are needed for the following apps/services to run an Pixel Watch?
-Pixel Watch App
-Google Service Framework
-Google Play Services
-Google Play Store
It would be also nice to know if the permission is only requiriered during setup or also for daily usage.
Is it possilbe to get the App running in Work Profile?
Adding to this, I was able to get my watch paired successfully to my GrapheneOS phone, and google pay contactless appears to work too.
I'm glad I came across this thread. I just got the 7 Pro and a Pixel Watch. Saw a lot of other talks about how wearables didn't play well with GOS. Now that I know different and my watch is already set up, I know what I'm doing with my free time :)
- Edited
Slightly off topic but I have a Garmin instinct 2 solar with Garmin pay which meets the same need as the OP. I charge it about once a month. It does not have a microphone which is one thing I was looking for. The watch syncs perfectly with the Android app and I get notifications, Can use the watch to find my phone and also can set up a notification when the phone disconnects so I don't accidentally leave my phone behind. Once you set up your cards in Garmin pay on the watch technically you could disconnect it from the app so none of your data is going to Garmin, but having a look over the Garmin privacy policy it's definitely a lot friendlier than the Google privacy policy.