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The Pixel Watch 2 does a great many things and one of those things is allowing you to access quick settings from the always-on-display (AOD). This really puts the “quick” in quick settings because you can drag this menu down faster and more conveniently.
And after all, a smartwatch should be about convenience. This is a neat trick that not all smartwatches are capable of. And although minor, it helps set the Pixel Watch 2 apart from other smartwatches. This really only comes in useful if you don’t use the tilt-to-wake feature. Because if you do then the AOD goes away as soon as you lift your wrist. If you have this turned off however, then you would normally need to lift your wrist and tap the screen to proceed with unlocking it to access the quick settings menu.
Sure it may only shave off a second or two. But it’s an added level of convenience that improves the user experience. And that’s never a bad thing.
The Pixel Watch 2 AOD lets you swipe for access to more than just quick settings
Even quicker access to quick settings is certainly useful but you can access more than that from the AOD on the Pixel Watch 2. As 9To5Google points out you can also access your left most and right most tiles. You access tiles of course by swiping left or right on the display. Whereas you swipe down to get to quick settings.
And surprise, surprise, swiping up will bring up your notifications. And you can access these from the AOD too. Perhaps in-time Google will expand the access from the AOD to more features or apps. But for now this is what you can get to without having to tap the display on the watch first. Either way it makes for a useful method of seeing any incoming messages or emails. If you’ve got a Pixel Watch 2 you should be able to try this for yourself right away.