Most important Google Pixel update ever could literally save your life

Google is working on a new Personal Safety app with “car crash detection,” a rogue listing spotted on the Play Store by XDA Developers has seemingly confirmed.

The Personal Safety app has since been removed, which suggests Google isn’t quite ready to share it yet. Nonetheless, the listing reveals a really interesting insight into what Google is planning for the future.

The software uses the multitude of sensors built into your smartphone, including the accelerometer and microphone, to enable your Google Pixel smartphone to detect a traffic collision.

If your Pixel believes you’ve been involved in a collision, it will loudly sound an alarm. And if there’s no response, it will automatically call the emergency services.

If that sounds familiar at all, it’s likely because Apple uses a very similar system in its Apple Watch Series 4 and Watch Series 5, which boast automatic fall detection. If the smartwatch believes you’ve taken a serious tumble, it will try to rouse you with a notification – and if there’s no response, it will call your local emergency services.

Based on the screenshots shared as part of the Play Store listing, Google Pixel owners will have more than one opportunity to tell the handset that they’re alright and stop the emergency call.

It looks like there will be at least two opportunities. However, as this is unannounced software, it’s possible that will change before the Personal Safety app rolls-out to users worldwide.

According to Google, the Personal Safety uses the current location of your Pixel smartphone, motion sensors to detect any sudden movement, and “ambient audio” from the microphone to figure out if a car crash has taken place. Similarly, Amazon’s Alexa Guard feature listens for the sound of breaking glass when you’re away from home to protect against break-ins.

Google has warned that some “high-impact activities might activate car crash detection.”

Whenever you do need to hit the false-alarm button within the app, Google will ask a series of follow-up questions to determine what you were doing when the feature was triggered. This is designed to help the service learn to rule-out these sounds and movements in future – to make the Personal Safety feature more reliable.

Unfortunately, Personal Safety only seems to be able to detect car crashes in the United States at launch. Google doesn’t mention bringing the detection to any other countries at the moment, although hopefully this will change.

Since the app has now been removed from the Play Store, it’s safe to assume we’ll learn more about the feature at the Made By Google hardware event on October 15, 2019. This is also when Google is widely-tipped to launch its all-new Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL smartphones, as well as new Chromebook, Google Wi-Fi mesh routers, and a redesigned Google Home to help it compete with the Amazon Echo 3 announced last month.

Roughly 40,000 people died in road collisions in the United States last year. If Google can leverage sensors inside its smartphone to prevent even a handful of those deaths, this could be one of the most important updates it’s ever announced.

Google is likely to announce the feature alongside the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, but given that XDA Developers spotted the software in the Play Store, we’re expecting the Personal Safety app to be available for older handset models, too.

Express.co.uk will be in the audience at the Made By Google event later this month and will have all the news as soon as it’s announced. Stay tuned.

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