In March, Google Pixel 9 series smartphones received a new feature — real-time scam detection. Notifications about this will now appear on Pixel Watch 2 and 3 smartwatches connected to the phone. “So if you’re on the go, you can get alerts about scam calls without having to take out your phone,” Google said.
Image source: google.com
Running locally on Google Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold smartphones, Gemini Nano’s multimodal AI model analyzes what the user’s interlocutor says in real time during a phone call and alerts the device owner if signs of fraudulent schemes are detected. When the system is triggered, the phone emits a sound and vibration signal and displays a warning on the screen: “Probably fraudulent.” The feature works in real time on the device.
If the user has accepted an incoming call on the watch, and the interlocutor is highly likely to be an intruder, “Pixel Watch will warn you about fraud during the call by receiving a signal via Bluetooth from your Pixel 9+.” A call coming directly to the watch via LTE is not subject to such analysis – data processing must be performed on the smartphone.
The feature was released for Pixel Watch 2 and 3 on April 7, 2025, only in the US and only for English-language calls — you’ll have to enable it separately in your smartphone settings. When enabled, a beep sounds at the start of a call and every few minutes during the call.