A writer at How-To Geek turned an old Pixel Watch into a small smart home remote for lights and scenes, a use for a gadget that may be sitting in a drawer.
An old Pixel Watch can work as a small remote for your smart home. Joe Fedewa of How-To Geek set one up by the bed to control lights and scenes. That means no talking to a smart speaker and no getting pulled into a phone.
The software part is described as very easy. The idea is to treat the watch face like a home screen. Fedewa used the Active watch face in its Minimal layout. He then added shortcuts, which the watch calls complications, for these items:
His home runs on SmartThings, but a few devices sit outside it. So he mostly uses Google Home as a central hub. The article says Home Assistant and a few other platforms can also be controlled from a Pixel Watch.
For the bedside spot, Fedewa used a 3D printer. He reworked a model he had made for a Pixel Watch Dumb Phone into a stand. He also floated a dock built around the charger, so the watch could be picked up like a remote and set back to charge. He notes that is easier with older Pixel Watches than with the newer side-mounted charger.
A watch will not replace a big dashboard or a phone. Price, and whether the stand file is available to others, were not covered. A 3D printer helps with the stand, but the watch face setup does not need one.
If an old Pixel Watch is in a drawer, put smart home shortcuts on its watch face and use it as a small remote.
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