Google verus Samsung is set to become more of a thing as the battle for Android users heats up. And while AI will take the headlines, there are other factors at play. Just days after Samsung warned Galaxy users to update their security settings, a new Android leak suggests Google has something even better in mind for Pixel.

Samsung’s security warning was aimed at its 40 million account holders in the U.K., a country especially hard hit by a mobile phone theft epidemic that has seen users afraid to use phones out on the street for fear of losing them.

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Samsung says its new One UI 7 upgrade includes “additional theft-protection and security delay anti-robbery features,” and assures it will do “everything it can to ensure the safety and security of our customers when they are using their mobile devices.”

Now, per a new APK teardown by the team at Android Authority, Pixel might be cooking up something that could really be the anti-theft game-changer. “While there’s no guaranteed way to prevent phone theft, making sure you keep your handset locked is probably the single easiest and most effective step you can take.”

@nailsad_eleos (Telegram) via Android Authority

Currently, Pixel owners can keep their phones unlocked when their watch is unlocked and nearby — meaning it’s on the rightful owner’s wrist.

“Watch Unlock works great for what it is,” the team explains, “[but] we haven’t had the option where its absence locks your phone.” But new text strings in a pre-release Pixel Watch app describe a “‘lock on disconnect’ feature [that] would look for the presence of your connected Pixel Watch, and activate your screen lock when that connection is lost.”

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This brings reassurance that any phone loss or theft can be contained, with no concerns that data and other apps might be accessed, even if for a short time and even if sensitive functions are restricted. It’s an excellent update and it should be universal.

As SamMobile comments, “it could be released for all Wear OS smartwatches, including Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup. Hopefully, the abilities to lock and unlock a phone, depending on whether you are wearing your Galaxy Watch and if it is unlock, will be released with the upcoming Wear OS 6-based One UI 8 Watch update.”