Artie Beaty/ZDNET
Back in the beginning of 2024, ZDNET detailed WowMouse, an Android app that lets you use your smartwatch instead of a Bluetooth mouse on a tablet, phone, laptop, or PC.
At its introduction, the app was available for most WearOS devices, including Samsung Galaxy Watch models. However, Google’s very own Pixel Watches were left out.
That’s no longer the case, as Pixel Watch 2 users can now make their watch a Bluetooth mouse on any compatible device.
Sorry, OG Pixel Watch owners, you’re still left out for now.
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Setup is simple. After downloading the free app from the Google Play store, follow the instructions to connect your watch to the device you want to control. After selecting whether you’re right-handed or left-handed, a tap of the mouse icon turns on the feature.
From there, WowMouse uses sensors in the watch to track hand and arm movements, translating them into movement on the screen. Moving your hand moves the cursor on the screen, tapping your finger and thumb together will left-click, and tapping with your palm up will right-click. Tapping on the mouse icon on your watch turns off control.
No matter how you rotate your wrist, moving your watch up will move the cursor up. Gestures can be reassigned from their default, letting you perform actions like space and middle click, and there are sensitivity controls to fine-tune how quickly the cursor moves.
Also: Google Pixel Watch 2 review: In one key area, it surpasses every other smartwatch
It’s reminiscent of the double-tap feature on the Apple Watch but on a bigger scale.
Any device that supports HID, or Human Interface Devices, should be able to connect to WowMouse, the company says. That includes Windows 10, Windows 11, Android, ChromeOS, Linux, MacOS, iOS, and iPadOS.
While this seems ideal for people giving presentations or for when you’re sitting far away from a device, it’s not just limited to computer interactions. “Our state-of-the art algorithms can immediately detect the moment at which your fingers come into contact with each other,” the company explains, “giving you access to the most intuitive controller in the world, your very own hands.”
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In addition to computers, the WowMouse app can control your phone as well as navigate your smart TV and even your smart lights.