Verdict
The Google Pixel Watch in many way is a very good showcase for a thoroughgoing , more likeable adaptation of Wear OS , but for a smartwatch that has been talked about for so long , we do n’t think it was too undue to anticipate feature of speech like battery and exercise tracking to be at least on par with even cheaper Android smartwatches , which lamentably is n’t the event here .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Google Pixel Watch is a smartwatch I have been anticipating for a long time . After year of rumours and speculation that Google was going to make a smartwatch to go with its smartwatch OS , it ’s in conclusion happened .
Google ’s answer to theApple Watchis powered by the latest interpretation of its Wear atomic number 76 program reconstruct with Samsung . It ’s also make for Fitbit into the fold , which is now a Google ship’s company , to facilitate allow wellness and physical fitness features along with some conversant stigmatization .
With a cost that unwaveringly puts it in line with other Android - friendly smartwatches like theSamsung Galaxy see 5and jazzy selection like theGarmin Venu 2 Plus , the Pixel Watch arrives with a huge deal of expectation .
Design and screen
As looking at go , the Google Pixel Watch manages to declare oneself a smartwatch that ’s astonishingly aerodynamic and elegant , but I would n’t say it ’s an entirely original facial expression . It in spades conjured up thoughts of theZepp E Circle , which launched back in 2020 and also put up a screen - dominating look .
It ’s a dinky small watch with its 41 mm stainless sword anatomy that does feel nicely weighted , with a polished case that comes in champagne gold , shameful or silver . That ’s flank by a untainted steel watch crown and a side button that sits pretty flush with the case to help maintain that streamlined , minimalist spirit . You ’re not go to slip it for a real watch , but it certainly does n’t blend into the smartwatch crowd either .
The participating band it ’s pair up with is essentially the same one you ’ll find on theFitbit Versa 4and theSense 2smartwatches , which both now light under that Google umbrella . Theclasp is a bit of a fussy oneto get a inviolable but not tight fit , but what ’s more irritating is the manner you take out the straps from the case .
Google makes it go like a dewy-eyed press of a button to rapidly resign the set , but it in spades was n’t the pillowcase when I had to exchange from the large dance orchestra to the smaller one let in in the box . There ’s a knack to it and it ’s by no agency an effortless process .
Everything is brought together with the sieve , which is a 1.2 - inch , 450 x 450 resolutionAMOLEDtouchscreen . This can be sic to stick on 24/7 , promises a maximum luminosity of up to 1000 nits – just like Fitbit ’s late smartwatches – and boast Corning Gorilla Glass 5 to offer some screen aegis as well .
It ’s a very good tone smartwatch display . I would still say Samsung and Apple ’s smartwatches lead the elbow room in this department , but this is an AMOLED that hand over those great deep , rich inkiness , and accurate colours . On the whole , it offer good visibleness indoors and outdoors . You ’ll need to crank the luminousness up in very bright out-of-door light though .
I can not ignore the thick pitch-dark bezel palisade that video display , which eat into an already small amount of concealment space and while it ’s well disguised with Google ’s array of very convenient darker preloaded lookout face , I really wish that screen reach all the way to the edge .
It ’s a design that achieves what Google will have set out to do with it . It ’s more flowing and stylish than sporty , but it ’s absolutely o.k. to don during exercise time as well . It ’s well-fixed to wear to bed and Google has plant a very right display that really pull out that count together .
Features and performance
It ’s no surprisal to find that the Pixel Watch fly the coop on the late reading of Google ’s ownWear OS(Wear OS 3.5 ) , which was build up with Samsung to give Android phone proprietor something more akin to Apple ’s WatchOS .
Powering that tardy Wear is a Samsung Exynos 9110 SoC processor along with a Cortex M33 co - central processing unit plus 32 GB of storage and 2 GB RAM . On newspaper , that ’s a pretty hefty set of internal feature that should guide to good performance .
Largely that is the causa here . purloin your finger’s breadth across the blind or using the crown to scroll showed no signs of horrible stave . When launching apps or booting up features like the Google Play Store , there are some familiar toil loading time , so it ’s not all perfect .
Wear OS on the Pixel Watch is the gracious I have receive on a Wear osmium smartwatch for some clip , and that even include Samsung ’s Galaxy Watch 5 . There ’s a real feeling of Wear on the Pixel Watch mirror move from an Android phone with a skinned version of Android to a Pixel smartphone with a vanilla interlingual rendition of Android .
The software feels clean and arrant in a good way . The same gestures still apply to get you around as other Wear OS watches , but doing things like catch and reading notification , glance at the very FitbitOS - revolutionise widgets or jump into the app screen all feel very straightforward .
Should we expect something more groundbreaking and innovative from Google here ? There ’s emphatically an argument to say yes , that should be the event here , but the learning curve for using the Pixel Watch is short and that ’s a just matter .
In the app department , there ’s a heavy Google influence with Google Maps , Google Wallet , Assistant , the swordplay Store and YouTube Music the standout comprehension here . Those Google apps in general lick fine without any huge issues . Assistant was responsive to queries using the onboard microphone and verbalizer , for case . As advert , the turn Store can be a bit on the slow side when it do to launching , downloading and installing apps . I downloaded apps like Strava , Spotify and Komoot and the experience of using those apps was fine on the whole .
There are some raw prophylactic features here to mirror what Apple and Samsung go on their smartwatches . A fall detecting fashion will be added at a later date and there ’s a personal safety mode enable parking brake SOS call and offering the power to receive pinch alerts too . You ’ll need to pay extra for the welfare of LTE connectivity here , but without it you could still make phone call over Bluetooth when couple to your phone .
I was expecting a bit more in the watch face section in terms of what ’s preloaded onto the Pixel Watch . Hopefully , Fitbit ’s influence will gestate greater yield here in the not - too - upstage future if it can convince the same Fitbit watch front developer to build up expression for the Pixel Watch as well . There ’s a mixture of analog and digital faces to pick from at least , but just not a lot of really stand - out ace that make the best use of the AMOLED display .
Some linger execution gripes aside , the integration of Google ’s own apps and software and the Wear O experience on the whole feels unanimous on the Pixel Watch . The challenge now is to match it with a level of third - party app and ascertain face funding that can really elevate the platform and make it feel like it ’s an OS that can make Google ’s smartwatch feel like a more exciting prospect to utilize over other smartwatches .
Fitness and health tracking
The nature of get over your health or exercise on Wear OS smartwatches has been a real mixed bag . Google ’s own suite of set apps are a clunky affair and did a high-risk job of tying data delivered from onboard sensors together in a really intuitive way .
It ’s for the most part been left up to Google ’s ironware partners to make this finical part of Wear OS body of work better . Mobvoi bring its own , much good - carry out collection of apps on its TicWatches is a just instance of that .
So it ’s not a surprising decision that Google turned to Fitbit to allow those features on the Pixel Watch . Fitbit ’s software both on and off the app is responsible for feature like daily step counts , eternal sleep and heart charge per unit tracking and exercise tracking as well .
Fitbit is also responsible for the data delivered by the onboardECGand blood oxygen sensing element . Like Fitbit ’s watches , rakehell O data is measured at night , while you ’ll need to download the dedicated Fitbit ECG app from the Play Store to take measurement by placing your fingerbreadth on the spotter crest to detect signs of atrial fibrillation .
If you do n’t want to habituate Fitbit ’s own apps , then you could delve into the Google gambol Store to find something more suitable . Based on my experience , there ’s a good chance you may just want to do that for some elements here .
The Fitbit integration on the vigil is chiefly represented by the Fitbit Exercise and Fitbit Today apps on the watch . The former is where you ’ll be able-bodied to track activities like swim , flow , cycling , hiking and bootcamp session . Some of those 40 + modes supported just put up basic workout duration and heart rate information .
The Today app rent you see steps , but lack the rich contingent the Today app offers on Fitbit ’s own smartwatches . You have to head to the Fitbit companion app to see that information ,
Accuracy - wise , I put it up against aGarmin watchand Oura Ring 3 to see how the pace trailing assess up and its step counts were courteous and close on most mean solar day , often only a few hundred steps out . Sleep tracking is a key strength of Fitbit ’s chopine and that ’s also evident on the Pixel Watch . information like slumber length , eternal sleep stage and the time asleep was in line with the sleep trailing on the Oura I wore alongside it and mirrored much of the good sleep tracking data point enamour on Fitbit ’s gadget in the past times .
Resting and continuous heart charge per unit datum felt reliable , serve up out similar readings to the reliable heart charge per unit sensor on Garmin ’s watch . Fitbit also provides wellness metrics like breathing charge per unit , HRV and skin temperature , but you ’ll also begin to acknowledge some insights are held behind Fitbit ’s premium subscription . Seeing longer trends with health prosody , sleeping pump pace or how restless you ’ve been at night are just some of those Premium - only pieces of datum .
Unfortunately , I got a familiar intuitive feeling with the Fitbit - powered exercise tracking . While GPS performance was pretty practiced for shortsighted 15 - 20 minute runs , as soon as I upped the length , the disparity in trailing was much bigger . A 7 - mi run was tracked as a 6.65 mile one on the Pixel Watch . Heart rate trailing during exercise was n’t spotless either . While fair heart pace data was generally in line with a MyZone meat rate chest of drawers strap , it did at times present maximum heart rate readings more than 10 bpm out from a chest strap varan . In the pool for a 45 - minute , 1500 metre swimming , the Pixel Watch recorded me traverse just 14 metres .
at last , if you ’re buy the Pixel Watch for cut through practice , then you ’re going to be disappointed . This is a smartwatch that put to work better as a fitness and health tracker , but even then , you still need to pay for Premium to get the thoroughgoing experience .
Battery life
If there ’s one thing that has really stood out in the unsound possible way in our time with the Google Pixel look on it ’s the battery – or the lack of it . It promises up to 24 hours , which in candour is good than what Apple has promised on its smartwatches for year until it launch the Ultra .
You will absolutely get that 24 hours when the screen door is not coiffure to always - on and you do n’t have that screen smartness cranked up to the max . There ’s a battery saver mode , which will turn off the always - on covert mood to push things a little further .
It ’s the nature of the drop - off , which is the most curious affair here . Overnight , the battery has dropped as much as 15 - 20 % and it ’s not really cleared why . Perhaps it ’s struggling to handle the Fitbit - powered sleep monitoring , which does n’t seem to be an proceeds for Fitbit ’s own smartwatches .
When you put GPS to employ , it ’s a feature that does show a noticeable drainpipe on the stamp battery . A 15 - minute track session saw electric battery drop by 7 % . Over an hour of using the GPS to traverse an outdoor run see battery fall by just under 20 % . For indoor workout tracking , it make out much well . A 45 - hour pond swim run into bombardment drop-off by just 3 % .
When it ’s time to buck , there ’s a middling prissy - sized charging provenience the Pixel Watch can snuggle on and saddle speeds are good , but not rattling . 30 minute will get you 50 % , 55 min gets you 80 % and 80 minutes fills it up .
Ultimately though , when Google now owns Fitbit which have managed to surrender smartwatches that can churn out a week of battery liveliness , it ’s surprising the Pixel Watch was n’t at least able to go for a couple of Clarence Day in between charges .
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Should you buy it?
The computer software run smooth , wear down type O take care nicer than it does on other Wear watches and that ’s wrapped up in a small , but attractive blueprint .
Unfortunately , beneath that silky computer hardware and software outside , there ’s some unwished bugs , particularly in the shelling and exercise trailing section .
Final Thoughts
Google kept us waiting a long time for the Google Pixel Watch and what it has delivered is a smartwatch that looks good , but in the end ca n’t obscure the fact there are some bug that hamper the experience . If Google can get those thing come up to , it ’ll be a far more likeable smartwatch .
Trusted Score
How we test
We thoroughly test every fitness tracker we review . We use industriousness standard testing to liken features decently and we utilize the watch as our main gadget over the review stop . We ’ll always tell you what we ascertain and we never , ever , accept money to critique a merchandise .
FAQs
The Google Pixel Watch can make payment thanks to the inclusion of NFC to enable those contactless payments through its Google Wallet app .
The Google Pixel Watch does let in a built - in Global Positioning System sensing element and does also support three other major satellite systems to enable outdoor tracking using native and third party apps .
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