Verdict
The Pixel Watch 2 propose improve bombardment life and heart rate monitoring , ensuring that it bests its predecessor and can now be worn for a full day . It ’s by no means thoroughgoing , but it is a solid option to Samsung ’s modish watches .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Pixel Watch 2 make it on the scene precisely a year after the first edition , which is no mean effort considering Google ’s chronicle of terminating project in their babyhood .
give the battery life issues that hassle the original , the Pixel Watch 2 has a relatively low streak to unclutter for best its predecessor and become a functional and competitive smartwatch . Yet , much of what we were given with the first - genPixel Watchremains here , include the original ’s 24 - hour battery living estimate and much of the design .
Google has made changes to the C.P.U. – with the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 + chopine now in charge – and the heart rate detector to help boost this follow - up , but is it enough to help it compete with Samsung and other Wear osmium vendors ? I ’ve been order it to the trial to find out .
Design and screen
Both from a distance and up close , the Pixel Watch 2 is very like to its harbinger . The sleek , domed case design Google debut last year remain here , and you’re able to only really begin to spot the difference between the two generations when they ’re side by side .
The diadem on the Pixel Watch 2 sit much more neatly on the example ’s edge , and the unexampled simulation is also somewhat unclouded in the hand . This is on account of Google switching from a stainless steel sheath to recycled Al , which , though some will deplore , is n’t something I actually view a negative .
In fact , given the original Pixel Watch ’s disposition to slide very slightly on the wrist during activeness like run due to that weight , I suppose it ’s a outstanding change , and this is compounded by the fact it really is unobtrusive when look at the wrist .
It is a pity Google has n’t criticise any money off the request price despite using a less agiotage fabric , though .
The most urgent take with the intent , I believe , is the take of the 41 mm case size of it .
I really felt like Google would diversify the compass for the second generation , so it ’s a substantial dashing hopes to only have one shell sizing to pick from once again .
It ’s still the perfect size for someone with littler wrists , as illustrate above , but it definitely occupy some time to adjust if you ’re used to fag out lookout man from Samsung or Apple , for example , that are a few millimeters braggart .
The case size stay the same , then , as does the 1.2 - column inch AMOLED display , which continues to see great when the always - on setting is enable , or when you turn up the brightness level to that 1,000 - nit acme .
I would n’t mind if Google force the exhibit slenderly closer to the border of that domed screen ’s operate - off area , but overall the screenland certainly is n’t an arena you ’ll be let down with .
Features and software
Wear OS 4 retains the core look and feel present in last year ’s watch , and the move to Snapdragon W5 + from Samsung ’s Exynos 9110 Saratoga chip secure that the Pixel Watch 2 is an fantastically bouncing watch when navigate through menus .
When you throw in the ever - improving app reinforcement , which now roped in the likes of WhatsApp ( which not even Apple can boast ) , and the seamless integration of its own service – Home , Assistant , Maps , Calendar , and more – it begin to stack up with the industry ’s very best .
That ’s all before considering the Fitbit element , which is on hand to basically run all the seaworthiness tracking on the Pixel Watch 2 . Fitbit Today is still an splendid place to see your daily advance , while the associate app is still arguably the most visceral fellow traveller hub in the globe of habiliment .
fag group O is an increasingly ( and surprisingly ) good alternative to Apple ’s watchOS , then , with perhaps only things like watch face support really lack at this leg . For the Pixel Watch 2 though , Google is also adding a few sole tricks – begin with base hit feature .
The first of these is Safety Check , which is fundamentally an ripe timekeeper that will advise opt contacts if it expires before you check in . You ’ll need an dynamic cellular design or an internet connection to your phone in society to use it , but it is a very thoughtfully project addition .
Not only is a Safety Check timekeeper easy to set up , but you also have the selection to take from a small group of activities , and even share your location before the timekeeper is up if you sense the need .
It ’s a great option to texting friends , family , or partners that you ’re home dependable , though it could be even better with something like the pick of automatic balk - in bear on to location or geofencing .
The other major addition here is Safety Signal , which allows you to tap into safety features like emergency SOS or position sharing even if you do n’t have a cellular architectural plan set up . Of naturally , for this , you will demand at least the capability of LTE though , and ( a small disappointingly ) a Fitbit Premium subscription , so it ’s not as ‘ liberal ’ as it appear .
We ca n’t really fault Google too much here though . get into osmium is in estimable health , and it ’s great that features like Safety Check are also available to owners of the original Pixel Watch who update to the latest software program .
Sports tracking
Google has added venial advance to the sports and seaworthiness trailing on the Pixel Watch 2 with features like robotlike utilisation trailing , but the newspaper headline change here is with the new multi - path ocular heart rate sensor .
Google AI and machine scholarship are shore up the raw system , with the company betoken that more strenuous workouts should be tracked more accurately with the Pixel Watch 2 .
In my experience , that ’s absolutely been the compositor’s case . While the original Pixel Watch often drastically underreported maximum HR figure – and run to leave out high heart charge per unit bod in all – its successor is much more in line with top - tier twist .
I screen the raw hardware against theGarmin Epix Pro ( Gen 2 ) ’s Elevate 5 sensor and the Wahoo Tickr X chest strap , and the outcome from four test runs were incredibly near .
All three devices reported the same mean BPM on two of these runs , and were only separated by 1 BPM on the other two . There was slenderly less agreement regarding the maximal 60 minutes reading , but this was still always incredibly stuffy and never deviated by more than 3BPM .
I still believe the Pixel Watch 2 has a very slight tendency to underreport max efforts , but this is n’t necessarily rare for wrist - found machine . The late Garmin sensing element , for context , does the inverse , and in general slightly overestimates maximum image .
This improved and frankly stellar warmheartedness pace tracking truth is also back up by firm GPS trailing , which is unaltered from the Pixel Watch .
GPS whorl - on is nowhere near as quick as you ’ll discover on Apple or Garmin watches , but the Pixel Watch 2 does mostly comport once a connection has been instal .
Two of my political campaign saw it finish within 25 K of Garmin ’s gold touchstone All Systems + Multi - Band tracking , which is very honorable go , while a pair erred slenderly and bring close to an extra 250 m.
I would n’t grade it as elite , but it is definitely in force enough for most hoi polloi , and most race distance , plus the theme of slenderly over - reportage is at least a logical one so you’re able to call and work around it .
With these two hardware tools prop up up the experience , the remainder is up to Fitbit to fork up and , for the most part , it does so pretty well .
There ’s still a definite lean towards catering to the general exploiter with the likes of steps and calorie sunburn being a prominent part of the experience , and more advance metrics like VO2 Max hidden away and operating under the pretext of something else – but this is n’t necessarily a damaging matter .
Fitbit , after all , has always been about keeping fittingness tracking light . With that said however , it is also start up to fall behind in the odd area , with the like of Apple , Samsung and Xiaomi all summate advanced insights for Caranx crysos as standard , and much better heart rate zone breakdown .
When you consider that it ’s also the only one of these caller to place certain metrics – like Daily Readiness – behind the paywall of Fitbit Premium , it becomes even less recommendable .
Health tracking
Along with revamping the optical nitty-gritty rate sensing element , Google has also borrow the uninterrupted electrodermal bodily process ( cEDA ) detector seen on Fitbit ’s latest trackers , and bolstered its health metric unit with the addition of a pelt temperature sensing element .
Like the rest of the information in Fitbit ’s Health Metrics dashboard , the tegument temperature tracker exercise unendingly in the background signal to help demonstrate your service line . From here , you ’re then able to view a invariably updating field of your core health metrics , which also admit heart rate variability ( HRV ) , breathing pace , SpO2 and rest heart rate .
It ’s now a very complete and digestible view of your general wellness , and the accuracy of these baselines generally adds up against what we ’re used to from theOura Ring 3andWhoop Strap 4.0 .
My HRV was slimly down on its common range , and the roost heart charge per unit ( take from your lowest reading material during an static alert period , not your lowest meter reading during sleep ) public figure are a little higher than what I would bear , but these are also often two insights that become more precise after a few week of article of clothing . yield that each gadget does always more or less disagree over what it considers to be your baseline , we do n’t imagine these factors stop the health metrics dashboard from being useful .
If that was n’t enough , the Pixel Watch 2 also features wellness - focused stress trailing , mood log and check mark - ins .
The idea here is that the cEDA sensor is able to spot your soundbox ’s answer in veridical - time and facilitate you become more aware of both tenseness and other emotion . As we ’ve found with other Fitbit devices that tender the feature , it ’s a spot of a mixed handbag .
While there are emphatically occasions when it ’s capable to log something from 10 instant ago – like a nerve-wracking call regarding a home sales event , driving in a city center or holding a friend ’s newborn – there are also other occasions when it just , well , does n’t .
So while there are days in which you feel like you ’ve built up a fair accurate picture of your body ’s response to its environment , and perhaps divvy up with it by pass away for a walk or performing a mindfulness recitation , it is n’t consistent enough to really cut the mustard .
With that said , the Pixel Watch 2 definitely does more here than any other smartwatch on the market , and that does – along with those other health insights – make it a pretty formidable health spotter .
Sleep tracking
Sleep trailing has always been Fitbit ’s potent suit and just like with the original Pixel Watch , this yr ’s looping carry on this estimable shape .
Its ability to file accurate fourth dimension in bed periods , as well as diminish deceased and arouse - up times , is unco consistent . We invest it right alongside the Oura Ring as one of the best sleep tracker on the market , with it sitting just above the gadget from the like of Garmin and Whoop that still have from the odd miss when it comes to nap or awake stop .
We do n’t of necessity put too much weight into quietus stages , throw that this is essentially a prediction without pro - grade sleep lab equipment , but the Pixel Watch 2 even seems to execute systematically with Oura in this arena .
Your nighttime ’s sleep is also present extremely well in the Fitbit app and on the Pixel Watch 2 itself , with point and scores easy to engage with . It ’s just a shame that a few of the bass insights – slumber marrow charge per unit , sleep profiles , and restlessness – are all lock behind Fitbit Premium , though you do at least get access to night - clip SpO2 data .
Given that devices like Oura and the Whoop Strap are only accessible if you have a subscription , we wo n’t stigmatise Fitbit down too raspingly here , but it ’s also true that Google is the only major smartwatch maker to require extra cash from drug user .
Battery life
The barrage life of the original Pixel Watch was borderline shambolic , with the gimmick often struggle to make it close to 24 hours even with temperate use . As such , it was utterly the priority for Google to accost in this second contemporaries and it has fixed it – even if that ’s not the whole story .
In the testing phase , I function the always - on video display throughout , performed around 1 - 2 hours of out-of-door body process every day and also turn Bedtime Mode on each night .
In between all that , notifications were steadily incoming ( though not from WhatsApp , I ’m no masochist ) and dealt with , background tracking was enable for our wellness metric function , and other apps and data point screen were tinker with throughout the day .
In each of the last 7 - 10 days , the Pixel Watch 2 made it through a 24 - hour charge up cycle integral . On some day it was very close to running out , and on others it would be able-bodied to go to around 30 hr – and there was no real rhyme or understanding to why – but this just about whole kit and caboodle for those who can parcel out with charge once per day .
Of course , it ’s still passably jarring to go from a Garmin , Whoop or Oura to using something like the Pixel Watch 2 , because it check you completely convert your relationship with the gimmick . Instead of being something you may forget about charge for a few days or even hebdomad , it ’s very much a equipment that needs constant attention in how you ’re using it .
Google ’s twist does at least dwell up to its claims now though , and while it massively lags behind Mobvoi’sTicWatch Pro 5 , the battery performance is very much in line with Samsung ’s latestGalaxy Watch 6devices .
Charging times are much improve here , as well . The Pixel Watch 2 is able to boost from around 15 - 20 % to a full rush in 45 - 50 transactions , and going from flat to full takes just over an hour . This means it ’s not too difficult to get enough succus in before your next task – be it sleep or exercising – but , again , you do pretty much always have to consider it .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
Wear OS continues to better , Fitbit ’s trailing experience is generally excellent and it all come in a cracking bundle .
With only one case size and limited battery life , this is by no means the unchallenged Wear O lookout to thump .
Final Thoughts
The Google Pixel Watch 2 is an improvement over last year ’s original in pretty much every fashion , with the battery sprightliness now make it through a full day and newfangled element like heart charge per unit tracking performing very powerfully . Google has bring in the Pixel Watch up to equivalence with its Wear atomic number 8 contender like theGalaxy Watch 6and theTicWatch Pro 5 , but this still is n’t the everlasting experience .
Trusted Score
How we test
We good essay every smartwatch we review . We utilize industry received testing to compare features by rights and we use the watch as our main twist over the review period . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to review a mathematical product .
FAQs
The Pixel Watch 2 works with all compatible Android equipment .
Just like other late Wear O watch , the Pixel Watch 2 can not be match with an iPhone .
Full Specs
