We’ve heard about Google releasing a Pixel Watch for years now. There’s been a whole lot of hype round Google wading into the smartwatch waters, and rightfully so. Right now, Android customers are left with only a few viable choices, specifically from Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup.
Google made good on that promise by delivering the $349 Pixel Watch alongside the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. For the previous week, I’ve been utilizing Google’s first Pixel Watch — a tool that many hope will lastly give Android customers their model of the Apple Watch — for a few week.
While it’s removed from an Apple Watch caliber, there’s rather a lot to love, some to dislike, and loads of potential left over for Google’s first smartwatch.
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A Traditional Design With a Modern Spin
I’ll get this out of the way in which now — I like the design of the Pixel Watch. The stable black face of the watch that blends the bezels and the show right into a seamless floor appears nice, even in direct daylight or at the hours of darkness. The housing is fabricated from chrome steel and is available in matte black, polished silver or champagne gold shade choices.
The show, and for that matter the complete watch housing, isn’t very huge. And that’s my greatest grievance concerning the design. It’s simply too small. The total watch has a diameter of 41-millimeters, with the show being smaller than that, measuring 30.48mm — or 1.2-inches.
The Pixel Watch appears like a conventional watch because of its spherical housing and a crown that rotates or acts as a button to navigate the interface. There is a facet button, simply above the crown, that’s considerably hidden that provides one other navigation choice, on prime of the touchscreen show, after all.
There are a number of totally different band choices, a lot of which look similar to Apple’s personal Apple Watch bands — nevertheless it’s onerous to get mad at that. Google developed a considerably distinctive means of attaching the bands to the Pixel Watch housing, and it takes some observe to get the hold of. Google likens the attachment technique to how fancy digicam lenses are related to a digicam physique, with it sliding and locking into place.
Removing the band is simple; you press a button on the best facet of the band after which slide it to the best. Putting a band on, nevertheless, is just a little trickier. The secret’s to press and maintain the button in, then place the sting of the band over it and slide it to the left. I’m unsure that is sensible now that I learn it myself. Rest assured, Google exhibits a short animation shortly after establishing the watch that walks you thru the method.
On the underside of the Pixel Watch is the place you’ll discover all the commonplace well being sensors that are actually commonplace in any smartwatch. There’s a coronary heart price monitor, Sp02 sensor for blood oxygen ranges, and you’ll take an ECG utilizing a mixture of the underside sensors and by inserting your finger on the facet of the crown — which is precisely the way it works on Samsung’s Galaxy Watch and the Apple Watch.
The backside of the watch can also be the place you place the included magnetic charger, much like how Samsung’s Galaxy Watch and the Apple Watch cost. Google claims you may cost the Pixel Watch to 50% in half-hour, or a full cost in about 80 minutes. That kind of matches my expertise.
An Android Watch From Someone Other Than Samsung
As I discussed earlier, there’s a whole lot of stress on Google to ship a WearOS expertise that ideally surpasses or at a naked minimal places stress on Samsung to develop a greater Android watch. Don’t get me improper, the Galaxy Watch 5 is a unbelievable smartwatch, nevertheless it depends closely on Samsung’s software program and providers, and if you happen to don’t have a Samsung telephone, that may be irritating.
The Pixel Watch runs WearOS 3.5 out of the field, and is filled with numerous Google apps and providers. And you’ll have to pair it with an Android smartphone working Android 8 or newer. Shortly after establishing the Pixel Watch, I used Google Maps on my wrist to navigate to a neighborhood restaurant in Brooklyn — one thing I usually do when touring so I’m not continually watching my telephone as I stroll round. You may even management your Google Home gadgets immediately in your wrist, or summon Google Assistant with an extended press of the facet button to set an alarm, play music, or get instructions.
Google Wallet, too, is obtainable on the Pixel Watch. I did use Google Wallet to purchase a cup of espresso with faucet to pay at one level, however I used to be disillusioned to see that my boarding passes didn’t switch to the watch. Hopefully that’s a function that’s added sooner or later. To be honest, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch doesn’t have boarding passes both; I simply hoped Google would deliver that function to the Pixel Watch.
I’ve loved utilizing Samsung’s Galaxy Watch choices for the previous couple of years, however after per week with the Pixel Watch and its streamlined WearOS expertise, I believe I’ve been transformed.
As for battery life, properly, you’ll have to get within the behavior of charging the Pixel Watch day by day. It has simply sufficient juice to trace your actions, put notifications in your wrist and even hold tabs in your sleep habits, however when you get up, you’ll should put it on the charger. I usually wakened within the morning with lower than 10% of a cost remaining, and at its lowest, I wakened with simply 2% battery life left.
That’s with the always-on show enabled, one thing Google warns will zap the battery. Recharging the battery doesn’t take very lengthy, although, in order that’s a plus. I used to be in a position to put it on the charger whereas I obtained prepared for the day, take my youngsters to highschool and are available again to a totally charged watch in beneath an hour.
The interface of the Pixel Watch is simple to make use of and intuitive. If you swipe left or proper throughout the watch face, you’ll see one in every of your numerous tiles to view info resembling the present climate, Google Maps shortcuts to residence or work, or begin at Fitbit train. A swipe down on the watch face reveals all the fast settings and that is additionally the place I found the bedtime mode button is positioned. When enabled it turns off the Pixel Watch show whilst you sleep, serving to to save lots of battery life and get rid of a shiny display waking you up at night time within the course of.
To view and work together with notifications you swipe up on the display, or flip the crown up, the place you may then faucet on the alert to open it, and work together with it if the app helps it.
A Fitbit however by Another Name
Google’s acquisition of Fitbit solely elevated the stress and Pixel Watch expectations. Fitbit got here into Google with a revered observe document of making excellent health trackers, however with a blended historical past of making smartwatches.
With the Pixel Watch, there are many Fitbit options constructed into it. It, after all, tracks your steps, coronary heart price, sleep, and exercises. You can take an ECG to test for an irregular coronary heart rhythm as properly.
All of the health-related options which can be at the moment accessible on the Pixel Watch work as you’d anticipate. You begin a exercise, the watch tracks it, after which information it to the Fitbit app the place you may see your stats and progress.
However, the Pixel Watch launched with out a few of the staple Fitbit options that customers have come to anticipate. For occasion, despite the fact that it’s geared up with a blood oxygen sensor, you may’t take a studying proper now. The Pixel Watch additionally has fall detection that may name for assist ought to it detect you’ve fallen, however that’s additionally lacking from the present capabilities. For comparability, the Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch already assist each of those.
Another function that’s lacking within the conventional sense is automated exercise detection. Instead of figuring out if you’ve forgotten to start out a exercise and prompting you if you happen to’d prefer to document it, the Pixel Watch will as a substitute document the exercise after the actual fact, with out ever alerting you.
For instance, if you happen to go on an extended stroll and neglect to start out the out of doors stroll exercise on the watch, there’s an opportunity you’ll see the stroll recorded within the Fitbit app after you’ve completed. However, there’s no assure that it’s being tracked, as a result of the watch is searching for indicators resembling an elevated coronary heart price and different elements to passively document the exercise.
The capacity to routinely begin, cease or pause exercises is a significant promoting level of Fitbit gadgets. Is the dearth of assist on the Pixel Watch a deal breaker? Most seemingly not. You’ll simply have to get within the behavior of manually beginning your exercises, or trusting the watch sufficient to trace exercises within the background.
My greatest gripe concerning the Pixel Watch and its well being options is a reasonably easy function — use my sleep targets to create an alarm on the watch that lightly wakes me up within the morning. Right now, there’s an choice within the Fitbit app for a bedtime reminder, nevertheless, you may’t set an alarm. It looks as if such an apparent function that Fitbit gadgets, thoughts you, at the moment have. Why it’s not included within the Pixel Watch doesn’t make sense to me.
To get probably the most out of Fitbit integration you’ll seemingly need to enroll in Fitbit Premium, a service that unlocks exercises and dietary monitoring for $80 a 12 months. However, Google is together with 6-months of Fitbit Premium with every Pixel Watch.
Bottom Line: Is The Pixel Watch Worth it?
Google’s Pixel Watch could be very a lot a first-generation product. There are a whole lot of options that Google and the WearOS crew delivered on, resembling Google Maps or Google Home integration, however then there’s stuff that’s lacking that makes you scratch your head — resembling the dearth of airline boarding passes within the Wallet app. Maybe the display is just too small to precisely show the QR code for airline scanners? Who is aware of.
Then there’s the tight integration with Fitbit and the well being options, that are filled with promise, however the lack of key capabilities like Sp02 at launch makes you second-guess Google’s decision-making.
With any first-generation product, there’s a bent for press and customers alike to provide a partial go on errors, chalking it as much as classes discovered and hoping that the second iteration will appropriate the course. With the Pixel Watch, exterior of battery life and general dimension, many of the points I’ve with the expertise are software program associated. With that in thoughts, the Pixel Watch has loads of room to develop into the watch I, and I’m certain many others have been hoping it’d be on launch day. But, right here’s the rub: I’ve by no means advocated that you should purchase a product primarily based on what it may be, however what it’s immediately.
With that in thoughts, if you happen to’re searching for an Android smartwatch to accompany your Android telephone, no matter who made it, and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup isn’t interesting — the Pixel Watch delivers on its WearOS promise. If you’re searching for a fitness-focused smartwatch that additionally occurs to work with Android, then maybe the Galaxy Watch 5 and even the newest Garmin is a more sensible choice for you. For now.
Prices are correct and objects in inventory at time of publishing.
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