Google unveiled its first-ever Pixel Watch at the “Made by Google” event
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In October 2022, Google released its first-ever smartwatch which is designed and built in-house. It runs on the latest version of WearOS and is compatible with all Android phones with OS 8.0 and above. Here is everything you need to know about the new smartwatch from Google
Wear OS 3.5
Google Pixel Watch is powered with Wear OS by Google (Wear OS 3.5) and delivers the information you need at a glance with its always on display. With Wear OS 3.5 update, the platform extends its support for on-wrist Google Play Store, contactless payment using Google Pay & NFC, Google Assistant support with ‘OK, Google’ wake word, and improved notifications support
Deep Integration with Fitbit
Google Pixel Watch has deep integration with Fitbit to provide leading health and fitness features. Google claims the Pixel Watch features ‘Fitbit’s most accurate heart rate tracking yet’. With on-device machine learning and deep optimization down to the processor level, it gives you an accurate measurement of your heart rate continuously tracking at once per second.
The watch comes with six months of Fitbit Premium; offering brand-specific features like a Daily Readiness Score and Active Zone Minutes.
The Fitbit experience is completely redesigned for Google Pixel Watch, with 40 exercise modes. It also has a built-in GPS that helps in tracking the activities all day round and aggregating the data to display the most accurate results
Appearance
The Watch overall looks premium and sleek in design. The tactile crown, which sits on the right side of the display, controls on-screen scrolling. It can also access shortcuts and initiates the app tray to get you the helpful information you need. There’s a physical button right above the crown that opens your most recently used apps
There are four finishes to choose from: a Champagne Gold case with a Hazel Active Band, a matte black case with an Obsidian Active Band, a polished silver case with a Chalk Active Band and a polished silver case with a Charcoal Active Band.
Specifications
- The watch has a diameter of 41mm which is protected by curved 3D Gorilla Glass 5.
- It has an OLED screen that is capable of up to 1000 nits of brightness. It’s also water-resistant up to 5ATM and scratch-resistant.
- There’s also 32GB of onboard storage to store Music and fitness data.
- It includes a relatively small 294mAh battery which reliably keeps you going throughout the day with up to 24 hrs of battery life. The included USB-C magnetic puck charger when plugged into an 18W power adapter, promises to recharge 50% of the Pixel Watch’s battery in 30 minutes, 80% in 55 minutes, and 100% in 80 minutes.
- It makes use of Samsung’s relatively old 10nm Exynos 9110 SoC that has been superseded by Samsung’s 4nm processor
- It’s available in two variants — a Bluetooth/WiFi-only model and a 4G LTE cellular version
Pricing
The Pixel Watch was made available for pre-order on the same day, with an on-sale date of October 13 in nine countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, and Taiwan.
The base model costs $349.99 / £339 / AU$549, while the cellular retails for $399.99 / £379 / AU$649.
Points to Evaluate
- Some of Fitbit’s sensor features aren’t available. Temperature tracking and stress tracking. Blood oxygen is coming in an update
- The processor is relatively old but has been purposefully optimized to track fitness data. So performance can only be assessed when we have hands-on with the watch
- No compatibility with iOS currently but it may change in future versions
That’s all I have as a part of my first impressions of the Pixel Watch. If you liked the overall review, leave a comment below