Almost a year after the first rumors about it came out, the Google Pixel Watch is finally here. It runs Wear OS 3.5, though that version is rarely seen without Samsung’s One UI Watch skin on top.
The Google Pixel Watch
The Pixel Watch is available in two models: Wi-Fi and LTE, but only a 41mm size. At least you’ll get a small and a large band in the box (we’ll get to the bands as there are several options that can customize your look).
The watch is equipped with a small 1.2-inch screen, which reaches 1,000 nits of brightness for outdoor visibility and has an Always On mode. The Gorilla Glass 5 covering the watch is dome shaped, the only physical control is the button on the side. The chassis is made of stainless steel, so it should be quite durable.
The Pixel Watch has a heart rate sensor at the bottom and an ECG sensor for more detailed heart readings. Google leveraged the Fitbit team’s expertise to develop more accurate algorithms for general health tracking; the watch can even tell you when it would be best to rest and recover.
You can also take this watch swimming as it has a water resistance of 5 ATM (what you often see as “50m”).
Instead of a custom chip like in phones, Google chose a standard Exynos 9110, which has been used in Galaxy watches since 2018. It’s paired with a decent 2GB of RAM (the new Watch5 Pro has 1.5 GB) and Google believes that the battery is enough to last 24 hours.
We round things off with connectivity features. As we already mentioned, there is an LTE version if you want to use the watch without a phone. Otherwise, you get the usual Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) and Bluetooth (5.0) connectivity, plus NFC for Google Pay (or other mobile payment services).
Some Pixel Watch colors
In Europe, the Pixel Watch (Wi-Fi) will set you back $350 / €380, while the LTE option can be yours for $400 / €430. You can even get it for free if you pre-order a Pixel 7 Pro. By the way, the Pixel Watch comes with 6 months of Fitbit Premium free (plus 3 months of YouTube Premium.
Anyway, you get a silicone “Active” band in the box, but you can also pick up other colors and other styles of bands to customize the look of your watch. There are woven bands as well as metal and leather bands.
Different styles of bands available for the Pixel Watch