I’m nonetheless discovering my means with the Pixel Watch. Until now, I’ve been faithfully sporting a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 on my left wrist to trace my steps and, most significantly, my stress ranges. Before Samsung adopted Android’s Wear OS, I used to be on a first-gen Galaxy Watch Active, which used Tizen however built-in with Samsung’s companies. The Pixel Watch will change this routine for me. After so a few years of gathering knowledge inside Samsung Health, I’m hesitant to return to the Fitbit ecosystem and begin throughout with my logs.

The preliminary impressions the web has of the Pixel Watch appear… middling. There are considerations the battery life isn’t as long-lasting as hoped, and its GPS capabilities don’t appear as on the mark as its competitors’s. The Fitbit—excuse me—the Google Pixel Watch is an effective smartwatch, however after a number of days with it, it’s not inspiring me to ditch final 12 months’s Galaxy Watch 4.

I nonetheless should put the Pixel Watch by way of its full paces for our assessment. But I needed to get a few of my first impressions of Google’s first-party smartwatch on paper first.

The watch design is the very best half

When unboxing my Pixel Watch assessment unit, I first thought to myself: “I hope I like this.” As a lot as I’m a fan of my Galaxy Watch 4, it wasn’t my first selection for design. I’ve acquiesced principally as a result of it’s been the one Android-based smartwatch price shopping for to date.

The Pixel Watch appears to be like like a pebble—particularly, it jogs my memory of the Samsung Pebble, an mp3 participant you most likely don’t bear in mind. Whereas the Galaxy Watch 4/5 has this aluminum bumper on both facet of the gadget, the Pixel Watch retains it easy with the domed show. The 1.2-inch OLED display stands out brilliant in a darkish room or outdoors within the daylight.

I do just like the crown on the Pixel Watch. It’s as clean because the Apple Watch Series 8’s, which I’ve been sporting each few days for the final month to familiarize myself with it, and it feels simply as responsive. I’m confused about what urgent it does, nevertheless—I perceive it goes again, however I’m used to the two-button mechanism on the Galaxy Watch 4/5. There can be a button beside the dial that brings up the Recent apps display. The identical characteristic exists on the Galaxy Watch however is launched by way of a shortcut within the app drawer.

The inventory watch strap on the Pixel Watch is the Active band, and my assessment unit is within the colour charcoal, a palatable grey. It seems like acquainted materials in comparison with the Apple Watch’s inventory Sport band (Also, significantly? What’s with these names?). They’re each so good and clean.

But I’m annoying, and I prefer to go on Amazon (it’s a straightforward place to seek out third-party equipment) and purchase the wackiest third-party watchbands I can. On my Galaxy Watch 4, I’m sporting this ridiculous plastic shell. However, earlier than I discovered this one, I’d amassed a number of watchbands to suit on my Galaxy watches. And as a result of the watch strap mechanism hadn’t modified between generations, I might use them even after upgrading the Galaxy Watch.

I don’t have that selection with the Pixel Watch, as a result of it makes use of a proprietary strap mechanism. Rather than requiring you to pinch to take away screws on both facet of the band, like on the Galaxy Watch and different Android smartwatches, there’s a launch button you press after which slide the band over (form of however not precisely just like the Apple Watch). It’s not tremendous intuitive, however it’s simpler than pinching and aligning the tiny screws. But I’m not too eager on having to begin gathering watchbands to match my outfits from scratch. The Pixel Watch does have a number of different watchband decisions by way of Google, however they’re $50 and up. Ouch.

Health-tracking by way of Fitbit

Full disclosure that a part of why I want extra time with the Pixel Watch earlier than writing a assessment is as a result of I’m desperately attempting to refamiliarize myself with Fitbit. The app appears to be like totally different than once I final used it, again in 2017. As I discussed, I’ve been utilizing Samsung Health, plus a third-party app, to sync my stats with Google Fit and Strava. I’ve probably the most disjointed health monitoring state of affairs, nevertheless it works for me and ensures I’ve logs backed up in a number of locations. I really like logs.

The Pixel Watch is primed with sensors. It has all the next: a gyroscope, altimeter, compass, EKG sensor, steady coronary heart charge monitoring, and an Sp02 sensor for blood oxygen monitoring. What’s lacking from this record? A physique temperature sensor. I’m nonetheless studying the talents of the built-in temperature sensor on the Apple Watch Series 8 and ready impatiently for Samsung to allow it within the Galaxy Watch 5. But it appears egregious to ask for a $350 base for the Pixel Watch and never have that sensor bundled in when the competitors already has it.

I did handle to take one among my typical afternoon post-work romps across the neighborhood. The Pixel Watch’s step rely and mileage counter had been a little bit behind the Galaxy Watch 4’s, although I’d began the stroll monitoring in the identical spot on each watches. I want a little bit extra time to attempt monitoring a number of routes across the neighborhood and evaluating the outcomes to the identical monitoring in Strava.

The distant digicam trick is neat

Let’s get this out of the way in which: the Pixel Watch has a built-in digicam distant. I believe it’s neat, and it helps out should you’re positioning the cellphone distant to attempt to take a full-body selfie or a gaggle shot. It additionally doubles as a safety check-in should you’ve left your cellphone in one other room of the home or workplace—not that I’m endorsing you employ it for that reason, however I do know you had been considering it.

Finally, sensible dwelling controls on the wrist

The different factor I’m having fun with maybe an excessive amount of is the flexibility to regulate the lights from my wrist. I by no means arrange Samsung SmartThings to work in my sensible dwelling, as a result of I’m already fairly squarely within the Google Assistant/Google Home app ecosystem, so I don’t have the flexibility instantly obtainable on the Samsung watch. My home has sensible audio system and different methods to relay the command. But there’s nothing like tapping in out of your wrist to get the temper lighting going.

I hope that the distinction in sensible dwelling management throughout Android’s smartwatches isn’t a secret effort in fragmentation. It’s befuddling why these sensible dwelling controls are presently solely obtainable on the Pixel Watch. And whereas I can admire that Samsung and Google are curating their very own gadget ecosystems, Android customers are right here as a result of they hate this exclusivity.

There’s nonetheless a lot I want to check on the Pixel Watch. Right now, I’m working down the battery. We’re at about 58% after I left the watch off the charger final evening—it was at 80% once I went to mattress round 9 p.m., however I additionally didn’t use it for sleep monitoring. Stay tuned for our full Pixel Watch assessment, coming quickly. And tell us if there’s something you’re significantly interested by us trying out.