Years. Some of us within the trade have been ready near ten years for the long-rumored Pixel Watch. Now that it’s right here, expectations are naturally excessive. After all, Google had all that point to finetune its first smartwatch, and everybody’s been anxious to see if this may very well be the product that rivals the Apple Watch. The Pixel Watch doesn’t simply have an attention grabbing design, however the software program additionally appears promising. Wear OS has been a multitude, however by collaborating with Samsung and eventually integrating Fitbit’s health-tracking options, Google might have lastly addressed its best weaknesses.

Design

Of all of the issues in regards to the Pixel Watch, Google was most eager to show off its design. And rightly so. The Pixel Watch’s case is a factor of magnificence. In photos, it’s virtually nondescript — only a plain spherical face with what seem like thick bezels. In particular person, although, the Pixel Watch catches mild at some angles in a means that makes it look elegant and, pardon the cliché, like jewellery.

Pros

• Beautiful design
• Excellent well being and health monitoring
• Useful new faces

Cons

• Battery life lags the competitors
• Fitbit Premium paywalls some knowledge
• Only one dimension

More importantly, for an individual who’s into tactile sensations like me, the Pixel Watch simply feels so good. I like flipping it time and again in my palm prefer it’s a easy, shiny pebble, however I additionally simply take pleasure in stroking the display screen. There’s one thing in regards to the domed form and shiny end of the display screen that makes swiping throughout the interface really feel luxurious.

On the fitting edge sits a dial that just about twinkles within the solar, together with a button above it that pulls up current apps. In my few days with the Pixel Watch, I’ve used this latter button precisely as soon as. I don’t know if it’s the location or that I haven’t wanted to tug up current apps a lot, however the one time I pressed this was to substantiate it was there once I was penning this a part of the evaluate. It requires extra drive to depress than its counterpart on the Apple Watch, which sits beneath the Digital Crown and is extra apparent. I not often used Apple’s button, too, so this isn’t a ding on Google.

Unlike most different Android watches, the Pixel Watch doesn’t have lugs. Instead, straps connect on to the case by way of a mechanism that Google describes as just like the lens locking system on DSLR cameras. To join a band, you push one finish of it right into a button on the backside to the groove and slide it in.

To take away, you push the catch on the facet and twist it off. It took a little bit of getting used to and I nonetheless can’t say I’ve nailed the method, however I additionally haven’t swapped bands but. I’m certain every time I obtain completely different straps, just like the beautiful metallic mesh or the comfortable stretch possibility, that I’ll be performing this transformation loads.

I’m fairly impressed by the bands that Google has made. Sure, they’re mainly variations of choices that Apple affords, just like the Milanese loop or solo loop. But paired with Google’s spherical case, these seem like standard watches and wouldn’t appear misplaced at formal, fashion-forward occasions.

The primary sport strap that I obtained with my evaluate unit makes use of a peg-and-hole closure system that doesn’t supply an excellent match for me, sadly. I both felt just like the watch was too free or that the case was strapped too oppressively on my wrist. This is a simple drawback to repair, at the least, by getting a unique strap. But I’d have to purchase considered one of Google’s personal choices due to the proprietary attachment system, and so they begin at $50 for the Active band. The stretch band that I like costs $60, and all the things else is at the least $80.

While the 41mm case sits properly on my comparatively petite wrist, I want Google had made a bigger model. I believe the Pixel Watch appears good on most arms, however there are individuals who favor a much bigger display screen. When it involves one thing as private as a wearable, one dimension doesn’t match all.

Wear OS 3.5

While it looks as if Google might have just about nailed the {hardware}, one of many greatest issues plaguing Wear OS watches prior to now was their namesake — Wear OS. Google’s software program was criticized for all the things from its overly swipe-heavy navigation to being too primary. It additionally was very power-hungry, regardless of not operating a whole lot of background well being monitoring. Wear OS watches notoriously delivered day-long battery life at finest, whereas the competitors pushed effectively previous 24 hours and into multi-day runtimes.

When the corporate teamed up with Samsung to co-engineer Wear OS 3 final yr, it was capable of carry efficiency and energy consumption enhancements. That laid the groundwork for it so as to add a extra strong well being and exercise monitoring system with Fitbit, which it accomplished its buy of in January final yr.

The result’s Wear OS 3.5 — Google’s personal expression of its smartwatch software program. This interface could be very acquainted in some ways. It’s not an enormous departure from the Tizen-esque platform that we noticed on the Galaxy Watch 5. You can obtain music to stream offline from the Pixel Watch, get flip by flip Maps instructions, remotely management your digicam and ask the Assistant to set timers or let you know the climate. You can even management your Google Home gadgets out of your wrist. The essential variations are Google’s new watch faces and the Fitbit integrations.

I want the Fitbit options had been higher meshed into Wear OS. It looks like a missed alternative, or some type of reluctance to surrender the Fitbit emblem and branding. The technique of launching a exercise session on the Pixel Watch isn’t that completely different from Samsung and Apple watches. You nonetheless have to enter their respective apps to begin the exercise, although on the Pixel Watch that is referred to as “Fitbit Exercise”. If you wish to see your progress, you’ll be able to go into Fitness on Apple’s watches or Samsung Health. On the Pixel Watch, it’s “Fitbit Today.” The distinction is in your face — for Fitbit followers this is perhaps acquainted and welcome. For these anticipating a pure Google expertise, it may be jarring.

While the fixed presence of Fitbit branding all through the system makes the health and well being monitoring options really feel disjointed, it was good to see Wear OS lastly ship stand reminders. As of December 2020, Wear OS fans on Reddit nonetheless needed to search for third-party apps to ship the alerts that got here baked into watchOS and Tizen. During my testing, the Pixel Watch and the Apple Watch Ultra typically jogged my memory at the very same time that I wanted to get off my butt and stroll round to satisfy my motion targets.

It was additionally good to see issues that Fitbit gadgets by no means had, like notifications for messages from mainly any app in your telephone, in addition to the power to answer to messages utilizing a keyboard, dictation, emojis or prompt responses.

Google didn’t simply embed Fitbit options into Wear OS, it additionally added new watch faces, a few of that are acquainted as a result of they’re fairly just like Apple’s. As a narcissist, my favourite is the Photos possibility, which helps you to choose as much as 30 photos from Google Photos to set as your background. You can then select a clock model and set a single complication. Just as you’d should on watchOS, you’ll want to make use of your telephone to pick out the photographs in your wallpaper.

I additionally benefit from the complication-heavy faces, like Utility and Index, which allow you to mainly encompass the clock with as much as 5 fields. Because most of those use a black background, they have a tendency to mix properly into the bezel, making the borders appear invisible. But the Photos face makes the thick edges painfully apparent. One of the images I picked is so cramped that the highest of my buddies’ faces are lower off and we glance further squished collectively. Unlike the Apple Watch, the Pixel doesn’t allow you to transfer and scale your photos.

Since I largely use a non-Photos face, the thick bezels don’t trouble me an excessive amount of. Every bit of data I wish to see is simple to learn, and the colourful textual content on black background is nice for readability. I typically want fonts had been larger or thicker, however by and huge I didn’t have hassle.

Google likes to take potshots at Apple for copying its concepts like crash detection and always-on show, however is blissful to imitate watchOS options itself. The new watch faces with problems on them are ripped proper off an Apple Watch, whereas the side-swiping navigation is mainly Samsung’s Tizen interface. There’s nothing mistaken with incorporating nice concepts into your product — simply don’t be a pot calling the kettle black.

That stated, establishing your Pixel Watch and monitoring your knowledge by your telephone is similar to the expertise on Samsung and Apple gadgets. On all three, you could have a separate app to do issues like customise watch faces, set up the order of your tiles and select which apps can ship notifications to your wrist. To view your train or sleep knowledge, you’d have to enter every firm’s respective Health app (or within the Pixel Watch’s case, Fitbit). These are all fairly typical, aside from Google’s app not being named Google Health.