Google Pixel Watch Hands-On: 13 Things to Know!

Here's everything you need to know about the new Google Pixel Watch, from pricing to bands and plenty more! I go hands-on with this new watch to talk about all the new features, and how it compares to existing Fitbit devices as well.

Today Google finally launched its long-awaited Pixel Watch. No wearable device has been rumored to “happen soon” as many years as the Pixel Watch. But this past spring Google confirmed it’d be coming this fall, and here we are. The Pixel Watch is a Wear OS device (as expected) that also runs a tightly integrated Fitbit experience, logical, given Google’s purchase of Fitbit a few years back. The device takes pretty much everything you’d expect from a high-end Fitbit (like the Fitbit Sense/Sense 2) and blends it with the specs of a mainstream Wear OS watch. Except very very sleek/modern looking, and, has two buttons – a digital crown and a single button above it.

There aren’t many surprises here, not just because of the leaks, but because both of these two entities (Fitbit & Wear OS) are fairly well known. And when they have a child, then the offspring simply takes the form of the combined parents. This first iteration is just that – a first iteration. Google says they aimed to build the watch that has the widest appeal, and we see that in aspects like size and usability. So with that, let’s dive into it.

As usual with specs, there’s the hardware side and the software side. Starting off with the hardware components first:

– Single size – 40.8mm case/housing
– Stainless steel finishes, with three colors: Matte black, gold, silver
– Always-on display
– Onboard GPS (not multi-band/dual frequency)
– 24 hours of battery life (smartwatch mode)
– 12 hours battery life (GPS mode)
– 50m water resistance
– Gorilla glass front display
– Swappable bands (7 different band flavors announced at launch)
– Always-on optical HR sensor with ECG capabilities (different sensor/algorithm than Fitbit devices)
– Recharge time is 80 minutes for a full charge, or 20 mins for 30% (enough for sleep)
– $349 for BT/WiFi models
– $399 for LTE/BT/WiFi models
– Availability on October 13th

And then we’ve got the software side of things, covering both the platform and Fitbit pieces.

– Running Wear OS 3 (same as the Samsung Watch 5 series)
– Only compatible with Android phone (previous Wear OS versions were iPhone compatible)
– Full Wear OS app store compatibility
– Google Assistant built-in
– Google Wallet capability
– Google Home control
– Google Map turn-by-turn directions
– YouTube Music Premium availability
– Fall detection will directly contact first responders (coming in 2023)
– Using a Fitbit overlay that’s basically the Fitbit Sense 2 UI/features, but tweaked slightly
– ECG, Afib detection, and high/low heart rate alerts
– 40+ Exercise/Workout modes
– 1-second recording rates for all HR (24×7) & workout features
– Usual steps/sleep/activity tracking you’d find on any Fitbit in 2022
– Comes with 6-months of Fitbit Premium free trial

As one might expect, it’s kinda hard to encapsulate the entirety of a wearable platform (be it Apple/Google/Garmin/etc…) into a handful of bullet points, especially given there’s likely thousands of features to cover. But again, the general way you can look at things is that if it’s on a Wear OS 3 watch, it’s here, and if it’s on the Fitbit Sense 2, it’s here. Make sense?

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