Google Pixel Watch Review with Pros and Cons – Fitbit Baby

This is Google’s 1st attempt at Wearables, back in 2019 they bought Fitbit and they implemented all the fitness features from Fitbit and yet they have not killed the Fitbit brand.

There is no doubt that it’s an overpriced smartwatch and you can stay away from it unless and until you have money and want to spend it on something.

Google Pixel Watch Price

Pixel Watch is priced at $349.99 for Bluetooth/Wi-Fi version while the 4G LTE version is available at $399.99. The watch is available in Matte Black, Polished Silver, and Champagne Gold color options.

Google Pixel Watch Review

No, the Google Pixel Watch is not worth buying because it’s an overpriced smartwatch that too offers pathetic battery life, is not fully integrated with Pixel devices, and has connection issues, and still, Google is charging $350 which is not a justifiable price for what you’re getting.

If you’re using an Android smartphone then better to get Galaxy Watch 5 (review) which starts at $279 but if you’re iPhone then just get Apple Watch 8 which starts at $399.

Nevertheless, the Pixel watch is a solid fitness tracker because Google is using Fitbit software. Now, because of the WearOS, you won’t get full-day battery life which is a deal better because you will have to charge this watch twice a day.

Google Pixel Watch Pros and Cons

PROS	CONS
Solid Build	Pathetic Battery Life
5ATM Water Resistant	Overpriced
eSIM Support	Big Chunky Bezels
Features Rich WearOS 3.5
Superbright AMOLED Display
Fast Charging Support
Fitbit Integration
Provides Accurate Health Data

Display

The Google Pixel Watch comes with a 1.20-inches AMOLED display with a resolution of 450 x 450 pixels and a pick brightness of 1000 nits.

Now, you already know that it has big bezels, I mean, you can’t ignore it but as Google has used a black UI, you won’t notice it in day-to-day usage unless and until you choose to use a brighter wallpaper or theme.

Personally, I hate those bezels, I have paid $349,99 and yet, I have to compromise in design. Again, the design depends on user by user, so if you’re someone who don’t care about it then you will love the design or even the display.

That 1000 nits brightness is good enough to use the watch under sunlight, you will able to read text, take calls, or use the watch UI. In short, everything will be visible enough under the sunlight.

It also has always on display which you will have to turn ON, now the reason for that is, when you use always on display 24/7, the watch consumes hall lot of battery and Google doesn’t want you to use this feature, so it comes OFF by default.

Concluding everything, the display is solid, and it’s bright too but those big bezels can be irritating for a couple of days.

Design, Comfort, and Build

On the front, it has Corning Gorilla Glass 5, the back has glossy plastic and the frame is made from Stainless Steel while it has 36 grams of weight.

I have already talked about the bezels, so now, let’s talk about comfort…

The watch only comes in 40mm which is not cool because not everyone has small hands. Now because of its small size, it also has a small battery which we all talk about in a bit.

Google should have at least provided the option but this is what it is and I hope, the Pixel watch 2 comes with a 44mm variant…

The Strap,

Yes, Google has used different kinds of straps, you just have to slide the strap and it will pop out but it will take some time to get used to it.

I don’t have any complains.

The Watch is comfortable to wear, now, because of its small size, it only has 36 grams of weight, so you won’t face any kind of problems while wearing it all day and all night.

Now, the design is subjective, so you have to choose whether you like the Apple Watch design or what Google has made.

Talking about myself, I love the round design but that round corner gets stretched very easily, so be very careful with it.

Software

This is confusing,

The Pixel watch runs on WearOS 3.5 while Google is also using some Fitbit features on top.

When you first set up the Pixel watch, it will tell you to download the Fitbit app and not the Google Fit app. If you want, you can also use the Google Fit app and Fitbit app at the same time to see the heart rate data and even sleep data.

Or you can use only the Fitbit app and that’s what Google Recommends.

I know, it’s a mess, and looks like Google is about to kill one of the apps, we don’t know what it will be called yet.

Now, I don’t have to tell you what you can do with WearOS, it’s made by Google, so you can do whatever you want, hall you can even watch YouTube Videos.

The only thing you won’t get with WearOS is good battery life (pun intended).

By the way, Google is offering 6 months of free Fitbit premium but why?

After 6 Months you will lose all the Heart Rate, sleep, snore data, and many more, so Google is like, use this for 6 months and if you want to see those data, pay us money.

One more thing, Google has talked a lot about how they’re integrating all of their product together but when it comes to real-life usage, it doesn’t work that way.

For example, when you turn ON the DND mode in Pixel smartphone then it doesn’t repeat the same on the Pixel watch. So you will have to manually turn ON the DND on the Pixel watch.

In short, it’s not seamless integration with Pixel devices.

Now, for those who don’t know,

• Swipe up: Notifications
• Swipe Down: Quick Settings (DND, brightness, etc)
• Swipe Left: Favorite Widgets
• Right Bottom Button: Recently used Apps
• Crown: List of Installed App

All in all, WearOS is fast and smooth, and you will love UI as well as the Fitbit app.

Health and Fitness Tracking

Fitbit is knowns for health tracking and it provides the most accurate data and is the same case with Pixel Watch. The watch does run on WearOS but under the hood, it uses the Fitbit tech, so you don’t have to worry about the accuracy.

Now the problem is, the Pixel watch measures the heart rate every single second which is good but it’s not good when eats all the battery life.

I hope, Google fixes this problem with an update otherwise, you will have to charge this watch twice a day.

I know, it’s the first watch from Google but still, they’re a tech company and they also accurate Fitbit, so this kind of problem shouldn’t exist in the first place.

The Pixel watch has also sensors from Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate, altimeter, compass, and ECG. All the sensor works great and provides close to accurate data, especially the heart rate sensor.

The built-in GPS helps a lot especially when you use google maps.

The sleep tracking is accurate too because of the Fitbit integration. It’s also ECG-certified.

Overall, it’s a Fitbit smartwatch, so there is nothing to worry about the health data. Google is keeping the Fitbit brand because there are lots of users who’re using Fitbit watches and they don’t want to lose those users but slowly they will kill the brand as Apple did with Beats.

Bluetooth & 4G LTE

If you want to use eSIM then you will pay to pay $399 while the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi variant is available at $349.

By the way, the watch doesn’t have 5G support, its 4G LTE supported. Also, it has Bluetooth 5.0 which is disappointing because even budget smartwatch are coming with Bluetooth 5.3.

Also with the NFC, you can use Google wallet for payment too.

The microphone is excellent, the other person on call will be able to hear your voice without any problem. Even in public places, the microphone works the best.

Now, if you only buy Bluetooth/Wi-Fi then you will have to connect the watch to a smartphone to take calls but for the LTE version, you can use the watch stand-alone.

Battery

The Google Pixel Watch comes with a 294mAh battery which supported Qi wireless charging.

The good thing is, it has fast charging support. It will take 15 minutes to charge from 10% to 40% while 0% to 100% will only take 1 hour.

If you use all the features from SpO2, heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking then expect the battery life to be around 18 hours.

In short, you will have to charge the smartwatch in the morning and again in the afternoon, if you want to wear the watch all night.

Now, if you don’t use all the features then you will get a battery life to be around 24 hours. (No Bluetooth calling, no heart rate monitoring, no SpO2, and No Sleep Tracking).

Yes, the battery is not so solid, and it’s all because of the WearOS.

Verdict

Still, if you have any kind of doubts or questions then feel free to comment, I will see you there…

Google Pixel Watch Full Specifications

Display	1.20-Inches AMOLED Display, 1000 nits brightness, Always-on display, Round Design, 450 x 450 pixels, 320 PPI Density
Build	Front Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Plastic Back Stainless Steel Frame
Dimensions	41 x 41 x 12.3 mm Weight: 36 grams
eSIM	Yes
Bluetooth Version	5.0
Processor	Chipset: Exynos 9110 (10 nm) CPU: Exynos 9110 (10 nm) GPU: Mali-T720
OS	Android Wear OS 3.5
Storage	1GB RAM 32GB Storage (eMMC)
Microphone & Speaker	Microphone: Yes Speaker: Yes
Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate, altimeter, compass, ECG, and SpO2
GPS	Yes
Battery	294mAh Battery (Magnetic Charger) 10% to 40% in 15 Minutes 0% to 100% in 1hours Up to 24 hours of battery life (Full Use) 20 hours of battery life (Normal Use)
Other Features	50m/5ATM water resistant (IP68), ECG certified, NFC Supported,
Colors	Matte Black, Polished Silver, Champagne Gold
Model Number	GQF4C, GBZ4S, GWT9R
Application	Google Fit Fitbit
Price	Bluetooth/Wi-Fi: $349.99 4G LTE: $399.99

*Images by Northern Viking Everyday & DesFit

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