Google formalized its Pixel Watch recently. And that’s a very good thing for the market. But what does this new connected watch have to offer?
The highly anticipated Pixel Watch from Google has finally been made official. After years of rumors, stolen prototypes and the acquisition of Fitbit, the Mountain View company finally has its own smartwatch, perfectly integrated into its range of Pixel devices. What elements allow it to stand out? What does it allow you to do? Here’s everything you need to know.
Pixel Watch design
Google’s first attempt at the wearable market seems to be a success. The watch itself looks very successful: circular design, unlike the square one of the Apple Watch. It is made of stainless steel and is available in four different color combinations: Champagne Gold case/Sage Green sport band, Matte Black case/Volcanic Black sport band, Polished Silver case/Charcoal sport band and Polished Silver case/Pebble sport band.
Google didn’t reveal the dimensions of the circular display, or its resolution, but it’s a 320ppi AMOLED display, boasting up to 1,000 nits of brightness. The watch itself is 41mm by 12.3mm, weighing 36 grams without the strap. Customers can expect 32GB of eMMC flash storage with 2GB of SDRAM.
As expected, the Pixel Watch accommodates various bracelets, up to 20 Google solutions and very quickly, third-party solutions. Unlike other watches, the Pixel Watch straps attach internally, with a click mechanism. To be honest, it looks very well done.
What can be done with the Pixel Watch?
As you’d expect from a smartwatch, the Pixel Watch delivers the experience of a mini smartphone on your wrist. Google gave some examples, such as adjusting your thermostat from the Home app, controlling YouTube Music, viewing notifications, using Google Wallet, Google Maps directions, setting timers, and text messages.
Among the apps that Google has highlighted, Strava, adidas Running, Line, Strava and Spotify. Developers have everything they need to offer Wear OS versions of their Android apps, so the store should expand if the watch is a success.
The watch is built around Fitbit, which makes sense since Google owns the company. It uses machine learning and deep optimization to track your heart rate. And this, throughout the day, whatever the activity, while offering “full day autonomy”. The 294 mAh battery can be charged to 50% in 30 minutes, 80% in 55 minutes and 100% in 80 minutes.
You can use the watch to track your sleep. With Fitbit Premium (6 months free), you track all your activities and more. The app also lets you know how you feel about your sport and can track your Active Zone Minutes, to keep track of time spent in heart rate zones.
It can detect fibrillation with an ECG and has built-in emergency call functionality. Fall detection will arrive in the course of 2023.
How much does the Pixel Watch cost?
The “standard” Pixel Watch is priced at €379 while the 4G LTE model costs €429. Added to this are six free months of Fitbit Premium as well as three months of YouTube Music Premium. To use a Pixel Watch, you’ll need a device running Android 8.0 or newer.
The Pixel Watch therefore seems perfect for fans of the Android ecosystem, but more specifically for those who use Fitbit solutions. It’s kind of like a Fitbit Pro, with all the Fitbit features you want and all the benefits of a Wear OS smartwatch. And of course, if you are not a Fitbit user, the six months offered allow you to test, and who knows, to be convinced.
It is, in any case, clear that the Pixel Watch represents a big step forward for the Android smartwatch market. The future will tell us if the success is there.
