Google Pixel Watch 3 review: third time’s the charm

Google was incredibly precocious to nan smartwatch crippled — and it showed pinch some nan Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2. The first was a fancy Fitbit plagued by mediocre artillery life and a big of overseas quirks. The 2nd successfully put its full attraction connected addressing nan foibles of nan first. Both were competent smartwatches, but pinch nan Pixel Watch 3, it yet feels for illustration Google’s done playing catch-up. 

Seriously, location are so many updates pinch nan Pixel Watch 3 that I could easy walk 5,000 words simply detailing them all. Ain’t cipher sewage clip for that. Instead, nan updates autumn into 2 buckets: refinement and description . About half are incremental tweaks that reside erstwhile issues and amended nan experience. The remainder return nan Pixel Watch into newer territory, for illustration much precocious moving and amended integration into Google’s ecosystem. Alone, these updates aren’t overmuch to constitute location about. But together, you tin spot that Google isn’t conscionable laying down nan instauration anymore. It’s starting to return steps forward.

It’s nan small things

If only you look astatine nan Pixel Watch 3, it’s admittedly difficult to spot why this is simply a large leap forward. It looks conscionable for illustration past year’s watch, which looks for illustration nan 1 earlier that. But connected nan hardware front, Google fundamentally made a bunch of small changes that adhd up to a sizable, wide improvement. 

Take nan displays. This year, they’re brighter astatine 2,000 nits and athletics 16 percent smaller bezels. This isn’t thing that’ll rustle your mind, but it does subtly amended everything astir nan Pixel Watch 3. I’ve done astir 2 twelve walks and runs pinch nan Pixel Watch 3 truthful far, and nan surface is much easier to publication successful nonstop sunlight compared to past year. Smaller bezels mean you tin fresh much accusation connected some nan 41mm and nan caller 45mm size. I admit each of that arsenic personification pinch crap imagination who spends a batch of clip outside.

And I admit nan 45mm watch. The deficiency of a larger size was a awesome disapproval of nan first and 2nd watches. This fixes that. As a bonus, this isn’t a behemoth 45mm watch. It wears small. I’m a card-carrying personnel of nan Tiny Wrist Club, and moreover I person a difficult clip telling nan 41mm and 45mm isolated connected nan wrist. After 2 weeks of testing, I find I really for illustration nan 45mm. Not only tin I spot much connected nan screen, but its 35 percent larger artillery intends I tin spell longer betwixt charging.

That matters because artillery life has been a thorn successful nan Pixel Watch’s side. This is nan first twelvemonth I’ve felt afloat comfortable pinch nan stated 24-hour artillery life. A batch of that is because Google’s tripled down connected artillery life. Wear OS 5 and nan caller Actua displays are much power-efficient, and an improved battery-saver mode kicks successful erstwhile you deed 15 percent. Plus, aft 3 generations of waiting, we yet get an automatic bedtime mode truthful you don’t person to interest astir artillery drain while you sleep. You utilized to person to do that manually aliases sync pinch a Pixel phone’s bedtime mode. Now, it conscionable works.  

None of these adhd up to existent multiday artillery life connected either watch, but it’s a melodramatic alteration from nan first gen and a mean upgrade from nan second. I utilized nan aforesaid charging regular for some watches — a 20- to 30-minute accelerated complaint while I shower. With nan 41mm, that was capable to get maine done nan day, but occasionally, I’d beryllium amazed pinch a low-battery informing earlier bed. With nan 45mm, I’ve never had that happen. No matter erstwhile I cheque my wrist, I’m ever comfortably astir 50–80 percent. In a rundown test, I sewage a maximum of astir 32 hours. 

Smarter wellness and fitness

When nan Pixel Watch first debuted, it was expected to beryllium a positive that Fitbit drove nan full wellness and fittingness experience. The problem was nan merger made for a messy Google-Fitbit smartwatch lineup. The Pixel Watch was nan “smarter” flagship, while nan Fitbit Versa 4 and Sense 2 were fitness-first devices. What we really sewage were 3 arbitrarily nerfed watches that near group confused and cheesed. For amended aliases worse, Fitbit’s been thoroughly Googlefied since past — and it’s made for a smoother experience. That, successful turn, now allows nan Pixel Watch 3 to agelong successful immoderate caller directions.

Behold, this year’s boatload of fittingness and wellness updates:

Since time one, Fitbit’s main point has been a streamlined, holistic attack to fittingness tracking. It was founded connected nan thought of getting your steps in. Training is a different beast, and yet astir each of these caller features are geared toward that while still catering to beginners and a much casual athlete. 

For example, nan caller moving dashboard is designed to beryllium much digestible than Garmin’s information dump while giving you a spot much discourse than Samsung aliases Apple. The AI-generated moving workouts are a bully example, too. The different day, I sewage recommended a astir four-mile tempo workout… connected a time I was scheduled to do 1 anyway. There was a paper explaining why it was recommended — I’d been doing a batch of mean steady-state runs and needed to zhuzh it up. I already cognize what I’m doing and for illustration to return a much progressive domiciled successful my training. But for personification starting retired aliases who has determination fatigue, that’s a neat option. The truth that your Daily Readiness Score and Cardio Load aren’t paywalled is different move successful nan correct direction. 

For me, nan 2 superior fittingness updates are Cardio Load and civilization workouts. Cardio Load is fundamentally Garmin’s Training Load by different name. It measures your seven-day cardio strength versus erstwhile weeks. The quality present is aft a 14-day calibration period, you’ll get a target number to purpose for. For example, I group my extremity arsenic improving my cardio fitness. Every day, I get a target that takes into relationship what I’ve been doing that week. Old hats assured successful their programs mightiness move up their nose, but this is adjuvant discourse for folks conscionable starting out. 

Custom workouts are different must-have for anyone superior astir training. I’m happy to spot Google introduced them here, but location are quirks. Warmups and cooldowns tin only beryllium programmed by time, not by distance. You tin activity astir it, but it’s annoying. It’s besides a spot chatty for my tastes. Like different civilization workouts, nan watch alerts you erstwhile it’s clip to move to a caller interval aliases if you’re straying from target goals. I programmed a four-mile Tempo tally based connected pace, and you tin stake nan Pixel Watch fto maine cognize anytime I was a second extracurricular my gait range. (My pro extremity is to move disconnected sound alerts.) Software updates could easy hole these issues, truthful I dream Google gets connected that quickly. 

Lastly, I’d emotion to measurement successful astir Loss of Pulse, which calls emergency services connected your behalf if nan watch can’t observe your pulse. Alas, I can’t. Given nan stakes involved, that’s a characteristic that requires regulatory clearance, and Google has yet to get it successful nan US. Even so, this is simply a characteristic that cipher other has yet. Sure, it builds connected a instauration group by AFib and autumn detection, but it’s besides Google pushing successful a caller direction. There’s thing to that.

Better pinch Pixel

The Pixel Watch 3 useful champion if you usage a Pixel phone. I don’t emotion that. However, I besides can’t contradict that nan Google integrations this clip astir were among my favourite features. 

For example, nan Pixel Watch 3 now has an ultra wideband spot that lets you automatically unlock your Pixel phone. It’s a small point that makes life easier. (You tin besides unlock definite BMWs, but I usage move signals, truthful I can’t person a Beamer.) If you person a Google TV, your Pixel Watch tin double arsenic a distant control. Offline Google Maps are now a thing. As a journalist, I recovered it useful that I tin now grounds calls aliases notes connected nan Pixel Watch and magically find it, positive nan transcription, connected my Pixel 8 Pro seconds later. As an hold of Call Assist, you tin now show group you request an other infinitesimal to prime up a call. 

But nan point I recovered astir useful was utilizing nan Pixel Watch 3 to power my Google-powered smart home. It’s overmuch easier to unlock nan beforehand doorway for guests, move connected and disconnected my agency light, and set my fierce Nest Thermostat. Plus, now you tin position your Nest Doorbell provender straight from nan wrist — an absolute crippled changer for me. My agency is connected nan 3rd floor. My FedEx transportation feline is unaware that patience is simply a virtue. The expertise to opportunity “Hold on, I’m coming down” from nan wrist has saved maine a batch of condolences this reappraisal season. 

I can’t underscore capable really large this feels. Apple’s seamless ecosystem acquisition is simply a large logic why group instrumentality pinch nan iPhone. This had immoderate of that magic — and that’s awesome considering really overmuch bigger Google Home is compared to Samsung’s SmartThings. This unsocial isn’t capable to overthrow Samsung’s chokehold connected nan Android telephone market, but it’s decidedly thing that will make Pixel fans happier. 

The cynic successful maine knows nan best smartwatch for you hinges connected which telephone you have. I tin spot nan lock-in. But nan optimist thinks this is Google’s ambient computing imagination coming alive. It’s early days, and yeah, sometimes it takes a touch excessively agelong for my doorbell provender to popular up, but damn if it isn’t inching person to what we thought smartwatches would beryllium 10 years ago.

Honestly, I was ne'er judge nan Pixel Watch would get to this point. No 1 would’ve been shocked if Google threw successful nan towel aft nan first Pixel Watch aliases refused to put successful years of activity to compete pinch Samsung, fto unsocial present new, industry-first features. But present we are, 3 years later, and I genuinely deliberation nan Pixel Watch 3 does definite things better than its rivals. Color maine impressed and excited to spot wherever nan Pixel Watch 4 goes next.