Alongside the Pixel 7 series, Google took off the wraps from its first smartwatch, called Pixel Watch. The new Google Pixel Watch fits into the Google Ecosystem along with Pixel buds and the Pixel phones. The watch also takes advantage of Google’s Fitbit acquisition, with health & fitness features being handled by Fitbit. There’s a lot more to know about the Pixel Watch. Read on.
Google Pixel Watch: Price & Offers
First, let’s talk about price. The Google Pixel Watch pricing starts at $349.99 (approx Rs 28,700) for the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi-only model, while the LTE model along with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will cost $399.99 (approx Rs 32,800). Then, the watch comes with six months of Fitbit Premium at no extra cost along with three months of YouTube Music Premium (available in applicable markets). Accessory bands range from $49-$199.
Google Pixel Watch: Availability
The Pixel Watch is now available for pre-order Google Pixel Watch online at the Google Store, Fitbit.com and select global retailers and carriers. It will be available for purchase in nine countries, including US, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, Japan, Australia and Taiwan, starting October 13.
Google Pixel Watch: Design
The Pixel Watch comes with a circular 3D domed glass that melts seamlessly into the stainless steel body. The watch has a rotating tactile crown at the right side that controls on-screen scrolling, accesses shortcuts and initiates the app tray to get you the helpful information you need.
Then above it, sits a button to open your most recently used apps. Further, the watch is both Water-resistant (up to 5 ATM/50 meters) and scratch-resistant as well. In our opinion, the design of the watch does look unique but the bezels are quite thick in comparison to some other options available in the market, including Apple Watch SE and Galaxy Watch 5/Watch 4 series.
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Google Pixel Watch: Software Features
As the Pixel Watch sits tightly integrated into the Google ecosystem, it has to have a decent and practical set of features. The watch gets 19 customizable watch faces, each with many personalisation options. You can customise the colors to the layout and the information you need most. You can even set your favorite photos as your watch face with Google Photos.
Google Pixel Watch is powered with Wear OS by Google (Wear OS 3.5) and Google claims that the interaction with the watch is extremely smooth and responsive. With tiles and watch faces you can easily customize to be full of information or minimal.
With Google Assistant built in, you can easily control your smart home devices through the Google Home app. For hands-free usage, you can just say “Hey, Google” to your watch to adjust the thermostat, turn on or off the lights, and get notifications from your Nest doorbell when a person or package is at the door (with compatible smart devices).
Then, one can check their notifications from Gmail and Google Calendar, make contactless payments in stores and at transit with Google Wallet, and get turn-by-turn directions with Maps. The watch has 32GB of on-device storage for downloading songs via YouTube Music or streaming phone-free over built-in 4G LTE-cellular. You can access even more apps with Google Play Store right on your wrist, including Adidas Running, Calm, Spotify, MyFitnessPal and Strava.
With Fast Pair, your watch will connect to your Pixel Buds automatically once paired with your phone, and you can start a call on the watch and conveniently transition to your phone once in reach. You get music playback controls and turn-by-turn directions on your watch, even if you start them on the phone.
Google Pixel Watch is equipped with an Emergency SOS feature to alert emergency responders or trusted contacts when you’re in an emergency or feeling unsafe. Fall detection (coming in 2023) can sense if you’ve taken a hard fall, connecting you to emergency services and even auto-dialing if you’re unresponsive.
As for compatibility, alongside support for Pixel phones, Google Pixel Watch also works with other Android 8.0+ phones and is available in two connectivity configurations: built-in 4G LTE or Bluetooth/Wi-Fi only. Google Fi subscribers can even set up LTE without additional line fees on most plans.
Fast Pair makes it easy to set-up your Google Pixel Watch with your Pixel phone, plus existing Fitbit users can pick up where they left off from their current device and won’t lose any stats or personal data.
Lastly, for battery life, Google claims a runtime of up to 24 hours, even with all-day continuous per second heart rate, and health and activity tracking. And when you do need a quick charge, you can get back 50% battery life in just 30 minutes.
Google Pixel Watch: Health & Fitness Features
The Pixel Watch is claimed to have Google’s most accurate heart rate tracking yet, thanks to deep integration with Fitbit. With on-device machine learning and deep optimization down to the Processor level, the watch gives you an accurate measurement of your heart rate continuously tracking at once per second.
Google says that the Fitbit experience has been revamped for Google Pixel Watch, with 40 exercise modes available to track workouts and all-day activities including steps, distance with built-in GPS and Active Zone Minutes.
Next, the watch helps you keep tabs on your health with an ECG app to detect signs of Atrial Fibrillation (AFib). The sleep tracking supports Sleep Score and Sleep Stages, and receives guidance powered by Fitbit’s 20 billion nights tracked. Get insights into key metrics like your breathing rate, heart rate variability and more — all on the Health Metrics Dashboard in the Fitbit app.
As for Fitbit Premium users, they get access to features like Daily Readiness Score. “More than 1,000 workouts and 400 mindfulness sessions are available to help you take action and approach each day based on what your body is telling you”, says Google.