This article is part of a directory: Google Pixel Week: Android Police’s celebration of everything Pixel
Table of contents

Google has been hyping up the Google Pixel Watch since May when Google Senior Vice President Rick Osterloh showed it off on his wrist, to everyone’s surprise, during its 2022 I/O event. Even discarding the leaks that came in between then and now, Google has shared a lot of teasers, building up the hype further and further for what it hopes will be one of the best Wear OS watches. Today is finally the day that we get to go hands-on with the watch ourselves and are allowed to get a first impression of its look and feel and how well the software runs.

Google Pixel Watch: Look and feel

Calling the Pixel Watch understated is, well, an understatement. In contrast to the Fossils and Samsung Galaxy Watches of this world, Google opted for an almost weightless-looking, timeless design that seems to consist only of glass and metal. The glass on top of the display smoothly curves around the edges of the round watch, meeting with the stainless steel frame at about the middle. On the right, you will find the so-called haptic crown, joined by an elongated button higher up. On the other side, a speaker vent and a microphone hole break the otherwise solid metal look.

pixel-watch-crown-button

The back is pretty to look at, too. It’s clad in glass, with a sensor array full of the usual health and fitness sensors sitting in the middle. A black rim around the edges of the back gives the back a two-tone look. The single glass plate on the back should also make it easy to clean, with no nooks and crannies that debris could latch onto.

Once you take the watch and put it on your arm, you will be delighted at just how light and not present it feels, at least based on my short hands-on time with the watch. It definitely looks much smaller and takes up less vertical space than you would think looking at it at first glance. The positive impression continues with the display, too.

pixel-watch-watchface-compilations-fitbit

As much as I would prefer Google to use standard watch straps that work with any old watch, I am actually amazed at how refined and simple the mechanism for removing and adding the bands is. At the same time, the bands are held firmly in place, and you won't need to be afraid of losing your watch. Sure, most of us will probably only use the watch with a single band, but those of us who love to color-match our watches to our outfits will have an easy time doing so.

pixel-watch-disassembled-2

It's clear that the Pixel Watch is a first-generation device, though. When you hold it side-by-side with the latest Apple Watch (like one of my colleagues did during the event), you will notice just how big the bezels actually are, as good as Google is at hiding them with its black backgrounds.

Google Pixel Watch: Specifications

Besides these immediate impressions, we finally got official word on what the hardware offers. The display is protected by custom 3D Gorilla Glass 5. It’s an AMOLED panel that offers a pixel density of 320ppi, a temporarily boosted brightness of up to 1,000 nits, and an always-on display option. Inside, an Exynos 9110 SoC is in charge of computing, joined by a Cortex M33 co-processor. 32GB of eMMC flash storage is on board, joined by 2GB of SDRAM.

Google Pixel Watch with a chalk positioned at an angle
Google Pixel Watch

Display
1.6-inch 384 x 384 AMOLED, Always On Display
CPU
Exynos 9110 SoC, Cortex M33 co-processor
RAM
2GB
Storage
32GB
Battery
294mAh
Connectivity
4G LTE, UMTS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo
Durability
5ATM
Software
Wear OS 3.5 (upgradeable to Wear OS 4)
Health sensors
Optical heart rate sensor, Multipurpose electrical sensor, Blood oxygen sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Altimeter, Compass
Dimensions
41 x 41 x 12.3 mm
Weight
36g

Regarding connectivity, there are two options to choose from: A Wi-Fi-only model and an LTE variant. Other than LTE, both offer the same Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, along with NFC for payments.

Google tells us that the watch will need about 80 minutes to charge from 0% to 100% when you use an 18W charger, making it annoying to keep it topped up. After all, the 294mAh battery is rated for only up to 24 hours, and that’s likely without using the always-on display. Only a full review can tell us more about this long-term issue, though, but the proposition doesn’t seem to be any more promising than competing Wear OS smartwatches.

Looking at the sensors, there is everything on board that you could need. The watch offers a compass, an altimeter, a blood oxygen monitor, an optical heart rate sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and an ambient light sensor. GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and Galileo support is also on-board, allowing you to leave your phone at home when you're out running. The watch is also waterproof, rated for 5ATM.

In the box, you will find the watch itself, two differently sized options for the wristband, and a USB-C magnetic charging cable. A charger is not provided.

Like other Wear OS watches, the Pixel Watch is not compatible with Android Go devices. It only works with Android phones running regular Android 8.0 or higher.

Google Pixel Watch: Software

The “Help by Google, health by Fitbit” tagline Google chose for the Pixel Watch summarizes what experience we can expect, at least once we get to connect the watch to a phone ourselves. Apart from the standard Wear OS experience, Fitbit is a vital part of the watch, though we didn't get to see too much of that during our hands-on other than the usual fitness stats. Our hands-on unit wasn't connected to a phone, so we couldn't even test Google Assistant just yet. You will have to wait for the full review for details.

pixel-watch-weather-app

Overall, the software is a joy, though. Google added a huge variety of beautiful watch faces, all with black backgrounds by default, and one is prettier than the other. All of them also exhibit excellent always-on display options that are a perfect match for them, complete with a smooth transition from the AOD version to the regular version.

Scrolling through the interface is a smooth operation with little to no lag, much in contrast to many earlier Android watches (thinking pre–Wear OS 3 days, here). The crown elevates that experience to a whole new level, too. You can use it to pull up your notifications or your quick toggle settings, and when you press it, you can scroll through your list of installed apps.

As you turn the crown, your movements are accompanied by subtle vibrations that give you an idea of how you move through the interface. In contrast to many other Wear OS watches, the Pixel Watch comes closer to Apple's level of tactile finesse. The vibrations feel firm and pointed, not mushy at all.

Someone spinning the Pixel Watch crown while it rests on fabric.

Google promises that the Pixel Watch offers its most accurate heart rate tracking yet, which is a bold statement considering that the Fitbit lineup has historically been among the best options for accurate readings. There is also an ECG app on board that can help detect an irregular heart beat as in AFib, plus all the tracking you know and love from Fitbit: Your Active Zone Minutes, breathing rate, heart rate variability are all available to you in the Fitbit app, and as complications on the watch (or just inside the Fitbit app on the watch itself).

Other than the Fitbit integration and the Google-style watch faces (a whopping 19 to choose from, including one with your own Google Photos images), the Wear OS experience on the Pixel Watch isn’t really too special. You’re looking at your usual navigation paradigms, you have the option to add complications to your watch faces, and you get your notifications and fitness stats right on your wrist—just like you can on other Wear OS 3 watches.

A promising start not ruined by thicc bezels at all

Google was the first company to introduce a wearable operating system that ties into the phone ecosystem eight years ago under "Android Wear," yet it managed to be one of the last big tech companies to bring a hardware product of its own to the market. That stands in stark contrast to how Google handled Android from the get-go, bringing Nexus and Google-co-developed phones and tablets to the market almost since the inception of the operating system.

With Google waiting so long to bring a watch to the market and thus having so much hype built up around it, it’s easy to come away disappointed now that it’s finally there. After all, the Pixel Watch is just yet another smartwatch without too much of a distinctive design that sets it apart from the masses. However, based on my early impressions, the Pixel Watch could still have potential despite being late to the party.

pixel-watch-crown-button-2

The Pixel Watch offers something unique with its tight integration with Fitbit and its smooth, easy-to-navigate interface that screams "Google" and "Pixel" all over the place. I would have loved a watch like this as a company for earlier Pixel watches, and this is the next best thing we get.

Sure, the big bezels can look a bit dated, but Google does a great job of hiding them with its interface choices. And as long as you only look at the Pixel Watch in a vacuum, not holding a current Apple Watch next to it, it probably won't even be too noticeable. That said, I'm still looking forward to follow-up products that just offer a bigger screen in the same body.

Stay tuned for our full review of the Pixel Watch in the near future. In the meantime, be sure to check out our first look at the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro to find out more about the natural companions of the Pixel Watch. And if you're ready to buy into Google's ecosystem, you'll want to read our initial impressions on the Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. All three devices are available for pre-order now and will be available in stores on Thursday, October 13th. We've put together the best places to preorder the Pixel Watch here.

Google Pixel Watch with a chalk positioned at an angle
Google Pixel Watch

We've waited for Google to make a watch for over a decade, and the Google Pixel Watch has finally arrived. The first Android smartwatch with Fitbit health tracking, the Pixel Watch aims to help you stay fit or get fit easily. Plus, Wear OS 3.5 brings us Google's vision for a wearable UI and exclusive Wear OS apps for Google services, like Google Home.