Listen, I’m a huge fan of Android. I’ve been with it from pretty much the beginning. I had the first Moto Droid and the fan-favorite HTC Incredible. It’s been my favorite mobile OS outside of Palm’s webOS, but I’ve also always had a less than stellar opinion of Android’s watch operating systems.
Whether it’s Android Wear or Wear OS, I’ve always found it lacking in many ways. Historically, it’s had bad battery life, murky update cycles, and less than compelling fitness tracking metrics. This legacy had led me to dismiss the Pixel Watch series from inception. I consistently just didn’t care with each new release.
New Pixel Watch, New Perspective
This started to change a few weeks back when the Pixel Watch 4 was announced. The latest edition sees better battery life expectations, faster charging, and turbocharged Fitbit integrations. All this combined has piqued my interest on finally giving my Pixel smartphone a shot at pairing to a Pixel Watch.
The key new thing for me is the Fitbit refreshed integration. Every other Wear OS device I’ve tried from OnePlus or TicWatch has fallen short of offerings like Garmin and Suunto when it comes to showing truly useful fitness metrics in the companion app. Google having Fitbit, who helped start the fitness smartwatch segment in the first place, has a huge leg up in that regard. It even looks like a future update in October will make it even more advanced, with a deeper UI redesign and Gemini coaching being added.
The Trial Run
I decided before I jumped all in with an over $500 investment on the Pixel Watch 4, to try to pick up a gently used Pixel Watch 3 to test the waters. It should have all the major options the 4 will have, short of a few things like fast charging and slightly bigger screen. I found an open-box option on Swappa for the 45mm variant and have now had it for around three weeks… and I think I like it.
I have been thoroughly impressed with the fitness hardware, for starters. The heart rate sensor, workout tracking, and sleep tracking has been comparable, if not better, than anything I’ve used from Garmin and Suunto. I’ve found my burned calories, step counts, and general workout HR to all be fantastic.
All of this means nothing if you don’t have a companion app that can present the data to you in a useful manner, and again, syncing to Fitbit nails this. I’ve grown accustomed to Garmin over the years as my watch of choice. While the Fitbit data is obviously laid out differently, I do feel like it shows me similar metrics and insights based off the data.
Having a morning report, Readiness score, and general training loads shown in an intuitive dashboard makes Fitbit a bit of a secret weapon for Pixel Watches in my opinion. I had discounted this aspect way too much since Google made this acquisition and was pleasantly surprised.
Still Room To Grow
I’d still like to see Google improve a few things. Battery life can still be better. Around 48 hours is great, but offerings from other fitness watches last weeks. The same is true for the Pixel Watch design, in my opinion. It needs a true bezel casing with a flat display. I’m sorry, but the fully unprotected, domed Gorilla glass isn’t enough and makes the watch look like a toy.
The more Google leans into true active users with Fitbit, the more they need to realize these aren’t just casual wearers anymore. In that same vain, I’d love to see Google offer a “pro” model to compete with the Ultras from Apple and Samsung. A titanium build and sapphire glass, at a premium cost of course, could go a long way to fill the void with the adventurer crowd.
I Think I was Wrong
This experiment, and retrospective, forces me to admit I think I was wrong about the Pixel Watch. At least the current two iterations. While I see the hardware design as a growing point, the rest of the package is super solid. Honestly, it’s what I wanted the Apple Watch to be during my time on iOS island. Fitbit is the key feature that pushes it further in my mind. That intuitive, in depth tracking combines with the first party apps and software experience you can’t get anywhere else for us Pixel users.
