We absolutely did not expect Google to try and introduce anything new or crazy with its first smartwatch. Just being able to hit the ground running and offer all the features that its competitor have would be an impressive enough feat for the Pixel Watch 1.0.

And lo and behold — Google did not disappoint. The Pixel Watch has a heart rate sensor, ECG, blood oxygen tracker, detailed sleep tracking, and step-by-step navigation. Of course, the Google Assistant is on board of course, ready to take voice prompts for messages, calls, or any queries about weather or workouts.

Speaking of workouts, the Pixel Watch is fully integrated with the Fitbit suite for workout tracking, including the rich dataset of Fitbit Premium. If you buy a Pixel Watch now — you get the Premium subscription for free over the next 6 months, so that's a cool way to test it out.


The heart rate tracking also deserves a mention, because it's pretty impressive — it can deliver heart rate readings once per second. Google utilized some heavy machine learning and AI chops here to isolate noise and false readings, and Fitbit brought in their tracker expertise. As a result, we have the industry's first smartwatch that can track heart rate in the background once per second, for super-dense readings.

Then, it also has the necessities like Emergency SOS as well as crash detection, here's hoping you never have to test this one out. And Fall detection will be coming some time in early 2023.

By all means, the Pixel Watch looks like a competent, competitive smartwatch, and its unique design may be enough to draw some people to the Google side. We have no info on whether it will work with iOS, but we do know that it will sync to any Android 8.0 and above phone.


Google promises 24 hours of battery life with the Pixel Watch, which is kind of OK right now. The Apple Watch is listed at lasting 18 hours on a single charge, though it does have a newly-introduced Low Power mode that can extend that.

In any case, the Pixel Watch will be quick to charge, able to get 50% back in the tank for only 30 minutes on the puck. In real life, we expect the battery life will not be an issue, as users will be able to throw the Watch on the charger while getting dressed, or while doing their morning routine. Boom, back to almost full to get you through the day.

Google Pixel Watch Processor & Storage


The Pixel Watch is powered by Samsung's Exynos 9110 — a 2018 processor that is getting a bit long in the tooth now. The good news is that Google added a Cortex M33 co-processor, to improve productivity (we wouldn't be surprised if it's there to ensure smooth operation from the Google Assistant).

As for storage, the Pixel Watch comes with 32 GB of memory, which is pretty cool — it's more than Samsung's 16 GB, and on par with Apple's 32 GB. Plus, the Pixel Watch comes with 2 GB of RAM. We know, those are no impressive numbers in the world of smartphones, but a smartwatch — it's plenty generous!

Google Pixel Watch Connectivity

The Pixel Watch has a cellular version, supporting eSIM. It can connect to 4G LTE networks and yes, you can take and make calls from the Pixel Watch. So, leave that heavy Pixel 7 Pro at home when going for a jog!

Aside from cellular, we have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so it can also autonomously connect to networks it remembers.

Google Pixel Watch Competitors

Obviously, the biggest competitors to the Pixel Watch are the Apple Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Watch. The Pixel itself is positioned right between those — slightly more expensive than a Galaxy Watch 5, slightly cheaper than an Apple Watch Series 8 (though, there's also a Watch SE (2022)).

But then again, it's hard to look at the Pixel and Apple Watches as direct competitors. Because you need to either be on the Android side or the iPhone side of the fence in order to be able to use the one or the other.

So, that leaves us with the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro as the main competitors here. So, who might win? Well, we have to get our hands on a Pixel Watch first, so stay tuned. Right now, we feel like the choice may come down to personal style preferences more than any huge differences in features and performance.

Google Pixel Watch Summary

Well, that's it for now — we got a first look at what the Pixel Watch is and what it does. We are curious, we are excited, and we can't wait for it to arrive here at the office. Thus far, we feel like it can carve its own spot in the smartwatch market. Now it's time to test how well it integrates with the Google ecosystem!