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The Pixel Watch 3 (beginning at $349.99) is Google’s newest smartwatch, the third in its Pixel line and, in accordance with rumor, maybe the way forward for smartwatches for Fitbit followers. (Google has denied the rumor that it’s phasing out the Versa or Sense, however if you happen to go to fitbit.com right now, you’ll see a large banner engaging you to order a Pixel 3. Take that for what you’ll.)
The brand new Pixel Watch improves on earlier Pixel fashions, that includes a brighter display screen and two display screen sizes (giant wrists rejoice, since one in all them is 45 mm). The battery life is healthier than earlier Pixels, with my testing leading to a longer life than the promised 36 hours. That is a giant bounce up from the earlier mannequin’s battery lifetime of 24 hours. You may nonetheless wish to cost it every day, however the 36-ish hour battery life means you are able to do it anytime in the course of the day.
When you’re contemplating a swap from a Fitbit smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 3 can’t match the practically week-long battery life you’re used to, nevertheless it does have offline maps that don’t require you to deliver your telephone alongside. The Pixel 3 additionally has new fitness-focused options, together with operating dynamics like floor contact time and vertical oscillation. I additionally discovered that its coronary heart charge sensors and GPS are impressively correct, giving outcomes much like the Garmin Forerunner I examined alongside it.
45 mm, wifi
Google Pixel Watch 3 (45mm, Wi-Fi, Matte Black, Obsidian Band)
$399.99
at Amazon
$399.99
at Amazon
45 mm, LTE
Google Pixel Watch 3 (45mm, LTE, Matte Black, Obsidian Band)
41 mm, wifi
Google Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) – Android Smartwatch with Coronary heart Charge Monitoring, Superior Working from Fitbit, Health Insights, 24-Hour Battery – Polished Silver Aluminum Case – Porcelain Band – Wi-Fi
$349.99
at Amazon
$349.99
at Amazon
41 mm, LTE
Google – Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) Smartwatch with Porcelain Band – LTE – Polished Silver
Out of the field
Credit score: Beth Skwarecki
The Pixel Watch 3 that I examined was the 41 mm model, the smaller of the 2 sizes on provide. This is identical measurement because the Pixel Watch 2, and was an excellent measurement for my comparatively small wrist. When you favor a bigger watch, the Pixel 3 can also be accessible in a forty five mm measurement.
The Pixel Watch 3 has two bodily buttons: the crown, which may flip or will be pressed as a button, and a second button, positioned simply above the crown if you happen to’re carrying the watch with the crown on the precise facet. Press the crown to see the menu of accessible apps (or to return to the watch face); press the button to see just lately accessed apps.
The Pixel Watch 3 comes with two silicone wristbands, one smaller and one bigger. You’ll want to connect the band your self. It took me a minute to determine how, however principally you push in on a button together with the wristband slot, after which slide the band in sideways. To take away the band, press that button and the band will slide again out. To put on the watch, you shut the band with a peg that goes by way of one of many holes on the band, and then you definately tuck the tip of the band inside itself. (In different phrases, it really works the identical means because the band on the Pixel Watch 2.)
The charger can also be just like the one which got here with the Pixel Watch 2, with 4 tiny pins that click on into place upon getting the magnet oriented appropriately. Professional tip: the twine of the charger needs to be proper subsequent to the crown of the watch. If it’s not aligning, you in all probability have it pointing in a distinct path.
I discovered the Pixel Watch 3 snug to put on; the sleek again didn’t depart an indentation on my pores and skin and the silicone band has nothing to catch on garments or objects. Some folks discover a silicone band sweaty, however that didn’t hassle me. I did respect that I might rapidly wash or wipe it down (say, within the bathe after a exercise) with out having to attend for the band to dry.
Show
Left: the show because it seems to be once you test the time. Proper: what the “always-on” function reveals when it thinks you are not it.
Credit score: Beth Skwarecki
The Pixel Watch 3 has an AMOLED-style Actua show that Google says options 2,000 nits of brightness, twice as shiny as its predecessor. I don’t have a Pixel Watch 2 for a side-by-side comparability, however I can say that the Pixel Watch 3 was straightforward to learn even in shiny daylight, and it dimmed sufficient to be straightforward on the eyes in most darkish environments.
Google says that the brand new mannequin has smaller bezels than the Pixel Watch 2, and that its 45-millimeter measurement has 40% extra display screen actual property than its predecessor.
The watch has an always-on show (which you’ll be able to flip off) and it additionally options tilt-to-wake and tap-to-wake gestures. Be aware that even when it’s “all the time” on, the show dims when it doesn’t suppose you’re it. On this dimmer view, particulars might disappear from the watch face, just like the hash marks across the fringe of the Journey face, solely to reappear once you snap your wrist towards you to learn the time. There’s a short delay between the gesture and the watch face brightening up, which I didn’t love—and which made it laborious to rapidly test my stats when operating.
The Pixel Watch 3 additionally boasts the flexibility to detect once you fall asleep and activate Bedtime Mode mechanically. I discovered this function too annoying to check: if I went to mattress with the display screen nonetheless on, it could flash on each time I moved round. I all the time ended up placing it in Bedtime Mode myself so it could cease doing that.
Battery and charging exams
Credit score: Beth Skwarecki
Google advertises that the Pixel Watch 3 can last as long as 36 hours in Battery Saver mode, however surprisingly I discovered the battery life to be higher than that. I examined how lengthy it took to empty from 100% to 0%, each with and with out turning on Battery Saver. (Battery saver disables the always-on show and reduces some background exercise.)
After I did my exams, I took the watch off the charger within the night, put it in Bedtime Mode whereas I slept, after which took it out of Bedtime mode within the morning. Through the day, I made positive to make use of the look ahead to an hour-long GPS-enabled operating exercise, and an hour of listening to music over Bluetooth headphones. The watch was nonetheless going sturdy when bedtime rolled round once more, so as soon as once more I used Bedtime mode, turned it off within the morning, and waited to see how lengthy till the watch totally died. I adopted this protocol on two separate events, as soon as with the default settings enabled, together with the always-on show; and the opposite with Battery Saver turned on.
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With out Battery Saver, I obtained a formidable 36 hours and 39 minutes.
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With Battery Saver, I obtained just a few additional hours—39 hours and 11 minutes.
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(Be aware that these outcomes are for the 41 mm mannequin. The 45 mm has a bigger battery, but additionally a bigger show, so the precise battery life is probably not the identical.)
Battery Saver mode mechanically activates when the watch has 15% of battery left, so I let it do that even on my non-Battery-Saver take a look at (since I used to be aiming to check the defaults). The watch goes darkish when there’s about 3% of battery left. After that, if you happen to click on the crown 3 times, it should briefly present the time together with a lifeless battery icon.
When charging the Pixel Watch 3 from this apparently lifeless state, it takes about 20 minutes to rise up to 50% battery, and might be totally charged inside an hour. (I timed it at 53 minutes to get from 0% to 99%, though at that time it stayed at 99% for a number of minutes. I’m effective with counting 53 minutes as a full cost.) The watch shows an estimated charging time together with its battery share, which was typically fairly correct. If it says you may have 17 minutes left, you in all probability truly do.
Health options
The Pixel Watch 3 shouldn’t be a purpose-built operating watch, nevertheless it has the center charge and GPS sensors to let it do the job, and a few options within the Fitbit app that measure running-specific metrics. So I introduced the watch alongside on a number of runs every week whereas I used to be testing it.
My total impression is that it’s ok at run monitoring, if what you actually need is a smartwatch that may observe operating. Severe runners might be happier with one thing like a Garmin that has bodily buttons and much more correct location monitoring. (The value of the Pixel Watch 3 falls someplace in between that of the Garmin Forerunner 165 and the Forerunner 265; think about these two fashions.)
I examined the Pixel Watch 3 alongside a Garmin Forerunner 265, paired to completely different telephones (and I left the Pixel’s telephone behind, to make certain I used to be testing the watch’s efficiency by itself). For some runs, I wore a coronary heart charge chest strap paired to the Garmin, since that will give me probably the most correct coronary heart charge for comparability. Right here’s the way it went.
Ease of use throughout operating
The three screens you may have entry to throughout a typical run with the Fitbit app
Credit score: Beth Skwarecki
General, the Fitbit app on the Pixel Watch 3 gave a clean, useful, correct expertise when operating. If you wish to know whether or not the watch is nice sufficient to your runs, you possibly can cease studying right here. It does the job.
The show provides a color-coded coronary heart charge meter alongside your complete mileage, time, coronary heart charge, and present tempo in miles per minute. Swipe for 2 different useful screens: to the precise are your music controls (for music enjoying both out of your telephone or watch), and to the left is a menu the place you possibly can lock the display screen, add an “interval” (in different phrases, that’s your lap button), or finish or pause the exercise.
On a daily straightforward run, this was nice. The center charge and mileage saved tempo with the Garmin on my different wrist, and each time it buzzed to inform me a mile had elapsed, the gap was by no means off by various hundredths of a mile.
I additionally created a customized interval exercise within the Fitbit app, to see how straightforward it was to comply with the exercise from the watch. Flying colours right here, too: there’s even a progress meter on the facet of the watch so you possibly can see how far you might be by way of the interval. My solely main grievance is that once I appeared on the watch, it could take an additional second or two to completely mild up the show. That’s too lengthy; a operating watch must be glanceable when your ft are transferring at excessive velocity.
Between the delay in glancing on the watch, and the dearth of bodily buttons, I wouldn’t suggest this look ahead to a critical runner who’s making an attempt to determine between a Pixel and a Garmin. However for most individuals, the Pixel will do a wonderfully good job of monitoring runs.
Accuracy as a operating watch
Whereas I feel accuracy in health trackers is a considerably overrated idea (you’ll by no means know precisely how correct they’re, and that’s OK), a operating watch wants to have the ability to observe distance and coronary heart charge persistently sufficient to be helpful. The Pixel handed this take a look at, though it’s not fairly as dependable because the Garmin I in contrast it to. For instance, right here’s how intently the Pixel Watch 3 (left) adopted my route, in comparison with the Forerunner 265.
Left: Pixel Watch 3. Proper: Garmin Forerunner 265. The Pixel watch is shut sufficient, however not excellent.
Credit score: Beth Skwarecki
Yeah, it’s not excellent, however I’ve seen different units (like an older Apple Watch) comply with the mistaken highway solely at that intersection, teleporting over as soon as it realizes the place I truly am. The Pixel doesn’t fall for that, and will get a passing grade. Listed here are the stats from that very same run, displaying that it obtained the general mileage and tempo appropriate as properly:
Left: Pixel Watch 3 (Fitbit app) / Proper: Garmin Forerunner 265 from the identical run
Credit score: Beth Skwarecki
Superior operating metrics
Left: Pixel Watch 3/Fitbit operating metrics. Middle and proper: similar metrics, from the identical run, as reported by Garmin
Credit score: Beth Skwarecki
The place the operating accuracy might kind of break down—it’s truthfully not clear—is within the new, superior operating metrics. I do respect the way in which the Fitbit app reveals this information, putting your numbers on a spectrum and telling you which of them finish is assumed to correspond to a extra environment friendly stride.
On the identical run because the one within the screenshots above, the PW3 reported a stride size of 0.88 meters (Garmin: 0.87) and a cadence of 174 steps per minute (Garmin: additionally 174). Nice to this point!
However then we’ve a floor contact time of 302 milliseconds (Garmin: 260), a vertical oscillation of 6 centimeters (Garmin: 7.9), and a vertical ratio of 6.9% (Garmin: 9.1%). These numbers don’t match, and it isn’t clear how you’d inform which is appropriate. That stated, there’s not a lot you possibly can do with these numbers both means. So it doesn’t actually matter—which makes their existence type of moot.
Restoration metrics
Credit score: Beth Skwarecki
One other new group of options has to do along with your Readiness, Cardio Load, and the Morning Recap that goals to let you know how your physique is doing currently. Right here, too, I’ve in contrast the numbers with the Garmin, in addition to an Oura ring, lengthy held to be kind of a gold commonplace in shopper wearable restoration monitoring. (When you’re excited about studying extra about how completely different units observe restoration, I’ve a comparability of Oura, Whoop, and Garmin right here.)
General the watch does alright in matching the opposite units’ numbers. It captures the identical fluctuations in coronary heart charge variability (HRV) as the opposite two. However its measurements of resting coronary heart charge had been persistently increased than the others, reporting coronary heart charges 6 to 10 beats increased. After they gave me a quantity within the 40’s, the Pixel would report a quantity within the 50’s.
The readiness metric was additionally hit-or-miss. Generally it tracked with the opposite units, and typically it went the other way. “Readiness” isn’t a scientific idea, so there’s no option to discover out what your true readiness is; the watch simply spits out a quantity and it’s as much as you whether or not you belief it. Fitbit doesn’t offer you a breakdown of why your readiness is the quantity it’s (like Oura does) so that you’re left guessing.
Third-party operating apps don’t all the time play properly
The Pixel Watch 3 is built-in into the Fitbit ecosystem, and Google expects you to make use of the Fitbit app because the default for monitoring exercises together with runs. It’s good at that. That stated, once I was establishing the watch, it urged that I select just a few different exercise apps; I chosen Strava, Sofa to 5k, and Alltrails. Sadly, I didn’t have a clean expertise with any of them.
What Google doesn’t let you know is that putting in an app in your watch is not the identical as putting in the app in your telephone. After I began up the Strava app, it prompted me to log in on my telephone, so I needed to stand there within the parking zone by the the operating path putting in the app earlier than I might sign up. The Sofa to 5K app didn’t even immediate me; it guided me by way of the run with out challenge, after which I noticed afterward that I didn’t have the app on my telephone. I put in the app, however at that time there was no option to get the information from the run I had already completed.
(My expertise with AllTrails was hilariously irritating; I chosen a close-by path, then realized as I used to be operating it that the mileage counter was nonetheless zero. Both I didn’t run the path from the precise start line, or the app glitched, or probably each. I wasn’t even capable of force-quit the app.)
The underside line
General, the Pixel Watch 3 features properly as a smartwatch for Android customers, and the built-in operating options make it an honest operating watch, though critical runners will in all probability favor a tool that’s extra devoted to the duty.
Execs
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36-hour battery life
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Brighter show than its predecessor
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Two choices for display screen measurement (41 mm and 45 mm)
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Extra health metrics, together with restoration and operating dynamics
Cons
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At all times-on show has a delay in brightening up once you take a look at it
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Lack of bodily buttons, and a few inaccuracy in location, imply it will not change a critical operating watch
