After months of hype and teasers about the Google Pixel Watch, many European countries went home with unfinished business. But this time it’s true: Google’s long-awaited smartwatch is now coming to Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The watch, like the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones, was presented at the Made By Google event that took place around the world yesterday.
The Google Pixel Watch is interesting for several reasons. Firstly, users who are not engaged to either Samsung or Apple have an alternative that is backed by a major manufacturer. Even though Google is the underdog in the mobile and watch world.
Features a new processor with improved AI, upgraded cameras and a brighter screen.
The Pixel Watch can be used with all Android mobiles with Android 9 or later. iPhone owners are left out in the cold. Which they probably don’t care about, as long as they can have their Apple Watches, which they are the only ones who can use.
30 mm in diameter
With a screen diameter of 30 mm, the Pixel Watch 2 is comparatively smaller than its competitors from Apple and Samsung. On a narrow office worker’s arm like mine, it’s a plus to be able to get a watch that’s smaller than a manhole cover. But the screen will necessarily be smaller – and thus harder to read. The resolution is 384 x 384 pixels (or it would have been if the screen was round).
The screen is made of curved glass, which gives it a rather elegant and, for a smart watch, rather untouched look. The watch can be combined with a wide range of straps.
Many features require a Fitbit subscription
The Pixel Watch 2 is well equipped with sensors. An electrical sensor detects pulse and heart rate, while an optical sensor measures blood oxygenation using LED light. There is also a temperature sensor that measures skin temperature. With a Fitbit subscription, you can access sleep and stress analysis. You get a six-month trial subscription with the purchase. After that, it costs €10 per month. It will be interesting to see how many health features require a Fitbit subscription in practice. The sensor collection also includes an altimeter, gyroscope and compass.
In addition to tracking exercise, the gyro sensor is also used to detect falls and car crashes. Just like Apple and Samsung users have long had access to.
At the heart of the Google Pixel Watch 2 is a Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 processor, and there’s 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The watch case is made of aluminium, which Google proudly describes as recycled aluminium. However, in very small print, it mentions that recycled aluminium only makes up 3%.
The watch costs €399 in a Wi-Fi only version. In some countries, a slightly more expensive version with LTE is also available.
Battery life is rated at 24 hours with the screen on all the time and a full charge takes 80 minutes.
Watch out for your timepiece!
In the press material from Google, you can see people doing rock climbing and other extreme sports with a Pixel Watch 2 on their arm. The curved bezel may be made of Gorilla Glass 5. But it’s not unbreakable. And once it’s broken, there’s no other solution than to replace the entire watch. There are no spare parts to repair a shattered Pixel Watch 2. Neither from independent mobile phone repair shops nor from Google itself.
Google is aware of the problem, and if the screen fails, the company will exchange the watch and take the defective watch to the lab to find out what failed. If the defect is due to rough handling, that’s another matter that will be handled by the retailers, taking into account the law. The answer will likely be an exchange price, but that was not clarified today.
New features – but not new earbuds
Google Pixel Buds Pro was also present at the presentation. But there won’t be a new version this time round. Instead, there will be a software update – which will also benefit existing owners. The most interesting new feature is conversation detection, which automatically stops music playback and switches to ambient sound when the buds detect that the wearer is talking to someone in their surroundings.
Pixel Buds Pro costs €229.
