Google’s Pixel Watch has been in the works for years, and Google has been more than happy to drop hints about what it’s cooking. (Of course, having an employee drop off a prototype at a restaurant will also help defuse any surprise you may have planned.) Today, however, is the first time Google has actually lifted the lid on its new flagship wearable , and the first time we can see if it can make up for so many false starts in the race to watch.
The Pixel Watch has a 41mm case with a domed, custom-made scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 5. At first glance, it’s clear that the curved crystal is very prominent, but the benefit is that the roundness makes the bezel much less visible . Beneath it, users will be staring at a 320ppi AMOLED, always-on display with a brightness that can output up to 1,000 nits. It’s powered by a 294mAh battery that Google says will last 24 hours on a single charge, but can be charged up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes on the magnetic charging plate. On the side, a haptic crown blessed with “Premium Haptics” and a side button come down at the same time.
There are two versions, a WiFi/Bluetooth model and one with its own LTE modem that costs only $50 more. Both rock an Exynos 9110 SoC paired with a Cortex M33 coprocessor, as well as 32GB of storage and 2GB of RAM. Given that Pixel-branded devices are often the “best” of whatever class they represent, the choice not to use Qualcomm’s own wearable SoC speaks volumes. After all, it’s the silicon of choice for any non-Samsung Wear OS watch these days, and similarly, there’s no mention of Google’s own Tensor silicon brand.
Interestingly, Fitbit CEO James Park introduced the watch and the watch comes with many Fitbit-branded features. This includes activity, heart rate and sleep tracking, albeit augmented by Google’s own machine learning know-how. One of the most notable features is the live heart rate, with the device tracking your vitals down to the second. It also has a built-in ECG. Additional health insights available with Fitbit Premium are also available to Pixel Watch users, as are guided workouts. This suggests that Google sees the Pixel Watch as a beneficiary of Google’s partnership with Fitbit, rather than simply absorbing the wearable brand under its own name. You’ll also get, like any other Fitbit device, a free six-month trial of Premium with your purchase, as well as three months of YouTube Music Premium added for free.
Aside from the Gorilla Glass, the only other durability promise is that it will be water resistant up (or down) to depths of 5ATM. Oh, and Google says that by 2023 the watch will be able to detect falls, and if you have the LTE version and find yourself unresponsive, it’ll call emergency services on your behalf.
It’s worth recalling that Google beat Apple in the wearables space by a full year in partnership with Motorola, Samsung, ASUS and LG. But the balkanized strategy employed and the general lack of luster of those initial versions of Android Wear gave much of Apple’s momentum. Since then, the Apple Watch has outsold every other major wearable player in nearly every quarter. It wasn’t until Samsung teamed up with Google to redesign Wear OS that Google’s platform reached double-digit sales percentages again.
And like the Pixel phones, it’s likely that Google will be happy to sell a limited amount of devices to a small portion of the market. Especially since it has to defend the sales of both Samsung, its partner, and Fitbit, its new wholly-owned subsidiary. Though given that Samsung and Fitbit already cater to nearly every part of the wearables market between them, it’s unclear what specific group Google might be targeting here.
Analyst Ben Wood of CCS Insight agrees, saying that “Pixel Watch poses zero threat to the Apple Watch” and that its existence is more “to increase smartwatch awareness for Android smartphone owners and encourage more of those people to consider buying wearables.” For this to work, though, the Pixel Watch needs to become instantly desirable, especially given Google’s short patience when it comes to products that don’t instantly click with the public.
Google Pixel Watch is available in stainless steel “matte black”, “polished silver” or “champagne gold” colors. These are complemented by various watch straps that fasten not with lugs, but with an internal locking system like the camera lens, which should make switching faster. It’s available for pre-order now, with the WiFi/Bluetooth model priced at $349.99, while the LTE model will set you back $399.99, both expected to start shipping on October 13.
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