Google Pixel Watch 4 review: an outstanding Wear OS smartwatch

TechRadar

Google’s Pixel Watch 4 packs a repairable design, plenty of great health features, and improved battery life – a win.

Transcript

00:00The Google Pixel Watch 4 looks set to be perhaps the best Android smartwatch yet. Wear OS 6,

00:09on-device Gemini, a unique new proprietary charging system, and for the first time,

00:14repairability, all while retaining that distinctive, friendly, futuristic, pebble-like

00:19design. I was excited to get to grips with it, but does the reality of wearing a Pixel Watch 4

00:23match up to the promise? Let's dive in and see what we thought, and as usual, you can go straight

00:28to the links below to find the best deals on the Pixel Watch 4 right now.

00:35The first thing you'll notice when you get your hands on a Pixel Watch 4 is that the display isn't

00:39flat like most smartwatches. It's actually domed, offering a greater surface area beyond just sloping

00:45sides like the Apple Watch Series 11. Google's new design language, which it calls Material 3

00:50Expressive, takes advantage of this by making the notification bubbles, apps, and text larger and

00:56smaller as you scroll. I really liked the effect of it during my tests, and it didn't feel

01:00uncomfortable or strange to wear. The dome display also noticeably increases the thickness of the

01:05watch on your wrist, so if you don't like sleeping with thick devices, you might be out of luck.

01:10The dome 360 Actua display still looked rich and vibrant with crisp text or numbers, and I found

01:16the dome improved glanceability during runs. Google says it can hit up to 3,000 nits of brightness,

01:21a jump of 1,000 nits compared to the Pixel Watch 3, and a brightness equal to the Apple Watch Ultra 3,

01:26and I had no problems using the watch at night. The watch comes in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm.

01:33I've got the 45mm version here, and I think it looks great, even though my wrists aren't particularly

01:38large. However, those with even slimmer wrists are better off with the 41mm. There are two more

01:43major changes on the docket on the design front. The first is repairability. Most smartwatches

01:48are sealed units now, but the Pixel Watch 4 actually allows you to take it apart with a

01:52tiny screwdriver to replace the battery and display, increasing the longevity of the watch

01:57and reducing e-waste. I love this idea. I haven't taken it apart yet, and will probably be making a

02:03video when I do, but it's great to see smartwatch producers taking a make-do-and-mend approach to

02:08technology again, so you don't have to buy expensive insurance or replace the whole watch

02:13when something goes wrong. Apple should definitely be taking notes. The other big change is in

02:17charging the watch. A new proprietary charger allows the Pixel Watch 4 to sit in a cradle

02:22while it charges, and the display reorients itself to look like a little clock, complete with a snooze

02:28button. It's super cute. Google Pixel Watch 4 is powered by Google Gemini's AI, and it's a

02:36sophisticated on-device large language model that informs smart replies, voice commands, and loads more.

02:42Smart replies are great, adding context to automated messages. The Google Pixel Watch

02:46managed to deliver an appropriate response to a specific message sent during our tests

02:50that referenced train delays. Gemini's sophisticated voice assistant is generally very good,

02:55but its knowledge can be a tad patchy at times. I like that it can not just answer my question,

03:00but open relevant apps like Maps with directions already queued up, but the need to double-check its

03:05accuracy stops me from trusting the virtual assistant fully. For example, I asked it for directions to the

03:10nearest train station, fully knowing my local station is a four-minute walk away, and it instead

03:15directed me to a station that was not only further away, but actually disused. When I called Gemini

03:19on its mistake, it just said, you're absolutely right, the closest station is in fact X. Pixel Watch

03:244 also arrives with a familiar suite that includes general activity, heart rate, blood oxygen, and sleep

03:31tracking features via its Fitbit integrations. You can also take an ECG, or electrocardiogram scan,

03:36and there's an improved skin temperature sensor for more accurate readings. You can also track over 40

03:41different kinds of workouts with the Pixel Watch 4, although only some of these have unique metrics

03:46attached. The real big potential leap, though, is a promised personal AI health coach that's powered

03:52by Gemini and set to arrive at some point in October as a preview in the United States at first. It

03:57should go beyond Workout Buddy on the Apple Watch and some AI features on the Galaxy Watch, but we don't

04:01know exactly what it entails at the time of recording. As well as testing its smart replies and Gemini

04:10credentials, I've been wearing it night and day to test its health and fitness features, putting it

04:14through the same test I did with the Garmin BME 4 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3. That involves pitting

04:19it against a Polar H10 heart rate monitor on a run. Polar H10 is a chest-mounted heart rate monitor

04:24that's used by amateur and professional athletes alike, and it's my personal gold standard for heart rate

04:29accuracy. Here's how I got on. I'm just coming to the end of a four-mile run, testing the heart rate

04:35capabilities of the Google Pixel Watch 4. I've got a Polar H10 chest strap underneath, gold standard for

04:41accuracy, the same thing I used to test the Apple Watch Ultra 3. So once I finish the run, we're going

04:45to compare the heart rate graphs and see how accurate the Google Pixel Watch 4 is to the industry

04:50standard. Looking forward to finishing my review and this run. Unfortunately, the Pixel Watch 4 wasn't

04:55quite as accurate as either the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or the Garmin BME 4. During a fast four-mile run,

05:01the Pixel Watch 4 recorded an average heart rate of 148 beats per minute, or BPM for short. That's

05:06about 13 BPM short of the Polar H10's reading of 161 BPM. You can see some differences on the graphs

05:14here, particularly where I stopped across roads and my heart rate dipped. It seems the Polar H10 was

05:19quicker to pick up changes in my heart rate than the Pixel Watch. I pay special attention to the heart rate

05:23reading on smartwatches because it's the foundation of almost all its wellness metrics, from sleep to

05:28sports. While 13 BPM isn't a horrid difference and will still offer a fine indication of your heart

05:34rate for people looking for a wellness tracker for the gym, a weekend cycle or their local running routes,

05:40I'd need to do more testing before I recommended the Pixel Watch 4 for athletes serious about their

05:45training and recovery. Otherwise, I loved testing the Pixel Watch 4 in general, for the most part. It was a

05:50snappy, responsive, intelligent, apart from the Gemini issue I had earlier in the video, and charged

05:55fast. The combination of digital crown and domed touchscreen made using and navigating the watch

06:00intuitive and easy.

06:05I liked the Pixel Watch 4 as an Apple Watch alternative for Android users. You can stuff it full of third-party

06:10apps, get navigation, music and calls on wrist, and take full advantage of its AI smarts. It's stylish,

06:17looks great, is comfortable to wear, and it definitely brought me a little joy during testing

06:21with innovative stuff like the new charger. And I definitely recommend it to smartwatch fans.

06:26I didn't love it as a training companion, as not only was it not quite as accurate as Garmin or Apple

06:31in the heart rate stakes, but using it for GPS workouts drained that already short, Apple Watch-style

06:36battery life down even further. However, I still think it's a pretty damn good smartwatch, and one to get if you

06:42like the idea of being able to replace the battery or display later down the line to increase the

06:46watch's longevity and value for money. What do you think? Have you tried the Pixel Watch 4? And if not,

06:50which Android watch will you be getting instead? Let us know in the comments below, and we'll see you

06:55on the internet.

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