Google Pixel Watch 4 Review

Introduction

The Google Pixel Watch 4 might look similar to its predecessor, but a lot has changed with the fourth-gen wearable.

The Pixel Watch design has been refined with an upgraded dome screen that gives it that sleek, futuristic look that fans adore, along with key upgrades to performance, exercise tracking and battery life, all while delivering a unique Material 3 Expressive take on Wear OS 6 that’s utterly charming in everyday use.

In essence, the Pixel Watch 4 is the best wearable Google has made yet, and it truly has the legs to compete with some of the best smartwatches around right now. 

Design and Screen

• New domed screen tech
• Bigger, brighter screens with slimmer bezels
• IP68 & 5ATM protection

Google hasn’t exactly reinvented the wheel when it comes to the Pixel Watch 4 – but that’s not a bad thing in my books. The Pixel Watch 4 remains a distinctive smartwatch in the wider market, refusing to closely emulate the design of a traditional wristwatch and adopting something altogether more sleek, minimalist, and, dare I say, futuristic.

After having the likes of the OnePlus Watch 3 on my wrist recently, it’s a nice change to look down and see what looks like a 3D glass pebble sat on my wrist. I love the look and feel of the OnePlus wearable, but the Pixel Watch 4 just looks and feels different.

It’s once again available in two finishes, 41mm and the larger 45mm variant introduced with the Pixel Watch 3, with the latter sent for review. 

But while the 1.1- and 1.4-inch screens might look identical to their predecessors at a glance, there are a few key changes here. The 60Hz screen now has 16% slimmer bezels, providing a little extra space for apps and watchfaces, and it’s 50% brighter at an impressively bright 3000nits, which makes it much easier to use in the great outdoors. 

These alone would be solid upgrades over what came before, but more impressive is the new Actua 360 domed display tech. Unlike previous generations of Pixel Watch that simply had a domed glass cover on a flat screen, the actual screen in the Watch 4 is domed.

It’s a subtle yet noticeable effect that causes the screen to follow the curvature of the glass more closely, creating a wraparound effect that’s particularly noticeable when viewing the watch from the side, contributing to the refined, premium look of the wearable. 

However, the elements that make it unique also make it more susceptible to damage. The domed 3D glass design does mean that the screen is, well, out in the elements with little protection from impact that the aluminium shell of many alternatives provides. 

I’ve not yet scuffed or marked the screen or casing, but if you’re an outdoorsy type, or someone who does a lot of DIY, I’d be a little nervous about having the Pixel Watch 4 on the wrist – even if it does come with tough Gorilla Glass glass protection, along with the same IP68/5ATM you see on most competing watches. 

Elsewhere, Google has moved the charging tech to the side of the device. While I initially expected this to cause some kind of irritation over longer periods of use, that’s not actually the case. 

And sure, it doesn’t look quite as clean, but it integrates into the speaker so it doesn’t look all that out of place. Only the two slightly protruding metal contact points give away its charging-focused nature – and it’s for a good reason too, but more on that a little later. 

As always, the Pixel Watch 4 is available in a range of colours, though the finishes depend on the size of watch you go for. Obsidian and Porcelain are available across the range, but the 41mm model also offers bright Lemongrass and Iris finishes, while the 45mm variant boasts an exclusive Moonstone finish. 

These are paired with colour-matched soft-touch silicone straps out of the box, but Google also offers a range of higher-end straps that are compatible with it. 

Features and Software

• Wear OS 6 with Material 3 Expressive
• Charming animations and handy QOL software tweaks
• Optional LTE and satellite connectivity

Software is where the Pixel Watch usually excels, but this year’s Pixel Watch 4 goes even further with the introduction of the Material 3 Expressive UI on top of the all-new Wear OS 6. Combined, there are some massive changes to the underlying Wear OS experience that make using it feel genuinely new and exciting – and that’s coming from an existing Wear OS watch user. 

Now, you might point out that we’ve already got a Wear OS 6 watch – the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 – and that is true, but the competing wearable employs Samsung’s One UI 8 with some rather drastic changes to the functionality of the watch. 

One UI 8 watch notifications, for example, aren’t accessed with a swipe up but a swipe to the side of the watch, and Samsung’s alternative lets you combine various widgets into a single tile for better at-a-glance information delivery.

While I wish Google had taken some inspiration from Samsung, particularly in terms of custom tiles, I prefer Google’s execution of Wear OS 6 overall. Material 3 Expressive is a more responsive skin, featuring animations and graphics that adapt to fit the circular screen of the wearable, and it does so with a distinct personality. 

It ties in very well, unsurprisingly, with the Material 3 Expressive experience on the Pixel 10 range, where your Pixel phone’s theme is reflected in the watch interface, and vice versa, with plenty of new and updated watch faces to complement the colourful UI. 

I also appreciate that Google has ensured settings like Do Not Disturb and Bedtime Mode sync with your paired smartphone, whether Pixel-branded or not – and that’s not a given. 

Existing elements like notifications are also more polished, with the watch first displaying the app icon and the sender’s name before displaying the notification contents, complete with contextual quick replies and other actions. Gemini will also respond to your queries when you bring the watch close to your mouth, without the need to say the Gemini wake-word first.  

It’s small elements like these that truly elevate the experience on offer, making it feel more like a true smartphone companion than a standalone device. 

Elsewhere, it’s very much business as usual for the Wear OS experience – and business is good. Google’s wearable Play Store is packed full of apps that expand the watch’s already impressive functionality, with companion apps for popular Android apps like Spotify, WhatsApp, and what3words, along with plenty of specialised fitness tracking apps. 

You’ve got support for payments via Google Wallet, the ability to record voice notes using the Recorder app and, of course, full Google Gemini support for a much smarter voice assistant experience.

Connectivity is also top-notch, with LTE connectivity available at an additional cost, allowing you to leave your phone at home while remaining contactable. The LTE model is also the first Pixel Watch to support satellite connectivity, allowing you to contact emergency services even when you’re out of regular cellular range. 

There are a few Pixel-exclusive features, like Camera Controls, but I’d argue that these aren’t dealbreakers for non-Pixel users – not in the same way that Samsung gatekeeps some of its most advanced wearable tech, anyway. 

If you’re looking for a superbly polished Wear OS smartwatch experience, you really won’t find much better than what’s offered by the Pixel Watch 4 – and that’s a high bar. 

Health and fitness tracking

• Fitbit-powered health and fitness capabilities
• AI fitness coach – but only in the US
• Some advanced metrics are locked behind a paywall

As always, the Pixel’s health and fitness capabilities are handled by Fitbit – the company had to get good use out of it after the buyout, after all. Given Fitbit’s pedigree in the world of health and fitness, having been making wearables since 2009, it’s certainly not a bad thing.

Generally speaking, you’ll get everything you’ll find on most other flagship smartwatches; the Pixel Watch 4 tracks your general wellbeing, monitoring elements like steps taken, heart rate, movement/exercise, and sleep to provide a daily overview of your health, with dedicated exercise tracking to dive deep into workout-specific metrics – but Fitbit’s integration feels more polished. 

Accessible via both the Fitbit app on the watch and the companion app for Android, elements like Cardio Load and Target Load help give me a tangible target for exercise for the day without pushing myself too far, while readiness essentially combines your daily stats, including exercise and sleep, and generates a score to represent how ‘ready’ I am for the day. 

Other elements, such as a novel stress tracking system that utilises the cEDA HR sensor to map body responses like elevated temperature and sweat, attempt to add some context to my day – although I find it a little hit-and-miss, with very few clear trends even after correctly logging my mood for several days whenever prompted. 

What has been improved this year is the wearable’s sleep tracking capabilities; Google claims its new machine learning models boost sleep stage detection accuracy by 18%. That’s hard to quantify, but I do feel that the wearable’s stats do generally align with how well rested I feel the next day. 

And like most other wearables, it’ll also track elements such as heart rate, blood oxygen, movement, and more, providing you with a comprehensive collection of graphs to track your metrics over longer periods. 

Generally, it’s pretty close to what my Whoop MG presents, which I use as my sleep benchmark, further giving me confidence in Fitbit’s results here. 

Of course, it’s Fitbit’s core bread and butter – the workout tracking – that’s most impressive, with a few new additions this year to an already-solid overall experience. 

The biggest new addition is an AI-powered health coach that’ll provide proactive fitness and sleep coaching tailored to your metrics and goals – but being a US-only feature at launch, it’s not something I could preview for myself. It’s a shame too, as it sounds like the feature that’ll properly tie in all your health and exercise data and present it conversationally. 

You do get AI-powered exercise recommendations via the Fitbit app in the UK, based not only on your metrics but your favourite forms of exercise and available equipment, and you’ll get real-time guidance on elements like pace or heart rate depending on your targets, but it’s not the complete AI experience that the health coach will provide.

There are also enhancements to existing features. New dual-frequency GPS provides a significantly more accurate route tracking experience, especially in more densely populated areas, while new forms of exercise increase the supported number of workouts to 50+.

I’m not personally much of a cyclist, but I do appreciate the ability to view my metrics both on the wrist and on my smartphone screen, acting as a heads-up display on my handlebars – although I wish there were also support for this feature during treadmill running. Being able to see my metrics in front of me, rather than looking at my wrist, would make for a small but meaningful improvement to all kinds of machine-based workouts. 

That said, donning the Pixel Watch 4 for a run, I was impressed by the depth of metrics provided to me. The Pixel Watch kept things relatively simple in terms of real-time metrics during the run, focusing on key information such as heart rate zones, timings, distance, and pace. However, post-workout, there was a much broader depth of metrics to delve into. 

Along with standard charts depicting elements like heart rate, distance, and pace, you’ll get advanced form analysis that tracks run-specific metrics, including step cadence, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation. Personalised ranges are available after your first seven runs, so you know if it’s in line with your usual performance. 

It makes it much easier to track not only easy elements like overall distance and speed, but also lesser-known metrics like stride length and vertical ratio, which also have a massive impact on your run performance. 

The catch? Many of those more advanced metrics are only visible when you subscribe to Fitbit Premium. 

While I’d say that you could live without Premium’s guided runs, workout library and mindfulness sessions, the fact that it locks some advanced exercise and sleep data behind a paywall is, in my opinion, more than a little bit cheeky. You do get a six-month trial with the Watch 4, but still, don’t lock people’s data behind a paid subscription, Google. 

Battery life

• Multi-day battery life
• New side-mounted charging system
• Full charge in under an hour

Like some of the best smartwatches around, the Pixel Watch 4 employs a new hybrid architecture, with a Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 powering the Wear OS experience, while a battery-friendly Cortex-M55 coprocessor handles the sensors, all in an effort to boost battery life.

Combined with a larger battery, Google has certainly achieved this aim with the Pixel Watch 4. Of course, there is some variation between the two sizes – Google claims the 41mm variant is good for up to 30 hours of use, while the 45mm variant can push that to 40 hours – but I’ve found the 45mm variant to be able to push way beyond Google’s claims.

In general use, I’ve found that the 45mm Pixel Watch 4 can last around 48-54 hours on a single charge, with the always-on display active. 

Granted, I’m not exactly a heavy smartwatch user – I don’t use many companion apps, mainly using the wearable for health tracking, notifications, calls and the like, with very few GPS-tracked exercises – but it shows that it has the legs to keep on going with more casual use.

Of course, if you use the dedicated exercise tracking, complete with GPS, you’ll see that number drop closer to Google’s claims; however, it’s still a pretty good offering overall. 

There’s also a battery saver mode that disables the always-on display and some background processes to squeeze up to 72 hours of battery life out of the larger wearable – but unlike some, this mode continues to deliver full health and fitness tracking capabilities. 

You only really miss out on the always-on display, but with a responsive gesture-based wake, it’s not something you’ll miss all that often. 

That all said, it’s not quite up to the OnePlus Watch 3’s standards, offering up to five days in Wear OS mode and 16 days in its battery saver mode, but it’s better than what you’ll get with the Galaxy Watch 8 and even the new Apple Watch Series 11. 

When it comes to charging, Google sports a new side-connected charging system designed for use with the new Quick Charge Dock. Simply drop the watch sideways onto the dock, and the built-in magnets will align it with the charger, keeping it securely in place. 

The watch screen updates accordingly, rotating and displaying the time, current charge (and estimated time for a full charge), and any upcoming alarms. It essentially turns the watch into a small desk clock, or even an alarm clock, depending on whether you wear the watch to bed or not. 

It’s not just a visual upgrade either; it enables much faster charging, with a 25% boost to overall charge times compared to the Pixel Watch 3. The 45mm variant I have managed 52% charge in 15 minutes, with 83% in half an hour and a full charge in 55 minutes – and the smaller 41mm variant charges even faster.

With speeds like this, it offsets the frustration of battery life; simply place the watch on the dock for half an hour while you shower or make dinner, and you’ve got an additional two days of use to look forward to.  

Should you buy it?

FAQs