I tested every Google Pixel this year, and the best one wasn’t even a phone

Over the course of 2025, I’ve had my hands on every new Pixel-branded gadget that Google has released. From the Pixel 9a to the four Pixel 10 models, as well as the Pixel Buds 2a and the Pixel Watch 4, I’ve tried, tested, used, and continue to use many of these in my everyday life. The Pixel 10 Pro XL has been my primary phone for a few months, the Watch 4 has been on my wrist since its release, and the Buds 2a stay in my backpack any time I get out of the house.

Of all of these, I expected the Pixel 10 Pro XL to be my favorite, especially with its new Pro Res Zoom appealing to the avid photographer in me. And while I do like the phone a lot, I’ve found that my absolute favorite Pixel of 2025 is the Watch 4. Here’s why.

When Pixel Watch 4 leaks started popping up, it seemed like Google was just reiterating on the existing Watch 3. Same design, same features, and same sizes. But the reality turned out to be much more interesting than that. The Pixel Watch 4 was practically rebuilt from the ground up to accommodate two major changes: a domed display under the domed glass, and a more repairable body that allows for easy battery, display, and module replacements. Both of these are significant in their own right.

The moment I unboxed the Pixel Watch 4, my Watch 3 felt immediately outdated in comparison. I love looking at this watch on my wrist. I love its display, and I love how sleek the smaller bezels appear in person. No amount of still photos can capture how good this design is, and how minimalist and nearly invisible the bezels really are. And if you think about it, a smartwatch is the most personal gadget ever since we wear it on our own bodies the whole time, so it might as well be the nicest, most elegant gadget out there.

Couple that design with Material 3 Expressive, and everything on this watch looks lively and fun. The color-matching UI elements, animations, rounded buttons, playful shapes, and bold fonts all take on a different impact on the tiny display of a watch versus a phone. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Material 3 Expressive looks more at home on the Watch 4 than it does on a Pixel 10. They’re a match made in heaven.

Despite the more intricate display, Google managed to fix the biggest complaint we had about previous Pixel watches: repairability. I still worry when I hit my watch by mistake, but it’s more subdued than before because I know it won’t become a useless paperweight because of a slight knock. More repair, more power to the buyer, better green impact, less e-waste — I’m all for those.

But Google didn’t stop there. The battery life is finally “usable” in the real world for me. I can’t kill it in one day, no matter what I try, and more often than not, this is a two-day watch for me. I can finally spend a weekend at my friends’ without carrying the charging cable. Plus, despite my hatred for Google switching charging mechanisms once again, I appreciate the speed and stability of the new charger. The battery fills up so fast and lasts so long that on most days, I just need a 15- to 20-minute top-up to last through the day. When I’m busy, traveling, or have impromptu plans, this is invaluable. Previous Pixel Watch models weren’t made for real-world, unexpected scenarios; this one is, and the Pixel Watch 4 has finally erased my battery worries.

Add to this the super helpful new raise-to-talk Gemini gesture and automatic exercise detection while doing the actual activity (not after the fact), and Google has made almost everything on this watch more seamless from the first day. But it didn’t stop there. Since its launch, the Pixel Watch 4 has received several crucial updates, too, to improve it even further.

A few weeks ago, Google added a new always-on display mode for Pixel watches that shows media controls and timer/stopwatch progress anytime the display is not active. It’s perfect if I just want to glance at something ongoing without turning on the display. The buttons are clickable, too, so I don’t need to wake the watch first in order to control my music or stop/restart a timer, for example. I recently used the music controls a lot on an overnight flight, and enjoyed not having a bright, glaring display each time I woke up from my dozing state to see what was playing.

Another recent update brought gestures to the Pixel Watch 4. Although they’re not perfect yet, they finally make one-handed use a reality in several scenarios. This has always been my bugbear with every Pixel Watch: I had to use two hands to do anything, which made my watches cumbersome for any action, and more suitable for checking info rather than acting on it. It was often more practical to grab my phone from my pocket with one hand and scroll, tap, type, than to tie my two hands together in front of my body to do something on the tiny display of my watch.

Gestures don’t fix this entirely, but they bring a certain level of active one-handedness to the Pixel Watch 4. Now, I can dismiss notifications with a flick or pinch my fingers to play/pause music, scroll through the content of a notification, stop timers, snooze alarms, and more. I’d love to be able to navigate through the entire interface with more gestures, but this is already a big step up from the previous absolute requirement to use two hands to do anything.

In 2025, Google made several interesting updates to its Pixel lineup. The regular Pixel 10 finally got a zoom lens that makes it one of the best basic flagships around and an easy recommendation for parents or pet owners. The Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL brought a mind-blowing 100x Pro Res Zoom, and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold was the first foldable with an IP68 rating. On top of this, every Pixel 10 got built-in Qi2 with magnets, which instantly expanded the Pixel’s entire accessory ecosystem to every MagSafe gadget out there. All of these were laudable upgrades.

Aside from its Pixel battery woes and the broken trust they caused, Google really did a lot of other things right this year. None of these, though, saw as many improvements as the Pixel Watch 4. And none were as significant or as impactful. The Pixel Watch 4 is a smartwatch I genuinely enjoy using and that I can rely on day in and day out. It’s a big step up in every way from the Pixel Watch 3 and has, therefore, earned the title of my favorite Pixel gadget of 2025.