Google Pixel Watch 3 review — Little tweaks make a big difference

The third generation of the Google Pixel Watch is here and it’s a nice upgrade from last year’s model. There’s a number of improvements, including more screen space to play with and the specs too are another step forward. After a couple of weeks on my wrist, there’s a few things to talk about including whether last year’s gripes and grumbles have been resolved.

A look at the specs

The update to the Pixel Watch is done well, very well…
So well in fact, that I barely noticed it in daily us, aside from a host of positive improvements that regularly became highlights for the update. At first glance, you’re probably not going to see a huge difference from the Pixel Watch 2, or even the first generation for that matter.

When the screen is on though, you’ll see it straight away: There are two sizes this time around, a 41mm and a 45mm – Both are available in Obsidian, Porcelain, and Hazel with the 41mm also being available in a Rose Quartz colour.

The review unit I have is a41mm and even now, nearly two weeks from receiving it; I’m seeing the difference in screen daily. While the face is the same size, the screen under it is slightly larger, higher resolution with a significant improvement in brightness.

The actua display (both sizes) is covered by a custom Corning Gorilla Glass 5 shell and capable of up to 2,000 nits with a dynamic refresh between 1 and 60Hz.

There’s plenty of connectivity onboard with 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 802.11 ax, GPS and NFC onboard. This gives a full range of options from eSIM connectivity, to Wi-Fi at home or other friendly networks, and tap pay options.

The haptic motor on the Pixel Watch 3 is not as abrupt, as the Pixel Watch 2; but with that, it’s still a clear notification on your wrist. This is really interesting, because it’s smoother, quieter and still gets your attention. This is one area I believe Google has absolutely nailed on the hardware for their Pixel Watch 3.

The Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and Cortex -M33 co-processor do a great job of ensuring that the performance is high as is the efficiency; more on this later.

Daily use: The Pixel Watch 3 is an all-day wear device

I’ve been with volunteer emergency services for over 20 years and, in that time, I’ve damaged a lot of electronics. I’ve worn the Pixel Watch 3 on a few jobs already, it’s stood up to everything from fire to road crash incidents and the inevitable bangs and knocks along the way. So far (about 2 weeks in) there’s not a single mark on the review unit.

Some of the features that have carried over to the Pixel Watch 3. I did have a minor (somewhat amusing) issue with the car crash detection in my boxing class. While under my wraps and gloves, the crash detection was triggered and — under gloves and wraps — called emergency services as I was unable to get to the screen quickly enough to cancel the emergency call.

This was all to the amusement and amazement of the call taker, who seemed genuinely impressed that I punched hard enough to trigger a crash detection.

Consistency between generations

One thing I was honestly a bit annoyed about with the Pixel Watch 2 was the fact that the charger was changed between generations. No such issue this time around with the Pixel Watch 3 working on the same charger as last years watch.

The same can be said of the watch bands with the Pixel Watch 3 being compatible with bands from the Watch 2, and even the first generation.

Battery Life and Charging: Still improving, but not perfect

As a generational improvement, there’s quite a big leap here on the battery capabilities of the Pixel Watch 3. Every single charge, even with a decent workout (up to 2 hours, including GPS usage) I got 28 hours or more; on a couple of occasions I managed almost 36 hours.

I’m also really pleased to confirm that the charge time from near flat to full is a bit over 50 minutes, with a half hour getting you to around 70% charge. For me, this meant sticking to my routine of simply putting the watch on to charge while I have a shower in the morning meant I’ve yet to even go close to running out of battery.

I have disabled some apps from sending me notifications, and although this didn’t really make a major difference to the battery life it certainly reduced my annoyance at the notifications.

I did notice that taking calls on the watch directly made a noticeable dent in the battery and I was able to get the battery to under 24 hours by doing so all day. I don’t know too many people that would do that however, and I’m confident in saying that there would only be a few users who could completely deplete this battery in under 24 hours consistently.

User Interface: It’s so snappy!

This was one of the highlights of the upgrade from the Pixel Watch 2 to the 3 that I mentioned earlier. The interface is just so snappy, in part thanks to the processor (mentioned earlier) and the polish on Wear OS 5.0

The navigation of both apps and notifications through touch, or rolling the crown of the watch is smooth and accurate to your input. It’s been really interesting pairing the minimalistic screen size of the Pixel Watch 3 with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold was a remarkably functional duo. I found the watch was just for notifications and simple acknowledgements, where higher functions and productivity was straight to the phone.

Fitbit: A few tweaks to explore

Like previous years with the Pixel Watches, the Pixel Watch 3 has direct integration into the Fitbit system that Google acquired years ago. Last year, users were forced to adopt their Fitbit account into a Google account which made the whole process of migration and integration easier.

This time around, there’s been more of an investment in the runner market. This shows in the Fitbit app with the running features that are now prominent, as well as the development of the sensors and tracking: Compass, Sp02 monitoring, Skin temp and the HR monitoring.

You’ll get the normal features you expect from a Fitbit device, including:

• Step counting
• Activity Tracking
• Sleep tracking
• 6 months of Fitbit Premium included with the watch purchase

When you couple all of this with market leading background health tracking, you’ve got a device that’s going to help you go from step tracking to some pretty comprehensive athletic achievements.

Closing thoughts

While I’d love to see a guaranteed 48 hours of battery life (preferably 5 days…) from the Pixel Watch 3, that’s a bit unrealistic and unfair given the advancement of the 3rd gen from 2nd. Provided you can ensure at least 30 minutes or more on the charger, you’re not going to run out of battery at the end of the day.

What I really like about the Pixel Watch 3 is that there’s a lot of polishing that’s been done on the hardware, the features in general and improvements on the software compared to the Pixel Watch 2. The navigation is smooth, the interface is snappy, the screen is gorgeous and the battery life is better again.

The pricing is a little higher than last year, starting at $579.00 for the 41mm Wi-Fi model and up to $839.00 for the 45mm LTE model. If you’re still rocking a first gen, this upgrade is a no-brainer and not a tough sell from the second generation.

I’ve got zero hesitation is saying this is one of, if not the best watch for Android users right now. You can purchase one online at the Google Store, or check them out in-store at the usual retail stores.