Google has been in this game long enough now that it’s almost expected of the company to create something that users will enjoy, and I have to say, I really enjoy the Google Pixel Watch 4. Compared to the last two models, the Pixel Watch 4 feels like what the Pixel Watch series should have always been. I won’t say it’s perfect, but then again, nothing ever is. However, this is as close to perfection as Google has ever been with its smartwatch series, and there’s really not a whole lot that I think the company could do to get it any closer. I can think of one or two things I’d change. Slightly longer battery life (it’s already pretty good as is), and wireless charging.

There are probably some things I wouldn’t mind seeing added, but these would just be extras, and not something integral to the improvement of the watch series. Of course, not everyone is going to agree with my opinions on the Pixel Watch 4, and that’s totally fine. It’s normal. You might be one of these people. If that’s the case, you might be wondering if the Pixel Watch 4 is worth your money. That’s what this review aims to provide. An answer to the question of whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on this piece of tech. So, with that said, let’s dive into this review and see if the Google Pixel Watch 4 is worth your money.

Google Pixel Watch 4

Rating

star

star

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Starting at $349.99

The Pixel Watch 4 has quickly become my favorite smartwatch ever. With a familiar yet slightly refined design, updated features, and the best battery life the Pixel Watch series has offered to date, Google has really honed in on what it wants to deliver in a smartwatch experience. Part of this is helped by the use of Wear OS 6, which delivers Material 3 Expressive for the UI. There’s also just a whole lot of improvements to quality-of-life. Such as with the Gemini Raise to Talk functionality. I found myself using this all the time while driving to get quick answers about things like store closing times and more. While I would love if the starting price of the watch were a bit lower, this is an excellent option for a smartwatch and the perfect option if you own a Pixel phone.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Charging is considerably faster
The Actua 360 domed display is really nice
Material 3 Expressive makes the UI more enjoyable
Incredibly bright display
The best battery life yet
Gemini with Raise to Talk is super intuitive and convenient
Improved haptics with richer, clearer sound from the speaker

Cons

No wireless charging
Smart replies requires a Pixel 8 Pro or later
Starting price could be lower

Disclaimer

Google provided us with the Pixel Watch 4 for testing during this review period. We’ve been using it for the past couple of weeks to get a feel for it and see how it stacks up to previous models. Google did not see this review before publishing.

What makes this watch special?

Lots of things make the Google Pixel Watch 4 special, but there are a few that things that really stand out. For starters, battery life is noticeably longer than the Pixel Watch 3. I can take the 45mm LTE model at least an extra half a day before I need to throw it back on the charger. Speaking of the charger, the Pixel Watch 4 charges up to 25% faster. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but trust me, it is. It makes a big different and I can have the watch at 50% from 0% in under 30 minutes. The watch is at full in just about an hour. This is in large part due to the new charging contacts on the side, which attach to the new charger dock magnetically.
Outside of the battery life and charging, the Pixel Watch 4 is the smartest Pixel Watch so far. One of the best features it offers is the Gemini Raise to Talk feature. This isn’t enabled by default, so you have to turn it on in settings. Once you do, however, interacting with Gemini and asking it questions has never been easier. Simply raise your wrist, wait a half second for the Gemini indicator to pop up, then speak. This is incredibly useful for when you need to be hands-free and can’t mess with the button on the side of the watch. Surprisingly, it’s also more comfortable than the Pixel Watch 3, and this is likely due to its slightly slimmer and lighter design. Overall, the Pixel Watch 4 is as polished a smartwatch for the Android ecosystem as it needs to be. Sure, there could always be more improvements made, but this is as good as it gets with very little that actually needs changing.

Features

Gemini Raise to Talk
Wear OS 6
More accurate sleep tracking
Smart water submersion and ejection
Up to 40 hours of battery life
Custom speaker and haptics
Improved activity detection
New watch faces

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Specs

Display

Type
Actua 360 Domed Always On Display

Size
1.2 inches (41mm) / 1.4 inches (45mm)

Brightness
Up to 3,000 nits peak brightness

Protection
Custom 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5, IP68, 5 ATM

Refresh Rate
Responsive Display (1 – 60Hz)

Body

Material
100% recycled aluminum

Colors
Matte Black aluminum case, Polished Silver aluminum case, Champagne Gold aluminum case (41mm) / Matte Black aluminum case, Polished Silver aluminum case, Satin Moonstone aluminum case (45mm)

Dimensions
41mm diameter by 12.3mm height (41mm) / 45mm diameter by 12.3mm height (45mm)

Weight
31 g without band (41mm) / 36.7 g without band (45mm)

Band Size
Small – 130 – 174mm around, Large – 165 – 210mm around (41mm) / Small – 150 – 185mm around, Large – 165 – 215mm around (45mm)

Connectivity

Types
4G LTE, UMTS, Bluetooth 6.0, Wi-Fi, NFC, Ultra-Wideband, Satellite SOS Communications, GPS, Galileo, Glonass

Battery

Battery capacity
325mAh (41mm) / 455mAh (45mm)

Battery life
Up to 30 hours with AOD (41mm) / Up to 40 hours with AOD (45mm)

Charging speed
About 45 minutes to 100% (41mm) / About 60 minutes to 100% (45mm)

Platform

OS
Wear OS 6

Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 2, Cortex-M55 co-processor

Memory

Storage
32GB eMMC flash

RAM
2GB

Sensors

Types
Compass, Altimeter, Red and Infrared sensors for oxygen saturation monitoring, Multipurpose electrical sensor for ECG, Multi-path optical heart rate sensor, accelerometer, Gyroscope, Ambient Light sensor, Electrical sensor for body response tracking, Far-field skin temperature sensor, Barometer, Magnetometer

Interaction

Types
Side button, Haptic crown, Gen 3 premium haptics

Audio

Types
Built-in speaker, Built-in microphone

View Device Specs

Google Pixel Watch 4 Review: Hardware and Design

At a glance, the Pixel Watch 4 doesn’t really look all that different than the Pixel Watch 3. Or the Pixel Watch 2, for that matter. However, once you give the watch more attention than a few seconds, you’ll start to see where Google made a few touchups to refresh the design ever so slightly. For the better, I might add. Right off the bat, the most noticeable thing about the design change is probably the new magnetic charging pins. These are located on the side of the watch, and at first, I wasn’t fond of them at all.

I cursed Google’s decision to move the charging pins to the side. Lambasting the havoc it would wreak on the overall design. Once I got the watch in my hands, though, I fastened it to my wrist and finally realized that I was way overreacting to this change. Not only do the pins not take away from the style, they’re almost too small to even notice they’re there in the first place when you actually have the watch on your wrist. On top of that, these new charging pins mean the watch now sits face-forward when charging, assuming you have it facing toward you when you’re charging it. This makes for a great alarm clock-style setup if you have it next to your bed. I personally don’t, but only because I don’t have a nightstand or a shelf next to mine yet.

The other notable change with the design is the new Actua 360 domed display. We’re not talking a huge bubble-shaped dome or anything like that. Just a very subtle domed curve to the display that you’ll catch every so often when looking at the watch. I really love the way it looks. It fits extremely well with Google’s implementation of Material 3 Expressive, too. As this UI change will curve and squish elements of apps and other UI elements to fit the curves of the display. The domed design of the screen underneath the glass helps to really sell this look.

Most of everything else will feel familiar. The haptic crown is right where it’s supposed to be, and you have a single action button that sits just above it on the right side. On the left, you now have the new charging pins and the speaker, and on the bottom, you have the sensor hub that’s protected by chemically-strengthened glass. Bands still attach and detach the same way, so no change there.

The first-ever serviceable Pixel Watch

Under the hood, Google has made a huge change that hopefully most users will never have to engage with, and that’s repairs. The Google Pixel Watch 4 is the first Pixel Watch to be designed specifically to be serviceable if necessary. This should make it a lot easier to repair if something on the watch gets damaged or breaks down. While I didn’t have to worry about this during my testing period at all, it’s nice to see that Google is making the watch serviceable for consumers.

What’s more is that the display and the battery are replaceable, and it’s possible for consumers to do this themselves if they want. I would highly recommend that you don’t do that unless you know what you’re doing, and you’re confident you can get the job done without breaking the watch. However, Google has confirmed that parts will be available through iFixit for those who want to do the repairs at home. Otherwise, you can take the watch into a Google Store location and get things taken care of there, or send it in for service. Overall, the Pixel Watch 4 has an excellent design that is just that little bit better than the Pixel Watch 3, and the serviceable design should make it a more sustainable hardware option for anyone who keeps hardware longer.

Google Pixel Watch 4 Review: Display

The display is always an important part of any smartwatch. In some cases, you might want it to be brighter; in others, you might want it to be bigger. Some of you may just want it to be easier to read stuff. While the Pixel Watch 4 doesn’t come with a bigger display than last year (the watch is still available in 41mm and 45mm sizes), Google did make improvements to the brightness, and it also made the display easier to read thanks to its updated design. I want to be clear that I personally think the screen is a little easier to read, but others may not share my opinion.

That being said, I believe the new domed Actua 360 display design is the reason for this. The domed panel of the display basically makes the details on the watch glanceable at the right angles. So if I’m not looking directly down on it, it doesn’t matter as much. I can read the smaller print even at a more defined angle.

As for the brightness, the Pixel Watch 4 has a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, which is a heck of a lot more than the Pixel Watch 3 at 2,000 nits. I really never saw the display get to its peak brightness, and this has a lot to do with where I’m located geographically. At this time of the year in Oregon, the weather is a good mix of sunny, rainy, and overcast. Many of the days since I’ve had the watch for review have been either overcast or rainy. Not exactly the ideal conditions for that peak brightness to kick in. However, during the few sunny days we’ve had over the past couple of weeks, I had zero trouble reading the screen outside in direct sunlight. It was plenty bright to catch every little detail and every word on-screen. Overall, the display is a step up from last year in a major way.

Google Pixel Watch 4 Review: Performance

I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t notice a HUGE difference in performance between the Pixel Watch 4 and the Pixel Watch 3. The performance gap is definitely there, but it just isn’t a massive gap. We’re not talking multiple generational leaps in performance. So, Pixel Watch 3 owners may not see the need to upgrade if significantly better performance is all they want.

That being said, it’s very clear that using the Pixel Watch 4 feels crisper and the performance is smoother than on last year’s watch. Again, this is thanks in part to Wear OS 6, which seems to help in more than a few different areas when it comes to improvements for this year’s offering. We’ve been hearing from Google since Wear OS 4 that performance and battery life were getting special attention and focus to bring a smoother user experience to users. This was touted again with Wear OS 5, and I think Wear OS 6 has really smoothed things out to the point where it would be fine if it didn’t go any further.

Throughout most of my time with the watch, I experienced a pretty buttery smooth experience. I never really saw any weird hitching or hangups transitioning from screen to screen, and I think that’s important for making the user experience feel as seamless as possible. The Pixel Watch 4 is powered by the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor, and it has 2GB of RAM, along with 32GB of storage. The chipset definitely works well with Wear OS 6 to provide a clean user experience that feels natural, and I definitely felt this way when interacting with the Pixel Watch 4. Almost like it was more of an extension of the phone instead of a separate tool I used alongside it.

Google Pixel Watch 4 Review: Battery Life and Charging

For me personally, battery life is one of the most important things about a smartwatch. I want it to last more than a couple of days because I already have so much stuff to charge, and I like to minimize how often I have to plug something in or toss it on a charging dock. In this case, the battery life and charging are big leaps forward. I was able to get a few days out of the Pixel Watch 4 on average based on how I normally use it. Which is generally wearing it part of the day and setting it down on my desk for a larger portion of the day as well.

To mimic more typical use for someone who wears the watch all day, I kept it on for the first few days to see how long it would last. I didn’t have to charge the Pixel Watch 4 until the third day, and this was with the Always On Display enabled, and brightness about 75% of the way up. This was also with moderate walking to engage the automatic activity tracking, some light Google Gemini use, and replying to messages from friends here and there. I’d say that this is pretty good for a smartwatch if you’re looking for something that lasts longer than 24 hours. It should also be noted that I’m using the 45mm version of the watch, so if you end up with the 41mm, your battery life probably won’t be as long, given that the battery is smaller and Google rates it lower.

Charging speeds that make you smile

Where things really made a difference for me was with the charging speeds. Google said the charging was 25% faster than last year, and it rated the watch for about 50% battery in about 30 minutes. I was able to take the watch from fully drained to 50% in just under 30 minutes, and it took about 59 minutes to get to a full 100% battery. This is definitely better than the Pixel Watch 3, and as someone who often forgets to toss the watch on the charger before they leave, I was happy to see this charging speed increase.

There have been too many times when I didn’t wear the Pixel Watch 3 for several days, only to go and put it on one day and realize the battery is at about 2% left. In those situations, I usually never have time to charge it long enough for any meaningful amount of time. So I end up either leaving it at home or I end up having to deal with it dying on me in the middle of the evening. So far, I don’t foresee the Pixel Watch 4 having this same problem.

Google Pixel Watch 4 Review: Software

The software in the Pixel Watch 4 is similar in some ways to the software on the Pixel Watch 3 and refreshed in others, making for an amalgamation of new and old that feels like new, but it also feels familiar. Wear OS 6 isn’t far removed from Wear OS 5, but it does bring a certain level of refined adjustment that makes the watch more pleasing to use on a daily basis.

From a purely aesthetic perspective, Google’s implementation of squishy icons and buttons that morph and shift to fit the rounded edges of the display as you scroll is a delight to stare at while you interact with the Pixel Watch 4’s features. These little blobs of UI almost feel more alive, and it’s definitely an upgrade from the more rigid and static look of things in the previous version of the OS. Certain things also have a slightly bouncy quality to them, which adds to the appealing design. All of this is due to Material 3 Expressive, which has made its way to Wear OS with the Pixel Watch 4.

Automatic water lock and water ejection

Outside of aesthetics, Google has injected life into several areas of the software that aim to expand its functionality in a number of ways. For instance, two of my favorite new features are the automatic water lock and the automatic water ejection. The Pixel Watch 4 has the capability to recognize when it’s been submerged and automatically enables the water lock. This will mainly prevent accidental touches on the display. Although it sounds much cooler if it were designed to lock down the watch and prevent water from getting in by way of little mechanical doors that closed up and sealed things off.

The automatic water ejection does just what it says. It ejects water from the speakers on the side when the watch comes out of the water. This only works automatically when the watch has been submerged for longer periods of time. Like after a swim or after you’ve been diving, for example. I’m not exactly sure how long the watch has to be submerged before the water ejection happens automatically. I held my hand and wrist under water with the watch on for close to five minutes to test it and see if it would engage once I lifted my hand out, but it didn’t kick in.

This is by design, and Google must have reasoned that it isn’t really necessary to have it kick in automatically unless the watch was submerged for a significant period. You can, however, still enable the water ejection manually if you want. First, you need to turn off the water lock by holding down the haptic crown for a few seconds. Once that’s disabled, you can go into settings, then display, then scroll down to water lock, and in the water lock menu, there’s an option for the water ejection. Just tap that and the feature kicks in.

This process is pleasing to watch because it plays a little animation of water droplets being filtered out to the left side of the display, like they’re being ejected, and it’s accompanied by the sound of water trickling. So far, Google doesn’t appear to have mentioned anywhere exactly how this works. If I had to guess, though, the sounds of water trickling aren’t just for fun. The sound coming from the speakers is likely forcing the water out to clear the speaker holes, should any water be left in there after the watch is lifted out of the water. It’s not something I would use a lot personally, but I love it either way.

Gemini Raise to Talk

This is perhaps my favorite change in the software and the thing that I will likely use most often. Gemini was available on the Pixel Watch 3, but you had to engage it by hitting the dedicated hardware button on the side to activate a voice assistant, or by tapping the software button for it. With the Pixel Watch 4, you can enable the Raise to Talk option in settings. Then all you have to do is raise your wrist and start talking. Here’s how it works. You raise your wrist, a little blue light comes on at the bottom edge of the display, and this is the indicator that Gemini is now active. You don’t even have to say “Hey Google.” You can just start talking and ask the questions you want, and Gemini will respond.

I was using this A LOT during my time reviewing the watch, mostly while I was driving, because I couldn’t remember what times certain stores closed, and I wanted to know if I would make it in time. I simply raised my wrist and asked what time these stores closed, and Gemini proceeded to give me the answer. All without me having to take my hands off the wheel or my eyes off the road to look at the watch. You could also use this for navigation. Just raise your wrist and ask Gemini to navigate you to wherever you’re trying to go. Although you will have the extra step of tapping how you want to be navigated, I.E., via driving, transit, etc., before the navigation actually starts. It’s handy nonetheless.

This feature also makes me feel a little bit like Dick Tracy or James Bond. As nerdy as that sounds, it’s kind of cool to just raise your wrist and talk to Gemini like you’re speaking to someone else on the other end who’s providing you tactical support for some special mission. On a more serious note, this is the easiest it’s ever been to interact with Gemini, and I can see people using it a lot.

More new features that round out the experience

There are several other new software features that round out this new experience with Wear OS 6. If you love theming, for example, Material 3 Expressive will apply the colors of your chosen watch face to the rest of the UI. So, as you change your taste for the watch face design, the rest of the menus and other system UI elements will fit around it, so everything looks cohesive. It’s a nice touch.

Speaking of watch faces, Wear OS 6 on the Pixel Watch 4 introduces 8 new options, all of which are available the moment you power the watch on for the first time. The Pixel Watch 4 also supports new AI-powered smart replies to messages. Unfortunately, this requires at least a Google Pixel 8 Pro, and I’m using a Pixel 8, so I didn’t get to test this.

Overall, the software offers a lot both from an aesthetic standpoint and from a functional standpoint. Whether you use everything your smartwatch is capable of or just a few key things, the Pixel Watch 4 is definitely representative of the best possible experience Wear OS has to offer.

Google Pixel Watch 4 Review: Health and Wellness

Google’s touchups to health and wellness features inside of Wear OS with the Pixel Watch 4 aren’t huge sweeping changes. Rather, they’re refinements of things that already existed. In other words, they just work better and more efficiently now. Improved sleep tracking is one of these features. Google says sleep tracking is now 18% more accurate at tracking how much time you spend in each sleep stage. While I did wear the watch to bed, I’ll be honest that I didn’t notice any difference in how much more accurate it was compared to the Pixel Watch 3. However, I’m not saying that it’s not more accurate, just that I didn’t recognize the improvements.

Google also improved the activity detection. Now you can engage in whatever activities you would normally and as long as you do that activity for at least 15 minutes, the Fitbit app on the watch will pick it up and record those stats. It then pushes that data to the Fitbit app, with the watch and your phone getting a notification within an hour of the activity session end that your activity was tracked. You can then tap that notification to see more details about the activity if you want to look at those stats.

These activity detections also become more personalized the more that you do those activities and specify the particulars. For instance, if you’re biking, the more you bike, the easier it is for the watch to pick up on that activity and detect it. However, if you’re specifically mountain biking, you can tell the system that a detected activity is mountain biking, and the more that you update it, the better the predictions get. I definitely found this set of functions for the Pixel Watch 4 to be improved over past versions. So, if you live a fairly active lifestyle, then you’ll love the changes Google made here.

Should you buy the Google Pixel Watch 4?

Google’s Pixel Watch 4 is a fantastic smartwatch that I very quickly loved. All the subtle little changes and improvements make it feel more like a polished smartwatch that I had wished the Pixel Watch always was. That being said, it won’t be the choice for everyone. While I do think it’s perfect for Pixel device owners, some may prefer the options from Samsung or other brands. The Pixel Watch 4 also isn’t cheap. It’s not prohibitively expensive for the masses at $349.99, but it’s also going to be considerably less expensive to pick up the Pixel Watch 3. And since they’re not massively different, someone who’s more price-conscious may decide the older model is the better choice.

Still, I believe the Pixel Watch 4 is worth the money, and I think it’s definitely worth at least considering. This is Google’s best work in the smartwatch department. Clearly, it’s been listening a little more.

You should buy the Google Pixel Watch 4 if:

You own a Pixel Watch 2 or the original Pixel Watch

You’re looking for the newest features

You want better battery life and faster charging

You shouldn’t buy the Google Pixel Watch 4 if:

You’re not someone who wants or needs to have the latest tech

You use a Galaxy phone and want to stay within the Galaxy ecosystem

You don’t want to spend at least $350

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