Google Pixel Watch 3 hands-on review: Finally

Introduction

In our initial review of the first iteration of the Google Pixel Watch, after which we received the Google Pixel Watch 2 a year later, the major design limitations were the thick bezel and a lack of an option for multiple sizes. Those changes will dramatically lessen the smartwatch's potential. This deficiency is overcome by Google in the new Google Pixel Watch 3.

Announced at the Made by Google 2024 event, the Pixel Watch 3 finally indicates that Google takes its flagship smartwatch lineup seriously. Now in the third generation, the Pixel Watch 3 comes with essential upgrades: a new size option, up to 40 percent more usable screen space, a brighter display, faster charging, enhanced running metrics, a completely revamped readiness score that in fact suggests personalized training guidance, and deeper integrations with Google apps.

Further underlining these changes is the fact that several key health features, which were previously exclusively unlocked behind the Fitbit Premium paywall, no longer require a subscription. But Fitness Premium is still very central in gaining access to AI-powered metrics and other deep features.

With these improvements, the Pixel Watch 3 looks set to be the best smartwatch for Pixel smartphone users and possibly the best Android smartwatch overall. It starts at a list price of ₹ 28,500 in the country and will be available for sale starting on September 10, 2024.

Though full review will offer much more definitive insights, early hands-on experience with Pixel Watch 3 unveils promising upgrades.

Pixel Watch 3 Overview

• Release Date: September 10, 2024.

• Price: Starts at ₹28,500 for the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth-only version and ₹36,500 for the LTE-capable version.

• Key Upgrades: Improved design, advanced fitness tracking, faster charging.

• Battery Life: Up to 36 hours with battery saver mode, about 24 hours with normal use.

• Fitbit Premium: 6 months free with the purchase; some features available without a subscription.

Pixel Watch 3: Specs Comparison

Price and Availability

The Google Pixel Watch 3 is up for pre-order in the country from August 13, 2024, with sales officially beginning later on September 10, 2024. The 41mm base variant comes at ₹28,500, like their predecessors' starting price. Meanwhile, the LTE variant costs ₹36,500—₹4,000 higher than the Pixel Watch 2 LTE.

For the first time, Google - along with offering its first 45mm variant - brought the consumer a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth variant for ₹32,500 and a version with LTE for ₹40,500. The 45mm case comes in Black, Silver, and Hazel, and the 41mm in Black, Silver, and Gold.

Design Improvements

The Google Pixel Watch 3 may be looking relatively familiar on the surface, but here are some important design improvements around the most requested specs by users. Most importantly—greater than all these differences, perhaps—it is that Google introduces two size variants, which puts it back in line with the most recent flagship smartwatches from both Samsung and Apple.

The best part is that the whole watch is now also more inclusive in size for large-wristed users and those simply inclined to having bigger-surfaced screens, with the addition of a 45mm size alongside the 41mm model. We were able to test both sizes, and the 45mm model was much more comfortable and visually appealing in use than the smaller model for our editor, who likes bigger watches.

Another important improvement is the decrease in the size of the bezels of the display. The later watches did ship with thick bezels, but in the Pixel Watch 3, it reduces incredibly. While the 41mm model comes with 16 percent more usable screen space, it is the 45mm model that carries a 40 percent increase in screen size. The displays also are much brighter, giving out in PPL Watch 3 a maximum of 2,000 nits, with just 1,000 nits on the Pixel Watch 2.

The always-on display has also been improved and will now dim down to as low as 1 nit in dark environments to reduce disturbances. Meanwhile, its display refresh rate goes all the way down 1Hz and scales up to 60Hz when needed, pumping out real performance and optimizing power efficiency.

Fitness Features

The Pixel Watch 3 from Google delivers a highly accurate heart rate sensor—a further improvement on a feature that had a pretty good initial start. The algorithm in this device has been fine-tuned to have the running data as accurately as possible, considering changes in arm movements and contact with the ground in the act of running.

Alongside the watch's motion sensors, the Pixel Watch 3 introduces such new advanced running metrics and form insights as step cadence, stride length, stride height, and so on.

Other highlights with the new iteration of the watch include advanced features to set up routines and plans in advance, featuring on-workout cues and prompts through haptic vibration and audio alerts. Your progress can be monitored through a new running dashboard in the Fitbit app even if you never pay for Fitbit Premium.

While Fitbit Premium may unlock AI-powered day-by-day running plans and special workouts that are taught by some trained professionals at Fitbit, everyone gets the Readiness Score. You will get this daily rating to let you know how much you can do safely on a particular task, underpinned by your activity and recovery requirements.

There's also introduced a new cardio load score which shows you exactly how hard your heart is working during exercise to help prevent overtraining.Furthermore, Morning Brief daily summaries classify this data and alert you if there seems to be anything wrong with your body.

Although there aren't any groundbreaking new sleep tracking features, actions in the Pixel Watch 3 will also automatically detect when you've fallen asleep and activate an optimized bedtime interface view. This is laid out to save precious juice by turning the always-on screen off while also muting every possible notification until the time you wake up.

Wear OS 5 Integration

The Google Pixel Watch 3 takes full potential from Wear OS 5 and pushes the bounds of what a smartwatch could do. Wear OS 5 first premiered on the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra, bringing in it a boatload of new features that make the Pixel Watch 3 a true extension of your smartphone and home ecosystem.

Among the many standouts are live security camera feeds shown directly on the watch, meaning seamless integration with Google smart home devices. And if you have a Nest Cam, for example, you're able to check on the security of your home real-time, directly from your wrist. This also means it's possible to answer the doorbell right from your wrist when somebody comes by your home.

Something cooler that this will be able to do is that the Pixel Watch 3 will send as a remote for controlling Google TV, where you will have control over your entertainment system just in case you misplace your physical remote. For the people who like to take voice notes, it is integrated with the new Pixel Recorder app developed in a manner that when one is doing the document or making points, you don't have to scribble anything done—it just records.

The other game-changer would be the offline Google Maps that free navigations from the need of phones. That comes in quite handy in outdoor activities when cell connectivity can get a little patchy. In a nutshell, Wear OS 5 on the Pixel Watch 3 changes everything about the smartwatch experience just right in a way that flexibly blends utility with innovation so that it unmistakably stands out in today's crowded wearable market.

Battery life and charging

While battery life might be taken into consideration by some users in creating value and facility in the usability of smartwatches, Google's redesigned Pixel Watch 3 will go a long way toward markedly bettering the situation. The watch now provides 36 hours of additional battery life in using the battery saver model, which will markedly be improved for the users who consider longevity as important over frequent recharging.

For average usage with common settings turned on, the Pixel Watch 3 offers good battery life for 24 hours, much like its predecessor, the Pixel Watch 2. The extra battery life will give users the report that they can rely on it while looking through the busy day and into the night—fearless that they might run out of power. From sleep tracking to outdoor activities and just trying to get through a long day—Pixel Watch 3 is up for the job.

Some other refinements this device has are in charging: now, the Pixel Watch 3 charges up to 20% faster than the yesteryear version. Using the provided USB-C cable with a 30W adapter, you can hit 80% in only 50 minutes. This should be possible for those with the busier schedules and want to juice up their watch during such short breaks.

With better battery life and faster charging, the Pixel Watch 3 is now much more convenient to use, reducing its time spent in a dead state, which may be irritating and inhibiting to user experience. The watch will definitely be appreciated with its battery performance for both power users and those longing for reliability.

Pixel Watch 3: Final Thoughts

The Google Pixel Watch 3 reflects a strong evolutionary pivot in thinking by Google regarding smartwatches and makes for worthy adversary proof in the ongoing smart wearables battleground. The moment you wear it, you realize Google has really worked on enhancement across many lines: design improvements, functionality, and ecosystem integration.

The design of the Pixel Watch 3 is, hence, the brilliance of sophistication and pragmatism, which allows for its premium feel on one hand, and on the other, it competes for aesthetics with the best wearable's in the market—the galactic truth framed in the likes of the Apple Watch Series and Samsung Galaxy Watch series.

Fitness tracking has been beefed up and makes use of Google Fit advanced metrics to give new, eye-opening insight on their health and activity data. Whether it is to do with the heart rate, sleep patterns, or stress levels, the Pixel Watch 3 monitors all these with considerable accuracy along with great ease of use.

The battery life always represented a challenge for smartwatches, and today, improvement is incremental, with the new power-saving modes and quicker charging capabilities really making a difference in everyday use. The real key difference from the predecessors, however, can be found in-way past the surface integration of Wear OS 5 by Pixel Watch.

Not only is it more intuitive in use, but it takes the game further with features like live security-camera streams and offline navigation courtesy of Google Maps. At last, the Pixel Watch 3 is a crescendo of a refined and mature product in the Google wearables lineup.

What it's like after long-term use really doesn't get revealed until a full review, but these first thoughts are positive indeed. Google finally seems to have done a smartwatch that really can go up against the best and make quite the compelling choice for users deeply ingrained in the Android ecosystem and after an all-encompassing wearable experience.

FAQs

1. What categorically separates the Google Pixel Watch 3 from the Pixel Watch 2?

The Google Pixel Watch 3 is a much improved successor, with several key upgrades. A second 45mm size option was added, developed particularly for those who were in need of a larger display, bringing an increase in screen real estate of up to 40%.

It's much brighter at 2000 nits as well, making it easier to view the screen under direct sunlight. Fitness aficionados will also value a host of advanced running metrics with deeper insights into their runs. The Pixel Watch 3 will also feature a faster charging feature, cutting down the duration that the device stays away from your wrist, and deeper Google app integration for that seamless cross-device experience.

2. Google Pixel watch 3—compatible with all Android devices?

Yes. Designed to be compatible with a wide range of Android devices, most notably the one using Android 10 and above, the Google Pixel Watch series has OOTB support.

Something like this comes with wide-ranging compatibility to assure millions of modern phones running an Android OS, whether a Google product or from any other manufacturer, that pairing the Pixel Watch 3 is such a breeze. It seamlessly integrates, meaning users get to partake in the full feature set of the smartwatch, from notifications to fitness tracking and app use with no worry about compatibility. And this is precisely what makes the Pixel 3 Watch among the best, most versatile products available to those running devices on Android.

3. Do you need Fitbit Premium to work out with Pixel Watch 3?

No, you do not require a Fitbit Premium subscription to access the key features functioning on the Pixel Watch 3. The smartwatch comes with a ready load of several features, including fitness tracking, such as the Readiness Score, all in one without a subscription.

Discover even more with a complimentary 6-month subscription to Fitbit Premium. New users can choose to use the complimentary 6-month subscription to Fitbit Premium through purchase of a Pixel Watch 3 subscription purchase upfront, getting a grasp of this superior level of tracking before having to decide if it is indeed worth renewing the continued subscription.

4. How long will the battery of the Pixel Watch 3 last?

Battery life on the Pixel Watch 3 was designed by Google to fit most people quite well. It remains operational for as much as 24 hours under average use. If it is necessary to have more battery life, then by merely activating its energy-saving mode, the operation of the watch can be extended to 36 hours.

This very much helps users who require the battery of the smartwatch to run through tiring days or overnight. Moreover, with faster charging technology, the Pixel Watch 3 can get to 80% in about 50 minutes; hence, even short sessions of charging will result in good enough battery life to last the entire day.

5. How is it going to cost here in India?

The Pixel Watch 3 will be aggressively priced in India and will further segment according to different buyers' preferences. There's also a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth variant that starts from ₹28,500 but at least two makes it much more accessible even for users who really don't see the use of adding cellular data to the watch.

Models do start at ₹36,500 for those that need LTE. The larger 45mm, thanks to a larger display, starts off at ₹32,500 for the one on Wi-Fi and ₹60,500 for the LTE variant. This is further based on the fact that these pricing tiers allow the consumer to choose the model most appropriate for consumers' needs and its price reach.