I’ve been using the Pixel Watch since the first model. While generally satisfying, the first and second generations leave something to be desired in certain aspects. The latest Pixel Watch 3 has fixed these issues and proves that the Pixel Watch is a serious contender in the smartwatch market.
If you’re not sure if you want to switch to Pixel Watch 3 let me give you five reasons why I’m glad I took the leap Pixel Watch 2.
Autonomy
Battery life on the Pixel Watch 2 wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t great. We could get 24 hours on a single charge, with the watch going into sleep mode from 9:30pm to 7:30am, the battery often had between 10% and 15% charge left… and that was it. after a little run the day before. I ran 21km on Saturday and inevitably the battery was dead before Sunday morning.
Since upgrading to the larger (45mm) version of the Pixel Watch 3, I can now wake up with almost 50% battery left (on short run days) and between 20% and 30% on long run days. This is a huge change.
More spacious screen
The Pixel Watch 2’s small screen was increasingly difficult to see without my glasses. When I run, I have to squint to see my pace and heart rate.
photo credit: Mark Zaffani
With the 45mm Pixel Watch 3, that’s no longer the case. Although I still have to squint a bit to read notifications, it’s not as painful as it used to be.
The larger screen also allows for more information to be displayed, but the amount of course depends on the watch face.
Interval running
When I used a Samsung watch, one of my favorite features was split launch. The watch showed times for each kilometer covered.
This is especially useful during my 21km runs as it allows me to manage my pace. Running at too fast a pace during a long run can lead to a painful finish. Now that the Pixel Watch includes splits, I don’t have to worry about that anymore. It also helps me rack up miles if I’m running an unfamiliar route. Every time the watch vibrates, I know another mile has been traveled. The Pixel Watch 2 didn’t include this feature and it was sorely missed.
Smoother animations
One of my issues with previous Pixel Watches was that the animations were poor. Switching between tiles or scrolling through notifications was often a choppy experience. Considering the price of these watches, you’d think that Google would make sure that the user interface works as well as possible. This is even more true if we talk about the smoothness of the animations Apple Watch.
Well, the third time’s a charm, and the Pixel Watch 3’s animations are incredibly smooth.
photo credit: Mark Zaffani
Better performance
I was so used to the mediocre performance of the Pixel Watch 2 that when I started using the Pixel Watch 3, I was shocked at how much faster it was. My first thought was, “This is how the Pixel Watch was supposed to work all along!” »
However, I will say that the 45mm Pixel Watch 3 has an edge over the 41mm version. The latest Pixel Watch has the same processor and coprocessor as the Pixel 2. It also has the same amount of RAM and storage. One of the reasons for this improved performance is that the Pixel Watch 3 has a dynamic refresh rate (from 1Hz to 60Hz) while the Pixel Watch 2 has a fixed refresh rate of 60Hz, I guess WearOS 5 helps too.
Whatever Google does, the difference between the Pixel Watch 2 and the Pixel Watch 3 is clear. Some may not find the difference that obvious, but it’s real, thanks to the sum of all the improvements brought together to create the best watch Google has produced to date.