Google has announced the Pixel Watch, its first flagship wearable. While it has a clean circular design, the company is just now getting into a field that competitors like Apple and Samsung have been succeeding in for years. While detailed impressions of the Pixel Watch’s real-world performance and battery life will have to wait for a full review, let’s take a look at how it compares on paper.
Aesthetics are obviously subjective, but there are some design aspects that we can compare and contrast objectively. One of the most notable is shape and controls; like the Galaxy Watch 5 series, the Pixel Watch has a circular design, whereas the Apple Watch’s case is a rounded rectangle. Like Apple’s wearable, though, Google’s adorned its watch with a rotating crown, a button, and a touchscreen for controls, while Samsung uses a two-button plus touch-sensitive bezel and touchscreen interface.
Size is also relatively important when it comes to wearables; big watches can dominate thinner wrists, while small watches can look a bit like toys on larger arms. The Pixel Watch comes in one size, 41mm, which is roughly similar to the smaller sizes of the Apple Watch Series 8, SE, and Galaxy Watch 5. Both Apple and Samsung offer bigger models for a slight price bump, an option Google currently isn’t giving us.
In terms of materials, the Pixel Watch is made out of stainless steel and is available in gold, matte black, and silver. The Apple Watch Series 8 is available in both aluminum and stainless steel (with the latter at a hefty markup), and the SE is only available in aluminum. Samsung builds its standard Watch 5 out of aluminum as well but steps up to titanium for the sports-focused Watch 5 Pro.
Speaking of sports, one of the main selling points of the Pixel Watch (and most smartwatches) is its usefulness as a fitness tracker. Compared to the Apple Watch Series 8 and Galaxy Watch 5, the Pixel Watch has a similar bevy of sensors; it has an optical sensor for tracking heart rate, can take ECGs, and can read your blood oxygen level. All the watches offer sleep tracking as well. Samsung’s sensor, however, does have some additional capabilities, like the ability to estimate metrics like body fat, mass, and water, and Apple added temperature-based retrospective ovulation estimates to the Series 8.