Pixel Watch 3 Official Starting at $349, New 45mm Size the Play

For so many years we begged Google to make a smartwatch and for as many years they were rumored to be making one, only to reportedly cancel at the final hour on at least once occasion. It’s wild to think that we haven’t had to resume that begging for 3 full years now, because Google is already on their 3rd edition of the Pixel Watch. Today, Google announced the Pixel Watch 3.

Like the rest of this year’s Pixel hardware line-up, leaks have mostly spoiled all of the info I’m about to share, but we’ll talk about it anyway. We love saying “official” and that’s exactly what we have for you, the official specs, price, and release date of the Pixel Watch 3.

What’s new for the Pixel Watch 3? I wouldn’t call this year’s release a major upgrade by any means, but we are getting two sizes to choose from, which is pretty big. We now have both 41mm and 45mm options, the bigger of the two is (obviously) able to hold a larger battery. Google and Fitbit are also really trying to crank up the fitness side of things (specifically in running), displays here get much brighter outdoors (2x improvement) and have 16% less bezel, and UWB is here to help you unlock select cars. And to be honest, that’s mostly it.

Unfortunately, Google is still only promising 24-hour battery life. However, if you’d like to limit some functionality, there is a 36-hour battery saver mode you can run at 15% battery to get you through several more hours until you can find a charger. Unlike OnePlus, Google is not adopting a dual-chip/dual-engine architecture to run two operating systems and get you 100-hour battery life.

We still have the same design, though, which I think is a plus. The Pixel Watch 3 is still one of the best looking smartwatches in the game and that doesn’t change here. Only now, you can choose a bigger size if that’s your style.

Alright, before we get into the Fitbit stuff, let’s talk specs.

Pixel Watch 3 specs: As you’ll see from the Pixel Watch 3 specs list below, there isn’t a lot of newness here. We have the same Snapdragon W5100 chip from Qualcomm with the co-processor there for lighter loads, 32GB storage and 2GB RAM, PIN connector charging from the Pixel Watch 2, matching water resistance, matching sensors, speaker and mic, etc. Again, the big changes are to the displays (2x peak brightness, 16% less bezel), size options, UWB chip, and larger battery in the 45mm model.

• Size: 41mm | 45mm
• Display: Actua LTPO AMOLED, 320ppi, 1-60Hz, Gorilla Glass 5, 2000nits peak brightness
• Software: Wear OS 5
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon W5100 + M33 co-processor
• Memory: 32GB ROM | 2GB RAM
• Battery: 306mAh (41mm) | 420mAh (45mm)
• Charging: PIN connector (same as Pixel Watch 2)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, NFC, Ultra Wideband (UWB), 4G LTE
• Durability: 5ATM, IP68
• Health: Skin temperature sensor, Multi-path optical heart rate sensor, ECG, SpO2, Electrical sensor for cEDA
• Buttons: Side button, haptic crown
• Other: Speaker, microphone, Premium haptics,
• Colors (41mm): Matte Black, Polished Silver, Champagne Gold
• Colors (45mm): Matte Black, Polished Silver, Matte Hazel
• Size: 12.3mm thick, 31g (41mm), 37g (45mm)

New Fitbit features: Like previous Pixel Watch devices, Google is throwing in 6 months of Fitbit Premium at no cost. You’ll want that too, as they have some new metrics and training tools built-in to take advantage of.

First, there is a morning brief that you’ll receive on your watch each day with a summary of your most important health and fitness metrics. This brief should show you a sleep score, readiness score, how you are progressing toward your weekly fitness goals, if any metrics are out of your typical range, and the weather.

The Pixel Watch 3 will also try to give you an optimal workout routine using a new readiness and cardio load tracking. While the readiness score isn’t new, it should be more responsive and personalized, Google says. For the load tracking, Fitbit will try to show you how hard your heart is working throughout a day “as it relates to your workout routine.” You’ll get a target cardio load for each day as a way to help you balance recovery and still get fit.

Finally, for new running tracking, Fitbit can create running routines with timed warm-ups and cooldowns, target pace setting, as well as targets for heart rate, times, and distances. Once set, you can receive real-time guidance from your wrist to help you meet those targets. There’s also advanced motion sensing with machine learning to help your running form (cadence, stride length, vertical oscillation, etc.), a new running dashboard in the Fitbit app with more details about runs, and run recommendations that AI is apparently going to give you.

Pixel Watch 3 pricing, release date: The Pixel Watch 3 with WiFi/Bluetooth costs $349.99 (41mm) and $399.99 (45mm). The LTE-equipped models at the same sizes cost $449.99 and $499.99, respectively. The Pixel Watch 3 is up for pre-order today and ships by September 10.

Pre-order Links: Google Store