We Go Hands-On With the Official Pixel Watch “Active” Band

We got our wrists on what we believe to be official Pixel Watch bands before the first watch from Google has gone on sale. While this may not be the most exciting early look at a product we’ve ever shown you, since there’s no watch to attach to them, we thought some might find it interesting.

The two bands we snagged are labeled as the Pixel Watch “Active band” in both “Chalk” and “Lemongrass.” We were also aware of “Charcoal” and “Obsidian” versions from the mega-retailer who briefly had them up for sale, but only picked up these two. We paid $49 for each, so I’d imagine they will cost that once officially available.

These are the “Sports” bands we have seen in other leaks, but again, the box actually says “Active band” on the back in official Google packaging. It could be called “Sports” outside of the US and “Active” here. I’m not sure it matters much. Either way, on the back of the box you can see the official colors, wrist sizing for the included small and large bands, and that they work “only with Google Pixel Watch.” Mmmm, proprietary systems, tasty.

The small Pixel Watch Active Band fits wrists sized 130-175mm, while the large band sizes from 165-210mm.

As for the rest of the details, we get to see the instructions for how to attach or detach Pixel Watch bands, as well as how to put the watch on. Google even offers up cleaning tips should you get busy in your Pixel Watch and need to wipe it down. The guide book lists out g.co/pixelwatch/care and g.co/pixelwatch/help as links you’ll visit in the future, both of which are currently not live.

Removal and attachment of a Pixel Watch band sounds kind of tricky, as there is apparently a “band secure button” that is pressed before you make a sliding maneuver to either detach or place. When removing, you physically press that button, but when attaching you use the band to press it. And that slide makes a lot of sense when you consider the Google promo videos that have shown a twisting of the Pixel Watch into bands.

Since I don’t have a Pixel Watch at this moment, I can’t tell you how these fit, only that they feel like very premium rubber watch bands. I’d put the quality up there above Samsung’s active bands and as good if not better than Apple’s. These Pixel Watch bands are quite soft to the touch.

Like an Apple Watch band, you’ll loop these through an initial hole, clip the band in place, and then tuck the extra under the band itself, onto your wrist. We knew that from all of the pictures that have already surfaced, but wanted to show you that here, on the wrist.

And well, that’s pretty much it. The bands are very high quality. At $49, they certainly aren’t cheap, but after fondling these two for a bit, I can’t say I’m mad about paying that much as long as it holds up to sweat and daily use. That price also matches Apple’s Sport band and is $10 higher than Samsung’s similar offering.

3 days to go.