Pixel Watch 3 Review: Bigger and Mostly the Same

Google announced its 3rd generation Pixel Watch a few weeks back in two sizes for the first time, with new features added to the Fitbit experience, a touch of AI, and upgrades in a few key hardware areas. They kept the same prices too, but can the whole package compete with the likes of Samsung and its new Galaxy Watch 7 line? Oooh, that’s a tough one.

It’s still wild to think that we are 3 years into the Pixel Watch era after so many years of hoping Google would finally give us its own watch, only to be disappointed as they avoided the smartwatch category. We have now had 3 generations of them. Time is flying, friends.

So what’s the deal, did Google get it right this time? Is the Pixel Watch 3 the best smartwatch you can buy? Hey, no spoilers, so let’s dive in to our Pixel Watch 3 review.

What’s good about the Pixel Watch 3?

Design and size(s). Google hasn’t changed much in terms of design for the Pixel Watch 3, so everything you have here is going to be similar to the Pixel Watch 2 and even the original. We have the circular domed glass on top of a metal body with rotating metal crown and a single button next to it. A familiar and proprietary band mechanism returns as well, giving watch bands a seamless fit into the body of the watch.

In my opinion, this is still the best looking smartwatch on the market. It’s slim enough to fit well on any wrist, carries a premium yet light weight, and still manages to look like a traditional watch with its circular shape and crown. I’ve worn all of the smartwatches (from Samsung’s to Apple’s) and this is without a doubt my favorite on wrist. It’s sleek, modern yet timeless, and brings out a jewelry vibe or sophistication that most smartwatches can’t because those all feel the need to let you know that they are pieces of tech. This watch could easily pass for a traditional watch with the right watch face – I can’t say the same for others.

In an added bonus for the Pixel Watch 3, we now get 41mm and 45mm size options. While the 41mm Pixel Watch 3 is probably the best size for most people, having the option for a 45mm case, with its larger battery and display is a welcomed bit of news. In theory, this should mean more to view on screen and also longer overall battery life on a single charge.

I’ve actually been testing the 45mm model for this review and I haven’t been turned off by the extra bulk. In fact, it still fits quite nicely on my slimmer wrists. That 4mm case difference just isn’t that much, so if you were worried about the biggest Pixel Watch 3 being too big, I don’t necessarily believe you’ll find it to be. Here’s a picture comparing the two sizes to help there.

Battery life. As I’ve mentioned, for this review, I’ve been using the 45mm version of the Pixel Watch 3, so that’s where my battery testing and notes will focus. Tim has had the 41mm version and has essentially confirmed that his watch is seeing similar results to mine. Take that as you will.

Battery life has been solid and is very similar to the Pixel Watch 2 battery life. If you were hoping that I was here to share major improvements, I’m sorry to disappoint you. However, I’m not sure you should have expected major improvements with the same exact Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 and Cortex-M33 chips inside. Sure, the battery is larger in the 45mm version (420mAh vs. 307mAh), but it’s also powering a larger and brighter display.

But look, Google rates the battery life for both watches at 24 hours with the always-on display active or 36 hours in Battery Saver mode. I think they are underselling battery life, as I was getting well over 24 hours with always-on display (AOD) live and a full day and night of action. We’re talking off the charger in the morning, then tracking of everything all day, a 60-minute workout in there, and a full night’s sleep with all metrics monitored. With days like that, I was around 45% battery remaining by noon on day 2. It didn’t make it through the 2nd night, though, so keep that in mind. With AOD active, this is not a 48-hour smartwatch.

With AOD off, I think you could push a full 48 hours. Once I turned that setting off and went about my day, I can’t tell you how much relief I found in no longer worrying about battery life.

As for charging, Google is still shipping the Pixel Watch 3 with the 4-pin charger it introduced with the Pixel Watch 2. It’s fine and probably far more efficient than the original’s wireless charging pad. The Pixel Watch 3 charges slightly faster than its predecessor, but it’s still pretty slow. You can get 50% in roughly 28 minutes (down from 30 minutes). A full 100% charge could take a whopping 80 minutes, though.

Performance. Testing performance on a smartwatch is always a bit tricky because these aren’t really built for much multi-tasking. Instead, they are notification machines that can run select apps and power a workout session. The Pixel Watch 3 is once again running the 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chip with a Cortex-M33 co-processor alongside it to help with power efficiency.

In last year’s Pixel Watch 2 review, I said the following: “What I would say as a takeaway from performance is that the Pixel Watch 2 has done everything I’ve needed it to do during weeks of testing. Never once did I find frustration in a task because it just worked.” I think that all holds true again with the Pixel Watch 3.

I wore this watch all day and night, received dozens and dozens of notifications in a day, ran lengthy workouts both indoors and out, jumped from workouts to other apps if needed, and even tried to control some media with it. It did all of that stuff, wouldn’t overheat and stutter, or frustrate me by not finishing a task in a timely way. The watch, with this chip combo, runs just fine.

Fitbit improvements. One of the areas I think the Pixel Watch 3 shines is in fitness tracking through Fitbit’s app. It’s not necessarily the most advanced health tracking system in the industry, but it really shines as one that can highlight basics and let you dive deeper in for insights and trends that can help you improve. It’s a system that is designed for you to just wear your fitness tracker and then jump into the app to see everything it tracks presented in the cleanest of ways.

If you just need to know things like your steps, calories burned, resting heart rate, SpO2, skin temperature variations, heartrate variability (HRV), sleep patterns, workout metrics, stress levels, etc. then this does all of that for you. You just put on a Pixel Watch 3, sign-in to your Fitbit account, and away you go. It’s great at that stuff.

But Google is also upping its game in several ways through Fitbit. There’s a new Morning Brief on wrist that prepares you for the day by recapping your sleep, showing you the weather, and handing you a readiness score to better help you attack your workouts. For your daily activity load, Google and Fitbit are using readiness and your cardio load to let you know how hard you should actually work, with a changing balance between recovery and performance depending on body signs.

You can dive deeper into most metrics too. Tapping on almost anything gives you historical data and trends, but it’ll also give you insights and try to help you improve, with suggestions if you are under-training, maintaining, or pushing too hard. There’s very cool data here.

For runners, Google and Fitbit are introducing even more. The Fitbit app will now let you create custom runs and run workouts that can be sent to your watch with warmups/cooldowns, intervals, heartrate targets, that sort of thing. You’ll find real-time guidance as you run to make sure you are approaching your goals. You’ll even get form data on your stride length, cadence, ground contact time, and vertical ratio and oscillation. Should you pay for Fitbit Premium, Al can enter your fitness world by analyzing all of your running and readiness to recommend personalized runs. As a runner, I love this stuff.

That’s not to say that everything about this Fitbit experience is perfect. The fact that to get the full Fitbit experience requires a Fitbit Premium subscription is not great. Google will give you 6 months of free membership with purchase of this watch, but then it’ll cost you $10 per month or $80 per year. The premium subscription gets you a full sleep profile with details, details on your stress levels, a wellness report, a full library of workouts led by Fitbit trainers, and the running AI stuff. Many will be able to get by without that stuff, but a lot of that stuff is also pretty important to get the full picture of your health.

Overall, though, I think Google’s continued focus on making Fitbit better and have more information is a bonus. The Pixel Watch 3 is the best showcase of what Fitbit can do today and where it is going.

Phone unlock with UWB. Google included a UWB (Ultra-wideband) chip with the Pixel Watch 3 that can help it be found through the Find My Device network and also unlock select cars. For me, as someone who has little need for either of those two features, I’ve found the UWB chip to be a big bonus when paired with my Pixel 9 Pro. Since both devices have UWB chips, Google is allowing the Pixel Watch 3 to unlock my Pixel 9 Pro through UWB in a quicker manner.

To be clear, you have been able to unlock your Pixel phone with a Pixel Watch for a while now (it’s called “Watch Unlock”), but that connection happened with Bluetooth. It was quick, just not that quick. Now with UWB doing the work, this happens often faster than I can place my finger on the fingerprint sensor or for my Pixel 9 Pro to scan my face. It truly makes for one of the quickest options for securely getting into your Pixel phone.

What’s not great about it?

Same software complaints, again. Hey, here we are for the 3rd year in a row about to complain about the same Pixel Watch software annoyances. Maybe for year 4 Google will listen. Should we make any bets on that?

For the most part, the Pixel Watch 3 software experience is good enough. Notifications are mostly simple and clean as they roll in, Tiles and navigation and quick settings are all easy to access and where they should be, and there’s a wide range of apps that can be used. Google is even starting to bring over more advanced uses, like the voice recorder from Pixel phones, a more robust Google Maps experience, the new Weather, and is making sure more items sync between watch and phone more often. You can even view live Nest Cam feeds, control your Google TV, and let your Pixel Watch 3 wait on hold for you during calls. The companion app for the Pixel Watch keeps getting better too.

But here’s the deal – yes, I’m about to say it again – a smartwatch is a notification machine first and the Pixel Watch still gets it wrong. Google is still not including a simple option to wake the display when notifications arrive and the actions that are included with notifications are still too far down in a notification.

Here’s the thing about that first complaint. If you get a notification on your Pixel Watch 3 and you don’t properly flick your wrist to wake the screen, by the time you’ve done so, the notification is likely gone and you would then need to physically touch the watch screen in order to interact with it and find that notification. What makes this situation incredibly frustrating, is that Google’s accelerometer system in the Pixel Watch 3 remains subpar compared to every other premium smartwatch on the market. The Apple Watch and Samsung’s Galaxy Watches can take the slowest of movements and still understand that you are turning your wrist over and that the screen needs to activate. The Pixel Watch line has always failed me when my hand is busy (holding a drink, set at a weird angle while typing, etc.) and can’t just flick over to activate. You know what fixes all this? A freaking setting to turn on the display when notifications arrive. Every. Other. Smartwatch. Has. This. Setting.

My other complaint up there plagues Samsung watches too, but notifications need to be easier to interact with. By that, I mean that I shouldn’t see a notification on wrist and then need to scroll for an extended length in order to hit the “Archive” button. The Apple Watch is still the best at this, since notifications arrive in shortened form with action buttons, but you could then tap on the notifications to dive further in if needed. Wear OS should really think about allowing this same experience. It just makes dealing with the absurd number of notifications we receive in a day a less difficult task.

I have other complaints too. Google should build in a battery warning as you approach bedtime if your watch is unlikely to make it through the night. On my first charge, I went to bed with 19% battery and woke up to a dead battery with sleep tracking that stopped whenever the watch did. How about a notification on phone that lets me know my Pixel Watch 3 has fully charged? A customizable low battery setting instead of just the 15% toggle for low battery mode?

This band system. Back with the original Pixel Watch, the included Active Band caused a pretty nasty reaction to my wrist, something that no other watch band in history has done. Since that happened, I’ve been terrified of using this style of band with any watch, but that’s all that was provided with the Pixel Watch 3 for this review. While I’m sure these bands will be great for most people, my issue has actually moved beyond this specific band. I’m still not a fan of Google sticking with this proprietary band system because no one wants to make bands for it.

I get that in order to achieve this design with the seamless band attached, they had to do something like this. Changing the band system to a standard watch band connector would change the whole vibe up. But man, there just aren’t very many good or quality band choices for the Pixel Watch still and we are in the 3rd year of it.

Google offers up a decent line of their own bands, but if you aren’t into any of those, good luck finding anything else that’s of quality. Major accessory makers like Nomad or Bellroy (they supposedly have one coming soon finally) haven’t adopted the Pixel Watch. Spigen has on some level with a couple of limited bands, but not really. Your other choices of 3rd party bands are the garbage sold on Amazon that often doesn’t properly fit into the case and is made of the worst materials the world can produce.

Competitors offer upgrades. In many ways, the Pixel Watch 3 fits so perfectly into the Pixel device family. There’s a big emphasis on style and simplicity, with software that can do work for you, yet it’s missing stuff that you would typically find on competitor devices.

I touched on the software gripes of mine already, as well as the band system, but I would also point out a few other items. For example, Google put a new display in the Pixel Watch 3 that’s covered in Gorilla Glass 5 and hits peak brightness of 2000 nits. While the brightness there is a big improvement, Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch Ultra hits 3000 nits and has Sapphire Crystal glass.

The domed glass on this Pixel Watch 3 gives me big durability anxiety. You may recall with last year’s Pixel Watch 2, which uses the same supposedly protective Gorilla Glass, that I scratched it within a week or so of ownership. Good luck scratching Samsung’s Sapphire Crystal. But maybe more importantly, I used both watches in sunlight at the same time and that 3000 nits vs. 2000 nits is such an obvious step above.

Others are switching to titanium for case materials for durability reasons, while Google is still going with aluminum. This may not be a huge deal today, but it shows where the industry is going and that Google is often behind in adopting new ideas. Actually, I forgot that they went stainless steel on the original Pixel Watch and then downgraded to aluminum for the Pixel Watch 2 (and now 3). Sheesh.

The haptics haven’t been strong enough at times either. Early on in my testing period, I was expecting several important phone calls and I missed a bunch of them because the vibration from the incoming call didn’t bother my wrist enough. I typically miss several notifications when working out too, only to notice the pending notification on my phone’s always-on display instead. And trust me, I have the vibration intensity to the max.

There’s also this idea where Google could use the Pixel Watch line to showcase new Wear OS stuff, but doesn’t really. OnePlus recently launched the OnePlus Watch 2 with a $299 price tag. It does this really cool dual architecture thing (that they worked with Google on) where it basically runs this Hybrid OS interface on two chips in order to get truly incredible battery life. The Pixel Watch 3 runs on a dual chip system, but it doesn’t take advantage of this idea that OnePlus pushed. That’s too bad too.

For me, the Pixel Watch 3 has a mixture of positives and negatives. It does some things well, but I can’t help but feel it is a step behind what Samsung and Apple (maybe even OnePlus) are doing with their watches. We just aren’t seeing big enough improvements from one year to the next in both hardware and software.

Should you buy a Google Pixel Watch 3?

The Pixel Watch 3 is a well-rounded smartwatch that offers quality health tracking through Fitbit, should last close to 2 days on a single charge, and looks as good as any tech device you can put on a wrist. This is a solid effort from Google and a smartwatch I think most will be happy with.

I’ll just say this – feel free to shop around a bit if you are in the market for a smartwatch and wait for a killer deal. There are plenty of good Wear OS options available today and the Pixel Watch 3 is certainly included in that group.

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