Google Pixel Watch 4 Preview: Game-changing AI!

The new Pixel Watch 4 brings ultra-fast charging and repairability, but best of all - it has longer battery life.

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Google Pixel Watch 4 Preview: Game-changing AI!
Google just unveiled its new Pixel Watch 4 and this time, it has addressed all the sore points.

The slightly dim display of before? Now, the Pixel Watch 4 can hit 3,000 nits of brightness. The bezel that was so big it almost seemed like a feature in itself? Well, it's now much thinner.

But the changes that elevate the Pixel Watch 4 above the competition are all about the longer battery life and much faster charging speeds. Oh, and in a shocking turn of events, Google has discovered that sometimes things break, and throwing a $350 gadget in the trash is, apparently, "bad." Yep, this fourth generation is finally repairable.

And did we mention that it finally has dual-band GPS now? Sprinkle in a bit of AI for your workouts and Gemini on your wrist, and Samsung's Galaxy Watch might actually be in trouble.

Google Pixel Watch 4 Price and Availability


The Pixel Watch 4 price remains unchanged: $350 for the smaller 41 mm version and $400 for the larger, 45 mm size. You also have the option for LTE cellular connectivity, as usual. One nice extra is that you get two years of watch data free with any LTE model you purchase.

Overall, this price is about on par with the Galaxy Watch 8 and quite a bit cheaper than the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic.

Pixel Watch 4 (41mm): pre-order at Amazon

The Pixel Watch 4 is here, promising longer battery life and advanced health and wellness features. The new timepiece with a 41mm case is now available for pre-order at Amazon.
Pre-order at Amazon

Pixel Watch 4 (45mm): pre-order at Amazon

The Pixel Watch 4 with a 45mm case brings improved battery life, more accurate health and wellness metrics, and an ultra-chic design. The wearable is available for pre-order at Amazon.
Pre-order at Amazon

What is not so usual is the delayed launch. While Google unveiled the watch on August 20th, the release date is set far in the future — it will hit shelves on October 9th. It's like being invited to a party two months in advance. The anticipation is already exhausting.

Pixel Watch 4 Specs


For those who enjoy staring at lists of numbers and pretending to understand what they all mean, here you go:

  • Diameter: 41 mm / 45 mm
  • Height: 12.3 mm
  • Weight: 31 g / 36.7 g (without band)
  • Case: Aluminum
  • Display: Custom Gorilla Glass 5 display
  • Water Resistance: 5 ATM / IP68
  • Chip: Snapdragon W5 Gen 2
  • Co-processor: Cortex-M55
  • OS: Wear OS 6
  • RAM/Storage: 2/32 GB
  • Max Brightness: 3,000 nits
  • GPS: Dual-band GPS
  • Battery size: 325 mAh / 455 mAh
  • Battery life: 30 hours / 40 hours AOD

Design and Display



While the Pixel Watch 4 still looks like a perfect, minimalist pebble, Google has tweaked some elements.

First, let's talk more about the repairability changes. Cracking the glass on a previous Pixel Watch meant that watch had to go to the garbage. That is no longer the case. The Pixel Watch 4 is serviceable, meaning that swapping the battery or the display is now possible. Finally! That not only reduces electronic waste, it's just sensible design.


All of that comes with unchanged water and dust protection ratings. The Pixel Watch 4 is rated IP68 or 5 ATM, and it is officially rated waterproof up to 50 meters. We are yet to learn if it is suitable for diving, since that rating suggests it could be.

Google also mentions you get 15% stronger haptics so you don't miss alerts and to ensure crisp interactions, plus the speaker on the watch has been upgraded.

The two sizes the watch comes in haven't changed. You first have the minuscule 41mm version that we only recommend for very small wrist sizes, and then you have the 45mm model that would be more suitable for medium and larger wrists.

Next come display improvements. Last year's Pixel Watch 3 bumped the max brightness to 2,000 nits, fixing one of the big issues of earlier watches. Now, with the Pixel Watch 4 you can hit 3,000 nits of peak brightness outdoors, on par with the best watches out there.

With a 16% smaller bezel, the screen also extends further towards the edges.

A curious little detail: Google calls this its first Actua 360 display, meaning that the whole display is now domed (not just the glass), which creates a very stylish and unique look.

Google keeps on using the same quick-swap mechanism it invented with the very first Pixel watch. It's a bit different from other quick-swap systems, but you quickly get used to it.

Software and Features



The Pixel Watch 4 comes with Wear OS 6 and Google's latest Material 3 Expressive UI.

This quirky design scheme means individual elements are better optimized for the round form factor. Notifications are more glanceable, you have richer colors and themes are based off of your watch face colors.


But what we still feel has not evolved much are the watch faces. Compare this to the many different options you get on Apple Watches or even Samsung watches, and watch faces on the Google timepiece all seem monochrome, with the dynamism of a greyscale spreadsheet. beg you, Google, give us something with a bit more... anything.

On the bright side, we get AI-powered replies directly from the watch, so you can sound like a vaguely helpful robot when responding to messages.

You also get Gemini on the watch with support for Raise to Talk to Gemini. That is one big advantage the Pixel Watch has over an Apple Watch, for example.

New this year is also a dual-chip architecture (we have seen that on the OnePlus Watch recently). Google claims the watch is 25% faster and half the power which sounds great, but the real benefit of that system comes in battery life, which we will touch upon shortly.

Health and Fitness


While the heart rate sensor on the Pixel Watch 4 is the same as on previous models, software optimizations allow for more accurate readings, which should help in everyday life and workouts. Of course, we have to test those claims for our final review, but they do sound promising.

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Another welcome feature is streaming your bike workouts to your phone in real-time, useful when you have your phone mounted on the bike handlebars (with this Google is catching up to Apple Watches and iPhones that have had this feature for a while).

Google is also bringing AI powered Activity Recognition. It will track your activity in the background even if you have not manually started a workout, then it will detect and classify it, and show you a summary after the workout. Neat!

Personal AI Health Coach



But here is one more reason to wait: Google has a new personalized AI coach that might be a complete game-changer.

It’s coming as a preview in October as part of Fitbit Preimum.
 
Think of this like having a personal trainer — but one that actually lives on your wrist. It starts with a quick chat about your goals, what equipment you’ve got, and what kind of workouts you like. From there, it builds you a personalized plan with detailed workouts and weekly progress targets.

And the best part? It’s not just a one-and-done plan. The coach adjusts everything in real time based on your data. Say you wake up feeling wrecked after a bad night’s sleep — instead of pushing you too hard, it’ll tweak your plan for the day with say a light stretch or just rest so you can recover and still stay on track.

Plus, life happens, right? Maybe you’re traveling, super busy, or you pulled a muscle. You can check in with the coach any time, tell it how you’re feeling, and it’ll instantly adjust your workouts. It’s like having a trainer that actually listens instead of just yelling, ‘one more rep!

The Fitbit app is also getting a big overhaul, with the big functional change being that you can now ask any health and fitness questions in the apps. Things like "How to improve VO2 max?" or "How do I fight jetlag?" are questions that you probably already know the answer to, but it's nice to have a robot tell you to run and sleep more instead of your own exhausted consciousness. We are yet to see if that is in any way different than just asking Gemini the same thing, but the hope is that you can get some actionable insights with the Fitbit app.

Sleep Tracking


We have found previous Pixel Watches to do a good job tracking your sleep, but this fourth generation edition is said to be the most accurate to date with 18% imrpovements in the accuracy of the data. While you sleep, a next gen skin temperature sensor can identify changes, and this info is useful to tell you when you are under the weather.

We will be testing that in more detail once the watch launches.

Dual-band GPS


The Pixel Watch 4 is the first Google watch with dual-band GPS. This was probably the most requested feature for runners in big cities like NYC where tall buildings interfere with single-band GPS signal.

We are yet to test the GPS accuracy, but we expect big improvements from this new watch.

Satellite connectivity



The Pixel Watch 4 also arrives as the first standalone consumer watch to support satellite connectivity for emergency communications.

For those long hikes or times when you are off the grid, satellite connectivity allows you to send an urgent message with your location.

This feature will only work in the US and it will be available on Pixel 4 LTE models.

Battery Life


If there is just one paragraph of this review worth reading and showing to your Apple Watch-toting friends it's this one: the Pixel Watch 4 has two-day battery life. Ground-breaking, I knowe. We won't be able to test this until October, but it's allegedly thanks to the new dual-chip architecture and an all-around effort by Google.

For the dual-chip part, you have got the popular Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor doing the heavy lifting, plus an ML powered co-processor running lighter tasks to ensure much better efficiency. 

Of course, we will be testing these claims in our full review of the watch, but so far Google has been conservative with its own estimates, so we have no reasons to doubt the numbers.

Pixel Watch 4 Battery Life:
  • 41 mm model: 30 hours with Always-on Display, 2 Days in Battery Saver Mode
  • 45 mm model: 40 hours with Always-on Display, 3 Days in Battery Saver Mode

Charging Speeds



The second part of the battery experience is just how fast you can top up your watch.

And here too, we have some major improvements. First, this new charging dock is much more comfortable and stylish than just a charging puck. And charging is as easy as just dropping the watch on the dock. Good job, Google!

Of course, this means that you will need special cases and there will be new Pixel Watch accessories (older cases probably won't work with this new charger).

Second, this watch charges super fast! You get 25% faster charge times than previous generations.

A zero to 50% top-up takes just 15 minutes, and a 0 to 80% takes 30 minutes on the bigger sized version and just 25 minutes on the smaller one. A full charge takes 45 minutes on the smaller 41mm version and 60 minutes on the bigger one.

Conclusion


The fourth generation Pixel Watch takes the original idea to its most mature, perfect form.

If you've ever considered buying a Pixel Watch, this is the one to get. With big improvements in battery life and charging, it addresses the number one issue of modern smartwatches. It does that at a very reasonable price too. And it's much more reassuring to know that if you crack your screen or need a battery replacement, this watch is actually serviceable.

The rest of the changes are also nice, with dual-band GPS being a highlight for runners and the satellite connectivity (only for US users) that can be a life-saver.

There are a few things we think could be optimized in the interface and those monochrome watchfaces are seriously depressing, but overall, we think Google did an excellent job with this upgrade. Now, if it could only arrive sooner...

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