With the latest smartwatch models, every manufacturer is looking to differentiate from the fact. With the third generation Pixel Watch, the Pixel Watch 3 that Google announced at its annual Made for Google event, this comes in the form of a new feature called Pulse Detection. That feature isn’t in North America yet, but the Pixel Watch 3 still boasts plenty of other improvements over the two previous generation iterations.
First, the basics. The Pixel Watch 3 is the new flagship smartwatch in the line boasting a tweaked design and improved overall performance. It also now comes in two sizes, including a larger 45mm option alongside the existing 41mm variant for biggest wrists. It also promises the offer the deepest integration with Google, including the Fitbit platform.
The new feature is called Loss of Pulse Detection, which Google says can be a literal lifesaver in the event of an emergency. It detects loss-of-pulse events occurring when the heart suddenly stops beating. This could be due to primary cardiac arrest, respiratory or circulatory failure, overdose, or poisoning. If you’re alone, Loss of Pulse Detection can automatically place a call to emergency services and share an automated message with critical context, along with your location. It will be available on Pixel Watch 3 in September in various countries in Europe, and Google says it is working with regulatory bodies to make the feature available in more countries.
Both models come with Actua displays that are twice as bright as on the Pixel Watch 2, offering peak brightness of 2,000 nits. But they can also auto-adjust to 1 nit for better viewing in dark environments. The displays are bigger with smaller bezels: the 45mm watch showcases 40% more screen, and the 41mm offers 10% more screen than Pixel Watch 2. Both are more power efficient with refresh rates from 60Hz all the way down to just 1Hz in always-on-display.
Running on Wear OS 5 and a power-efficient hybrid architecture, Pixel Watch 3 delivers all-day battery life. It also uses machine learning to automatically detect sleep and enable Bedtime Mode, turning off notifications and the always-on display for disruption-free sleep while conserving battery. There’s also a better Battery Saver Mode that can extend battery life to up to 36 hours across both sizes. That’s still only a day and-a-half compared to other models that can last days per charge. But it’s a start. Google also says the 41mm charges 20% faster, saving you about 15 minutes.
For fitness, Pixel Watch 3 introduces three new tools: an all-new Daily Readiness, Cardio Load, and Target Load. Daily Readiness uses an improved algorithm that tracks and analyzes your body’s key recovery biometrics, like resting heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and recent sleep. The result is a more comprehensive picture of how ready your body is to take on training each day. Cardio Load helps you better track your training. It tracks your heart’s exertion and intensity during an activity and throughout the day, and even keeps track of your trends over time to help you know if you’re over- or under-training, maintaining or improving your fitness. Finally, there’s Target Load, a personalized target for your training, which you receive each morning. It takes into account your recent cardio load and Readiness to help guide you to improve your fitness, while balancing recovery.
All this data results in the new Fitbit Morning Brief, a daily digest delivered proactively on your wrist when you wake up. It includes Sleep, Readiness, your target Cardio Load, and how you’re tracking against your weekly exercise goal. It also shows the weather, and lets you know if any of your metrics, like HRV, SpO2 or Skin Temperature, are out of your personal range. Basically, this is Google’s answer to Training Load and Vitals in the Apple Watch watchOS 11 app date.
Pixel Watch 3 also comes with powerful new tools for runners, helping you plan your runs, guiding you through them, and reflecting on your progress. The new Workout Builder lets you build custom runs. You can set goals for distance, time, pace or heart rate zone, and easily create repeats for interval runs. It provides haptic feedback and audio guidance as you run, letting you know when the warm up period is done, when you’re off pace, if you’re over your heart rate target, and when it’s time for your next interval. This real-time guidance is powered by continuous sampling, machine learning based heart-rate tracking. Google also says the Pixel Watch 3 delivers the most accurate heart rate for running of its smartwatches to date.
After your run, Pixel Watch 3 helps you analyze your form. New advanced motion sensing, combined with machine learning, powers running form-tracking that delivers a comprehensive analysis of the cadence of your steps, the length and height of your strides, and your ground contact time. You can even see how you are improving your pace, form and mileage over time, while tracking your personal records in the new running dashboard in the Fitbit app.
With Fitbit Premium, you can leverage Google AI to get daily run recommendations, tailored to help you hit your target load and personalized to your previous runs. There’s also access to Peloton workout classes from Peloton instructors with Fitbit Premium. Pixel Watch 3 comes with six months of Fitbit Premium included so you can try this out.
The Pixel Watch 3 doubles as an on-wrist remote to pause, control the volume, and change the channel on the Google TV Streamer. You can also open a live camera feed in the Google Home app from the watch if the doorbell rings, for example, and you want to check who’s there, even respond to them.
The new Pixel Recorder app on-wrist lets you grab voice notes on-the-go, then search and transcribe with automatic sync to your phone. Call Assist uses Google AI to screen spam calls and pick them up and hold when you need a moment to find a quiet space.
A new Ultra-Wideband chip allows you to easily unlock your Pixel phone with a swipe while wearing your watch, or even unlock and start your car with your watch as your digital car key, starting with BMW and MINI.
The 41mm comes in a Matte Obsidian case with a Matte Black band, Porcelain with Polished Silver, Hazel with Champagne Gold, or Polished Silver case with a new Rose Quartz band. The 45mm also comes in Obsidian and Porcelain and debuts a new matte Hazel Aluminum case with a matching Hazel band. The watches can be styled with a range of accessory bands in a variety of colors and premium materials, including leather, metal, and woven bands.
The Google Pixel Watch 3 is available for pre-order and will launch in Canada on September 10, starting at $479.