Google Pixel Watch 2 Review: Festooned With Sensors

The Google Pixel Watch 2 is the successor to Google's first smartwatch, and while it's very similar in many ways to its predecessor, the Pixel Watch 2 has some key improvements that are really exciting — at least on paper. The most significant upgrades come in terms of new sensors, but there are also some other key changes that may be a big advantage. Among these is the change in material; the Pixel Watch 2 utilizes 100% recycled aluminum for its back plate, as opposed to the stainless steel of the original Pixel Watch. This makes the Pixel Watch 2 a bit lighter, and potentially more comfortable to wear if you prefer a lighter watch.

We put the Pixel Watch 2 to the test to see if it offers a compelling reason for new users to pick up, or for existing Pixel Watch owners to upgrade.

Google provided a Pixel Watch 2 to test and review.

The sleek domed glass of the original Pixel Watch looked great, so it's not a surprise that Google opted not to change much about the exterior design for the Pixel Watch 2. The watch face blends nicely with the bezel to create the impression of an edge-free screen, an effect that is enhanced by the dome of the glass exterior. The haptic crown and side button are a marvelously tactile way to operate the watch and offer a very realistic mechanical feel.

Due to our issues with the wristband of the Pixel Watch 2 (more on that later), our reviewer found himself doing some unexpected durability testing of the device. While snapping photos of birds, the pin holding the watch band in place popped out, and the watch slipped, plummeting to the concrete path from eye height. 

The fall from over five feet resulted in only a tiny nick in the metal rim of the watch. The face of the watch was entirely unmarred by the incident, or by any of the usual wear and tear a smartwatch was expected to stand up to during our time testing the Pixel Watch 2.

This durability is thanks to the use of 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 covering the display, and the watch is IP68 water resistant, so it's dust-proof and can withstand being submerged under 1.5 meters of freshwater for 30 minutes.

The Pixel Watch 2 is absolutely loaded with sensors, both for the purposes of measuring and tracking your health and fitness and to generally increase the functionality of the watch. The Pixel Watch 2 is equipped with a compass, altimeter, barometer, magnetometer, red and infrared sensors to measure oxygen saturation, electrical sensors that are compatible with an ECG app, multi-path optical heart rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, cEDA electrical sensor to measure body response, and skin temperature sensor.

This results in the watch gathering an incredible array of data, allowing it to offer everything from the obligatory step counter to detailed workout tracking, pace training, taking an electrocardiogram (ECG) reading, and even detecting and notifying you of irregular heart rhythms. It can track your sleep, including keeping an eye on your skin temperature while you're sleeping. The powerful sensor suite available on the Pixel Watch 2 lends itself to a wide range of applications, and in our testing, it seemed to be remarkably accurate. Watching the device record your ECG reading is particularly cool.

The Pixel Watch 2 comes with 6 months of Fitbit premium membership for extra functionality, as well as a free month of YouTube Music Premium membership.

If you opt for the LTE version of the Pixel Watch 2, you have the option of connecting the watch to a cellular service, though, of course, this will entail paying a monthly fee for the privilege. If you do, the Pixel Watch 2 will be able to operate as a phone, make and receive calls or text messages, and connect to the internet to enable functionality such as Google Assistant. Essentially, this allows you to have your phone on you at all times without actually having to carry your smartphone around where it might be inconvenient, such as while working out.

This also makes the Pixel Watch 2 great as an emergency device, and an emergency SOS alert can be quickly and easily triggered, albeit with safeguards to prevent accidental activation. The watch will automatically switch to LTE mode when it is out of range of your smartphone.

The two key apps to use with the Pixel Watch 2 are Google's Watch app and the Fitbit app. The Watch app is how you'll primarily manage the watch and the apps you have installed on it, while the Fitbit app is where you'll find your fitness-related content and data. There's a wide range of first and third-party apps available for the Pixel Watch 2, from Spotify to Google Maps to the Windy.com weather app to a police scanner or an AI lawyer app.

There's a lot to choose from, and having such an extensive range of apps available certainly adds functionality to the Pixel Watch 2 and makes it more than just another fitness tracker. Thanks to the fast new processor, responsive and highly developed interface, and the powerful connectivity options it features, it's perfectly conceivable that you could go the whole day without ever actually needing to pick up your phone.

Of course, you get all the usual functionality you expect in a smartwatch, such as swappable watch faces and notifications. The ability to change the size of text on the display is really handy for tailoring the experience to an individual user's needs, and we really liked having access to a quick flashlight option in the settings menu. All this does is turn the screen white and pump up the brightness, but it's invaluable if you find yourself in a situation where you don't have access to any other light.

The 306 mAh lithium-ion battery in the Pixel Watch 2 is rated to last 24 hours when used with the always-on display. While it's possible to get much more use out of the Pixel Watch 2 if you are more frugal with its functionality, we found that having the display always on was a much more enjoyable experience than other display modes. Having to charge it more frequently can be annoying, but we found it to be a worthwhile sacrifice. Fortunately, charging is pretty fast via this device's pin-based USB-C battery charger. This snaps magnetically onto the bottom of the watch and can juice it up to 100% in 75 minutes, 80% in 43 minutes, or 50% in just 30 minutes.

The 320ppi circular AMOLED display is beautiful and vibrant, with deep blacks and rich colors. Thanks to its ability to go up to 1000 nits of brightness, we never had any difficulty reading the display even in bright midday sunlight.

For our tester, the first several days with the Pixel Watch 2 were marred by discomfort as a result of his large wrists and the insufficient size of even the largest included wristband. As a result of wearing the watch with the Large band at its largest fitting, it had a tendency to become disconnected and fall off, resulting in the previously mentioned tumble onto the pavement.

A small (fits 5.11-6.88 inch (130-175 mm) wrists) and large (fits 6.49-8.26 inch (165-210 mm) wrists) band are included in the box with the Pixel Watch 2, but the larger size really needs to be significantly longer to accommodate larger wrists. Otherwise, the watch itself is small enough not to feel overly heavy or bulky, and as long as you have small or average-sized wrists it should be perfectly comfortable.

One further downside with the wristband is that the mechanism for switching bands is somewhat difficult to operate, as it is not particularly intuitive to work with. It's very secure, and it's not impossible to get used to over time — but it can still feel awkward if you've never used it before. It's unfortunate that Google has chosen to use a proprietary watch strap system here, if only because it stops those individuals with wrists larger than 8.27 inches (210 mm) from using their own, 3rd-party band.

Google sent an XL Pixel Watch Stretch Band to alleviate the size issue and it's fit comfortably. The stretch band for the Pixel Watch 2 will set you back $59.99, so people with larger wrists should expect to pay more and have a slightly more restricted set of available styles of watch band they can wear.

At $349.99 for the Bluetooth/WiFi version of the Pixel Watch 2, or $399.99 for the model equipped with the 4G LTE, the Pixel Watch 2 is more expensive than the $299 Fitbit Sense 2, or the Galaxy Watch 6 which also weighs in at $299.99 to start, but it's less expensive than the Apple Watch Series 9 which starts at $399 without 4G LTE. These aren't really huge gaps in price, and the Pixel Watch 2 is situated roughly in the middle of the pack. Given how competitive it is with other smartwatches, this makes it a very viable option and a reasonable value for money.

If you want to focus on fitness tracking capabilities and prefer a more minimal design, the Fitbit Charge 6 is available for a significantly more affordable $159.95. While that doesn't include many of the more advanced features of the Pixel Watch 2, and it's not as exotic and cool looking, it's probably a better option for those who find high-end smartwatches too pricey.

The Google Pixel Watch 2 is undoubtedly one of the best smartwatches currently available. Between its gorgeous aesthetic, its responsive and thoughtfully designed interface, its bright display with rich colors, and its powerful health tracking tools, there's a lot to recommend the Pixel Watch 2. It's both a fully featured smartwatch and can function as a replacement for a more fitness-focused wearable.

Without the XL Pixel Watch Stretch Band, it was difficult to make an accurate assessment of the device. Once this band was sent by Google for this review, the fit was no longer an issue.

This highlights how much more personal a smartwatch is than a computer or even a smartphone. Other devices don't need to fit our bodies and our sense of fashion so exactly, nor are they meant to reside attached to us 24/7. In most ways, the Google Pixel Watch 2 is the new pinnacle of smartwatch design, but until Google can include a band that fits all wrist sizes in the box, it's not quite perfect.