ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Google’s Pixel Watch 4 starts at $349 and is now available to order
- It has a longer battery life, fluid AI, and an upgraded interface.
- Its AI features require some choreography, but ultimately work.
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Google has graced us with yet another smartwatch. The Pixel Watch 4 is finally available to purchase, after Google unveiled the device earlier this summer.
I tested the smartwatch for a few weeks to familiarize myself with several of the latest upgrades. After a thorough review, I was pleasantly surprised by even the smaller, less show-stopping features.
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Google upgraded the watch in big and small ways, with the more notable features like a larger battery and more convenient charging taking center stage. Still, some of the less flashy upgrades, like a UI design, bring thoughtful touches and further usability to the AI-powered smartwatch.
When Google announced its latest Material 3 Expressive UI, I thought it would be one of those feature upgrades that made a marginal difference in my user experience. But after a few weeks of testing, this design upgrade actually makes the watch fun to look at and cool to use. It was surprisingly one of my favorite upgrades.
Tiles and buttons take up more of the watch’s face, or, as Google likes to call it, “hug the edges.” It makes clicking through apps and buttons faster and the apps themselves more viewable. On the topic of design changes, another update that gives the watch screen display a larger and more viewable look is its Actua 360 domed display, which increases the watch screen’s area by 10% and the peak brightness from 2,000 to 3,000 nits.
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Design upgrades are one of two features Google knocks out of the park on the Pixel Watch 4. The other is its battery life, new charging dock, and faster charging capabilities. The watch easily lasts me around a day and a half. I charged it to 100% one Sunday night and woke up at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning to find the watch’s battery at 35%.
Pixel Watch 3 (front) and Pixel Watch 4 (back).
Nina Raemont/ZDNET
And when I am ready to charge the smartwatch, Google finally fixes a pain point I had using its Pixel Watch 3. The Watch 3’s charging dock lied flat, and it required some finagling to get the watch’s sensors to perfectly align with its charging points. Google fixes this with the Watch 4’s sideways charging dock, changing the position of its charging port for easy and magnetic alignment that takes less time to connect. The new port adds fast charging that speeds up the time it takes for my watch to go from 0 to 100 by 25%.
Retroactive activity detection and stats logging is one feature I haven’t seen on several competing smartwatches, with the only exception being the Oura smart ring. I hope this comes to Samsung and Apple’s smartwatches soon. It’s a great feature to have on the watch for tracking my workouts extensively, even when I’ve forgotten to do so.
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I tested retroactive activity detection out on a 5K run one morning by logging a run on my Apple Watch Series 11 and not logging one on my Pixel Watch 4. I logged a 41-minute workout on my Apple Watch, and the Pixel Watch 4 picked up a 39-minute workout. The Apple Watch recorded a 3.4-mile run, while the Pixel Watch recorded a 3.3-mile run. My total calories burned on each watch were within seven calories of each other.
Outdoor enthusiasts will probably love the Standalone Satellite connectivity feature available through the Pixel Watch 4. It connects users to satellites when they don’t have their phone handy, so if a user is lost, they can send texts or communicate with emergency services through their watch.
I tested out this watch in my ultra-connected Brooklyn neighborhood and my fairly connected Illinois hometown, so I can’t vouch for its off-grid capabilities. I’ll leave this feature review to ZDNET’s outdoor enthusiast Matt Miller to offer an in-depth first-person account of Standalone Satellite’s viability.
From left to right: Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, Pixel Watch 4, and Apple Watch Series 10.
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
AI powers several aspects of Google’s latest smartwatch, including smart replies and Raise to Talk. Unlike previous watches, users no longer have to activate Google’s AI by saying “Hey Google.” Once enabled, all someone has to do is raise their wrist near their mouth and ask a question or command. Raise to Talk works for simpler questions, but would sometimes falter if I asked two queries in a row, or if I wasn’t swift enough in my arm raise. I found that the watch doesn’t register a slower arm raise as a Raise to Talk initiation.
Using the AI on the watch was fast, conversational, and responsive. Not having to initiate a query by saying “Hey Google” made questions go by quicker and instantly dropped me into a more conversational, personal context. The watch’s tone and responses are also more conversational, fluid, and to the point, minimizing some of the tech-y lag that sometimes comes with querying a personal assistant.
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When I asked what the difference between light roast and dark roast was, the watch delivered a result immediately. Querying the watch to add a calendar event was seamless — it responded in natural language without reciting my request word for word. The interaction was smooth and easy — far less time-consuming than creating a calendar appointment myself.
ZDNET’s buying advice
Compared to Google’s nearest competitor, the Galaxy Watch 8, I’d say the Pixel Watch 4 excels in the small stuff, like retroactive activity logging, a seamless Raise to Talk feature that keeps AI use simple and fluid, and a thoughtful design interface with its Material 3 Expressive UI. The battery life on both watches clocks in at around the same usage time.
When I tested the Galaxy Watch 8, I enjoyed its health features, like Running Coach, which kick-started my motivation to run again with a gamified training regimen and the Antioxidant Index sensor that tracks my nutrient levels on the backside of the watch.
Because of these features, I’d still recommend the Galaxy Watch 8 to novice runners and health enthusiasts, but I’d recommend the Pixel Watch 4 to people who want a more well-rounded smartwatch that nails the small stuff, like user design and AI implementation, as well as health and fitness.
