Google Pixel Watch 2 Review

The Google Pixel Watch 2 is Google’s new and improved smartwatch, featuring upgraded performance, all-day battery life, new safety features, and advanced health sensors for precise heart rate and activity monitoring. If you’re an Android user looking to keep tabs on your daily fitness and sleep quality at night, all while ensuring your personal safety, this smartwatch is a good choice for you.

GOOGLE PIXEL WATCH 2 REVIEW – PACKAGING AND DESIGN

The Pixel Watch 2 packaging includes both small and large active wristbands, a USB-C magnetic charging cable, and a quick start guide. Notably, a power adapter is not included in the package.

In terms of design, the watch is constructed from 100% recycled aluminium, ensuring it is lightweight and comfortable for all-day wear. However, it’s worth mentioning that as someone with sensitive skin, I’ve experienced some irritation from the metal components of the watch after wearing it for several days. After some searching online, I found that others have encountered similar issues, so if you have sensitive skin, this is something to consider.

On the positive side, the watch face is customisable, offering a range of colours, styles, and layouts to choose from, allowing you to personalise it to your liking. The setup process is also very convenient, taking less than 15 minutes to get started. 

GOOGLE PIXEL WATCH 2 REVIEW – FEATURES

Battery and charging

The Pixel Watch 2 boasts a new quad-core CPU, promising a 24-hour battery life with an always-on display. This feature enables continuous activity tracking during the day and sleep tracking throughout the night. However, in my experience the battery realistically lasts around 18 to 20 hours and requires a bit more than an hour for a full charge each day. Nevertheless, this wasn’t a problem for me, as it still provides a decent battery life and the charging process is both quick and convenient. I typically charge the watch while I shower, and it lasts through the rest of the day and night to continue tracking my activity and sleep.

Fitness and health insight

Fitbit integration on the Pixel Watch 2 is seamless, offering accurate heart rate, step count, and sleep tracking. The Pixel Watch multi-path heart rate sensor boasts one of the most accurate heart rate tracking, utilising AI to continuously monitor your heart rate throughout the day and during various exercise modes.

However, it’s worth noting that due to the strong integration with Fitbit, Google Fit doesn’t come pre-installed and is not as compatible with the watch’s tracking features. This absence of Google Fit on a Google watch may be inconvenient especially for users accustomed to tracking their fitness with Google Fit.

The Pixel Watch comes equipped with an auto workout mode, which automatically detects and prompts tracking for supported activities like walking, running, treadmill, and biking. For activities not covered by this feature, the Fitbit app offers a selection of 40 workout types for easy manual tracking. During your workout, you can access a list of metrics, including heart rate zones, active zone minutes, and calories burned, with a post-workout summary available on the mobile app. The watch also encourages daily activity by tracking steps and distance, providing reminders to stay active throughout the day and celebrating step goals.

One standout feature that I personally found very useful is the watch’s sleep tracking capability. It calculates a sleep quality score out of 100 and provides insights into total sleep time and time spent in each sleep stage (awake, REM, light, deep). Additionally, there’s a Bedtime mode to optimise battery life and minimise sleep disruptions. I found the tracking quite accurate to the times I actually spent awake vs. asleep, and the sleep score reflected quite well how refreshed I was in the morning. For those seeking to improve their sleep hygiene, the convenience and ease of this sleep tracking feature make it a valuable tool, particularly for those like me who have struggled with manual sleep diaries in the past.

Safety features

The Pixel Watch 2 offers a range of safety features designed to provide peace of mind for your personal well-being. One feature is emergency sharing, which allows you to easily call your emergency contact or local emergency services in any situation where you require assistance. Additionally, the safety check feature allows you to set a timer when you find yourself in situations that raise safety concerns. When the timer ends, this feature will prompt a check-in and if you don’t respond, it will automatically initiate emergency sharing.

While I fortunately haven’t had the need to use this feature myself, it does offer a reassuring sense of security, especially during solo walks or runs. For those who may require it, fall detection is another valuable feature. It can identify a hard fall and, if you don’t respond within a minute, automatically place a call to emergency services.

Apps – Whatsapp, Spotify

The Pixel Watch 2 offers compatibility with various apps on your phone beyond Google apps, including WhatsApp and Spotify. With WhatsApp, you can conveniently read and respond to messages using the Pixel Watch through options like text-to-speech or the on-screen keyboard. However, it’s important to note that the watch doesn’t support making WhatsApp calls or providing notifications for incoming WhatsApp calls.

Additionally, the watch can sync with your phone’s Spotify account, allowing you to select, pause, or change songs. However, it’s worth mentioning that the watch itself cannot play music through its speakers, so it primarily functions as a remote control for your phone or bluetooth headphones.

GOOGLE PIXEL WATCH 2 REVIEW – CONCLUSION

Overall, the Google Pixel Watch 2 is a good smartwatch for fitness and sleep tracking, with a decent battery life and useful safety features. While there are areas for potential improvement, I would generally recommend this watch, especially to those accustomed to Fitbit devices and who own a Google Pixel phone.

Google Pixel Watch 2 retails for A$549 and is available now for purchase.

Disclosure: Google Pixel Watch 2 review sample was supplied for reviewing