Like the majority of the products announced at this year’s Made By Google event, the product updates aren’t a massive overhaul but rather incremental yet noteworthy upgrades. Google’s Pixel Watch 4 keeps its two-size options and all that made it great, improving its battery to last longer, adds additional AI and health features, and the first Pixel Watch that’s repairable.
While I do love Google’s domed glass smartwatch design, it’s even better now that it has a slightly larger screen without changing its dimensions. The Pixel Watch 4 design offers smaller bezels, which grant users a marginally larger screen on both its 41mm and 45mm models. The new display can get brighter, going from 2,000 nits on the Pixel Watch 3 to 3,000 nits of peak brightness on the current model. The Pixel Watch 4 was also redesigned to repair its screen, battery, and other internal parts rather than needing to be replaced, as with previous Pixel Watches. The latest model still retains an IP68 dust- and water-resistant body, an OLED screen with Always-On Display, and a variable refresh rate of 1-60 Hz to conserve battery.
Speaking of battery, the Pixel Watch 4 gets a small increase in size and efficiency, which works in tandem with its new Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 chip & Cortex M55 co-processor. Google quotes the Watch 4 as having up to 30 hours (41mm) and up to 40 hours (45mm) of battery life with Always-On Display turned on. Its battery life can last longer with Battery Saver mode activated, which provides up to 48 hours (41mm) and 72 hours (45mm) of juice. The new design brings forth a new charging connector, which props the smartwatch to rest as a tabletop clock while charging. It also charges the Watch 4 25% faster as it goes from 0 to 50% in a 15-minute charge.
The Pixel Watch 4 also brings stronger haptics and a clearer, custom speaker to talk to Gemini for queries, tasks, and exercises. It’s also equipped with dual-frequency GPS for more precise location positioning, improved sleep accuracy, a new skin temperature sensor, and satellite-based SOS for calls and texting for off-the-grid emergencies. Google’s wearable also adds a 24/7 personal AI coach, powered by Gemini, which offers fitness and sleep coaching based on your goals and metrics. However, it will only be available in preview mode starting in October.
Outside of that, the Watch 4 offers a heart-rate monitor, car crash and fall detection, loss of pulse detection, ECG, SpO2, and breathing metrics via the Fitbit app. The deep Google integration is still present, as it can communicate with select Nest Cams and Doorbells, download Google Maps offline, and act as a camera remote for your Pixel phone and a standard remote for Google TV, which includes Chromecast, Google TV Streamer, and TVs with Google Home app support.
The Pixel Watch 4 (41mm) will arrive in a Polished Silver case with options for Iris, Champagne Gold, and Lemongrass bands, while the (45mm) will arrive in a new Moonstone case with a matching band. Pre-orders begin today and will go on sale on October 9, as the Wi-Fi 41mm size starts at $350 and the 45mm size starts at $400, with a $50 increase for the LTE models. As an added bonus, Google will also offer 2 years of free data via Google Fi for Pixel Watch 4 LTE models.
