The Pixel Watch 2 is a little better in every way

Alongside the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, Google also launched the Pixel Watch 2. However, if you were hoping for some crazy new feature, I’ve got some bad news. The Pixel Watch 2 experience isn’t drastically different from the original Pixel Watch – it’s just slightly better.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In many cases, all the first-gen Pixel Watch really needed was a bit of polish. That’s what the Pixel Watch 2 brings to the table. The downside is it makes for a bit of a boring update when everything can be summed up as “It’s a little bit better than before.”

A brief list of improvements on the Pixel Watch 2 includes better battery life, improved performance, Wear OS 4 (which brings a host of software upgrades), enhanced heart rate tracking, stress tracking, Safety Check and more.

Oh, and there’s also a small price hike, with the Pixel Watch 2 costing $479.99 for the Wi-Fi version and $549.99 for the LTE version, up $30 and $20, respectively.

Specs

• Dimensions: 41mm diameter, 12.3mm height
• Weight: 31g (without band)
• Connectivity: 4G LTE (Cellular version), Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz, NFC
• Compatibility: Android 9.0+
• Display: Custom 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5, 320ppi AMOLED with DCI-P3 colour, up to 1,000nits brightness
• Power: 306mAh lithium-ion battery, USB-C magnetic charging cable
• Chip: Qualcomm SW5100 with Cortex M33 co-processor
• OS: Wear OS 4
• Storage and memory: 32GB eMMC flash and 2GB RAM
• Sensors: Compass, altimeter, blood oxygen sensor (SpO2), multipurpose electrical sensor, multi-path optical heart rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, continuous electrodermal activity (cEDA) sensor, skin temperature sensor, barometer, magnetometer
• Water resistance: 5 ATM (can withstand pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 metres)

Minor design changes

At first glance, there are few noticeable differences between the Pixel Watch 2 and the first-gen Pixel Watch. I’m more than okay with that, given how much I like the design of the Pixel Watch. That glass dome is just stunning, even if it is prone to breaking. Unfortunately, Google still doesn’t offer repair options for the Pixel Watch 2, so if you tend to break your watch, I’d advise skipping the Pixel Watch 2 until Google can get that sorted.

Pixel Watch 2 (left) and the original Pixel Watch (right).

But just because the watch doesn’t look different, doesn’t mean it’s the same. Google changed up the housing to use 100 percent recycled aluminum, which slightly reduced the Pixel Watch 2’s weight by about 5g. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s nice to have less weight on the wrist.

Google also tweaked the crown slightly. It doesn’t look significantly different, but it feels much smoother when in use than before.

The other big change is on the underside of the watch. The Pixel Watch 2 has more metal on its rear and a new sensor array to power the multi-path heart rate tracking. There’s also a continuous electrodermal activity (cEDA) sensor in there for stress tracking. Another noteworthy change; there are four metal contacts on the bottom of the watch for charging, thanks to a switch to pogo pins (I’ll talk about this more in a bit).

Google has an array of new band options for the Pixel Watch 2 as well. The search giant didn’t change the clasp mechanism for attaching bands. This means the new bands should work with the first-gen watch for those who don’t want to upgrade yet, and those who do upgrade from the first-gen watch can keep using their favourite bands.

Smoother and longer

Of all the new changes, the improved chipset and bump to the battery make up the vast majority of the noticeable improvements. Coming off a year of using the first-gen Pixel Watch, the Watch 2 feels much smoother when scrolling around the interface and hopping into apps. I wouldn’t say apps loaded faster, but the whole smartwatch felt significantly more responsive.

As was heavily rumoured, the Pixel Watch 2 runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 chip, or as Google calls it in the spec sheet, the ‘SW5100.’

Undersides of the Pixel Watch (left) and Watch 2 (right).

On the battery side, I finally feel comfortable using the always-on display. I kept it turned off on the original Pixel Watch to make sure I could get through a day and a night on a single charge. With the Pixel Watch 2, I find it’s between 20 and 30 percent charge when I wake up in the morning, giving me enough juice to get through my morning routine before I drop it on the charger at my desk when I start working (I prefer to wear the watch overnight so I can track my sleep).

These two changes alone are enough to make me happier using the Pixel Watch 2 than I was with the Pixel Watch, but the improvements are admittedly small and hardly impressive. Arguably, the original Pixel Watch should have launched in this state. I’ll be impressed when there’s a Pixel Watch offering two-day battery life.

Charger change-up

Much to my surprise, Google changed the charger for the Pixel Watch 2 and went with a pogo pin setup instead of the inductive charging offered on the original Pixel Watch. I’m perplexed by the decision – on one hand, it feels like a real step backwards. On the other, the Pixel Watch 2 offers better charging speeds.

Google says that the Pixel Watch 2 can get to 50 percent charge in 30 minutes, 80 percent in 43 minutes, and 100 percent in 75 minutes. While I haven’t timed the Pixel Watch 2 to see if it hits those claims, it feels like it charges faster than the original Pixel Watch.

Pixel Watch 2 charger (bottom) with pogo pins.

Faster charging is great, but the change brings some downsides, too. For one, I can’t use my old Pixel Watch chargers with the Watch 2. Thankfully, you still get a charger in the box (without the brick, of course), but after enjoying the convenience of having two watch chargers for the last year, it’s a real bummer.

The change also means you need to orient the Pixel Watch 2 and charger correctly in order to connect them, while the first-gen watch could go on the charger in any orientation. The pogo pin charger has a much more secure hold than the original charger, addressing one of my issues with the original Pixel Watch charger.

Overall, it comes out to a net positive, though I do find the pogo pins archaic in comparison.

New sensors, who dis?

Google upgraded the sensing capabilities on the Pixel Watch 2. There’s significantly improved heart rate tracking. Thanks to a new multi-path sensor, Google says the Watch 2 offers 40 percent more accurate heart rate measurements. That certainly sounds impressive, but I don’t make enough use of fitness features on any smartwatch to say whether there’s a significant improvement.

Likewise, I don’t have much to say about the new cEDA sensor because I haven’t actually been able to use it. Google says the Pixel Watch 2 will prompt the wearer to log their mood when the cEDA sensor detects a body response. These responses could be caused by stress, consuming alcohol or caffeine, by illness, or other things.

Apparently, I haven’t had a body response significant enough to trigger the cEDA sensor despite regularly consuming caffeine. I also have a toddler, which should mean my stress levels are constantly cranked, but it seems none of this is enough to trigger the cEDA sensor on the Pixel Watch 2.

Bizarrely, there’s no way to manually activate it on the smartwatch. The only other devices I’ve used with cEDA sensors were Fitbit wearables, such as the Sense 2, and it had a manual stress logging option I could use, making it all the stranger that the Pixel Watch 2 with Fitbit doesn’t offer it. You can log your mood in the Fitbit app if you want. Speaking of the Fitbit app, it shows how many body responses were detected on a given day and, at least on the day I wrote this review and every day I wore the Watch 2 before writing this review, the number is zero.

Update 12/10/2023 12:13pm ET: The day after this review went live, I received my first body response alert on the Pixel Watch 2. The watch simply noted it had detected a body response, though it didn’t indicate what response was detected. It then asked me to log my mood, and that was it. In the Fitbit app, it lists that I had a body response and shows the mood I logged, and that’s all. Over time, logging moods could build knowledge of stress triggers, but as it currently stands, it seems like it’s just a thing to do.

Additionally, there’s now a ‘Fitbit Relax’ app on my Watch 2 that wasn’t present prior to my review going live. It lets you do a guided breathing exercise ranging from one to 15 minutes in length. It uses vibrations to indicate when to inhale or exhale so you don’t have to stare at your wrist the whole time. After completing a session, it gives you a quick breakdown of the session and highlights your starting and ending heart rate. It also prompts you to log your mood.

Ultimately, interest in these new sensors is likely directly related to how much of a fitness nerd you are. I’m glad these sensors are here for those who like fitness, but it’s very much not my thing.

Other new features

The Pixel Watch 2 had a handful of other new features, some of which are tied into Wear OS 4.

There’s the new Safety Check feature, which is a great addition but something I’m unlikely to use, mainly because I don’t tend to go off on solo adventures where I’d need to check-in. There are a handful of new watch faces, too – I’m partial to the ‘Adventure’ face, which you’ll see in most of the photos in this review.

Gmail on the Pixel Watch 2.

The Pixel Watch 2 also supports an auto workout mode. It’s a welcome addition for anyone who forgets to turn on workout tracking when they start exercising. However, Google’s website says auto workouts are coming to the original Pixel Watch in the future.

Thanks to Wear OS 4, the Pixel Watch 2 supports backup and restore, which should make the process of switching the watch between phones easier. I haven’t tested this out myself yet, but since my job involves trying new phones, I’ll certainly make use of the features soon.

You can now query Google Assistant about fitness data.

The Pixel Watch also now has access to Gmail and Google Calendar smartwatch apps. Of the two, Calendar is more useful for quickly glancing at upcoming events. After looking at the Gmail app, I can’t imagine triaging my inbox on such a tiny display.

For that matter, smartwatch apps are something that have never really made much sense to me. Apps feel a lot better on the Pixel Watch 2 thanks to the improved performance, but that won’t mean I’ll ever use them. After a year with the Pixel Watch, I’ve found a select few tasks that I like to do on my watch. Beyond that, it’s a way for me to keep tabs on what’s happening on my phone without taking it out of my pocket.

Another issue I ran into is the speaker on the Pixel Watch 2 is noticeably worse than on the original Pixel Watch. Specifically, I found my Watch 2 review unit’s speaker to be very grainy. I don’t expect the speakers to be phenomenal, given the size, but I was surprised at how poor the sound quality was.