Google Pixel Watch 3: Upgrades, new Fitbit perks, and differences from the Pixel Watch 2
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The Google Pixel Watch 3 41mm and 45mm have arrived. Announced at the Made by Google summer event, the Pixel Watch 3 fixes some of the Pixel Watch 2's flaws on the way to becoming one of the best Android watches of the year.
If you're not fussed about the Pixel Watch 3's brand-new 1.4-inch display option, then we'll break down all of the other key differences to see whether it's changed enough from the Pixel Watch 2 to tempt you.
We got some Pixel Watch 3 hands-on time prior to the Made by Google event, and our Senior Editor Andrew Myrick called this watch "pretty darn close to perfect" for him, thanks in part to the new 45mm size and its latest Wear OS 5 software perks.
Below, we'll focus on the Pixel Watch 3 specs, price, colors, release date, and everything else you should know!
Google Pixel Watch 3: Price, release date, and colors
The Google Pixel Watch 3 ships on September 10, nearly a month after its August 13 announcement. The gap is a bit surprising, given that the Pixel 9 will launch on August 22 and the Pixel 9 Pro on September 4. We're uncertain why Google chose to stagger things like this.
The Google Pixel Watch 3 41mm and 45mm cost $349 and $399, respectively, while the Pixel Watch 3 LTE costs $449 or $499. That's twice as much for cellular support as last year, but Google is offering two free years of data with this watch, which would more than make up for the extra cost.
You also get six months of free Fitbit Premium with any model.
The Pixel Watch 3 41mm comes in four finishes: a Matte Black case with an Obsidian Band, Polished Silver with a Porcelain Band, Champagne Gold with a Hazel Band, and Polished Silver with a Rose Quartz Band.
The Pixel Watch 3 45mm has only three color options: the same Matte Black and Polished Silver case options, plus a Matte Hazel case with a Hazel band.
Both watches come with an Active Band in small and large sizes, plus a USB-C charging cable. To use a Pixel Watch 3, you'll need an Android phone running Android 10+ and a Google account.
Google Pixel Watch 3: Specs
Qualcomm hasn't made a new Snapdragon W5 chip since 2022, leaving Google stuck with the same CPU while Samsung and Apple can upgrade their chips whenever they want. Still, plenty of watches keep the same CPUs for years at a time, and Wear OS 5's robust new software tricks, like Nest livestreams, make us think the Pixel Watch 3's "old" CPU has some life left in it.
The Google Pixel Watch 3 41mm and 45mm largely share the same specs and features. They have different display sizes but the same pixel density.
Wear OS 5 has an adaptive UI layout that changes how text and menus are laid out based on the display size. The photo above shows what we mean: the 41mm Pixel Watch 3 only fits three Fitbit sports icons per screen, while the 45mm Pixel Watch 3 fits six.
The other difference between the 45mm and 41mm Pixel Watch 3 is that the 41mm watch can be charged in 60 minutes, while the 45mm watch takes 80 minutes. The smaller watch takes four minutes less to reach 50% but 15 minutes less to reach 80%.
Google Pixel Watch 3 vs. Pixel Watch 2
We'll publish an in-depth Pixel Watch 3 vs. Watch 2 guide soon that runs through the differences in greater depth, but looking specifically at the Watch 3 41mm, it's very similar to the Watch 2. All of the following design elements or features are unchanged:
Both use a Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 with four Arm Cortex-A53 cores at 1.7GHz, plus a Cortex M33 MCU.
You get 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage with either watch.
They have the same ingress protection against dust and water, plus the same Gorilla Glass 5 layer.
They share all of the same health sensors, measure the same size, and weigh the same.
Both have a 306mAh battery and 24-hour estimate per charge with AOD active.
Highlighting what's different, the Pixel Watch 3 41mm display shrunk its display bezel by 16%, so there's less wasted space. The brightness jumps from 1,000 to 2,000 nits, matching the new industry standard, and the display itself uses LTPO tech to hit 60Hz for normal use or as low as 1Hz for the always-on display.
Of course, you have a new 1.4-inch display option in the 45mm Pixel Watch 3.
In terms of connectivity, the Pixel Watch 3 leaps from Bluetooth 5.0 to 5.3, so you'll have a stronger phone connection that uses less power and cuts through any signal interference more easily.
The Watch 3 also supports the Wi-Fi 5GHz standard, not just the 2.4GHz standard like the Pixel Watch 2; that'll significantly improve app download speeds. And you get Ultra Wideband for the first time, enabling a Watch Unlock feature for your connected Android phone.
You get 20% faster charging speeds on the newer Pixel Watch; it takes six minutes less to hit 50% power and 15 minutes less to hit 100% compared to the Pixel Watch 2. With the Pixel Watch 3 45mm, it takes two minutes less to hit 50% but five minutes more to hit 100%, thanks to the extra capacity.
Google also told us that the Pixel Watch 3 has their "most accurate heart rate for running" compared to the Pixel Watch 2 and 1 because it uses machine learning to reduce motion and light artifacts from rapid arm movement and from changing running pace. In theory, this algorithm will only be available on the newer watch.
Every other new Pixel Watch 3 feature should trickle down to the Pixel Watch 2 once the Wear OS 5 update arrives, so we'll focus on those features next.
Google Pixel Watch 3: New software
Wear OS 5 on the Pixel Watch 3 is all about integrating more closely with other Google devices and improving the Fitbit fitness experience.
If you own a Nest Doorbell, you can see a live feed of whoever's at the door and hit the mic button to talk to them through your watch. You can use it as a remote control for your Google TV Streamer or other Google TV devices. Google is also promising offline Google Maps navigation for the first time.
With a Pixel phone, you can see Expanded Call Assist screening data or use Pixel Recorder with your phone in your pocket. If you're taking a group photo, you can place your Pixel phone down and then use your Pixel Watch 3 as a viewfinder, switching between camera modes if you want.
Google wants the Fitbit app and the Pixel Watch 3 to become more tempting for runners. You can now build custom workouts on your phone or watch, with warmup periods, target paces for set distances or times, intervals, and so on that'll buzz your wrist or provide audio cues during a run. If you don't want to create your own, Fitbit Premium will have AI-generated workouts, too.
You'll now get running form insights for things like cadence and ground contact time after a run, recommending "content and drills" to improve weak points in your form.
While Fitbit has offered a Daily Readiness Score for years via Premium, Google's "All-New Readiness" score is available to everyone, not just subscribers. You'll see how ready you are for your next workout based on your recent sleep, HRV recovery, resting heart rate, and recent training load.
You'll see your Readiness score, sleep summary, today's weather, and other data in your Morning Brief that pops up after you wake up. It's quite similar to the Morning Report you get on Garmin watches, except with more of a health focus. You'll get a warning, for example, if your HRV, breathing rate, or blood oxygen is out of your usual nightly range.
The Pixel Watch 3 will judge your Cardio Load, or how hard you've worked out in recent weeks, and judge whether you're "improving, maintaining, or falling behind" on your fitness. You'll see a "Target Load" stat based on Google's machine-learning data on how much Cardio Load you should do to improve without overtraining.
Fitbit will also save your personal running records, such as the "fastest 10K" or "farthest run" for the first time. We'll have to wait and see whether Google focuses on other popular sports like Cycling or Weightlifting for future updates.
Google Pixel Watch 3: Should you buy it?
The Pixel Watch 2 has ranked highly on our list of best Android watches for the past year. It's fast, uniquely stylish, accurate for health data, and benefits from Google's ownership of Wear OS with its strong software and colorful UI. We simply wished that it came in more than one size and lasted a bit longer per charge.
With the Pixel Watch 3, you resolve one of those complaints. You can use Power Saver mode to make it last 36 hours, but that's shorter than the Galaxy Watch 7 lasts with normal settings, and well short of watches like the OnePlus Watch 2R that use Google's own Wear OS Hybrid Interface to stretch out their battery lives.
If you can accept that one shortcoming, the Pixel Watch 3 has impressed us in our brief hands-on time with it, and we especially like having a second size option — even if the Pixel Watch 3 45mm price is on the expensive side.
