Google Pixel Watch launched with Fitbit features: Here’s a closer look
The ‘Made Google’ event saw the launch of new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro phones along with the Google Pixel Watch and the tablet. The Google Pixel Watch has a starting price of $349 or Rs 28,700+ on conversion for the Bluetooth only version. The LTE variant will cost $399 in the US or Rs 32,800+ on conversion.
Google has not announced the price for the Indian market or whether the Pixel Watch will be sold here at all. But there’s no doubt that the first Google smartwatch has generated a lot of interest. Here’s a quick look at the features.
Pixel Watch: Design, band options
The Pixel Watch comes with a circular design in three colour options: Champagne gold, Matte Black case and Polished silver case. Google says the watch is built with 80% recycled stainless steel and the Active Band uses “Fluoroelastomer with soft-touch coating”. Fluoroelastomer is synthetic rubber. The Active band comes in Obsidian, Charcoal, Chalk and Hazel colour options. The watch’s display has a diameter of 41mm, a height of 12.3mm and it weighs 36 grams without the band.
Pixel Watch in all its different colour options.
Google also showcased other band options during the launch event, including a woven band, a two-tone leather band and a stretch band. All of these bands are being sold separately on the Google Store in the US.
Pixel Watch: Other specifications
The watch has a side button and a haptic crown. It also comes with a built-in microphone and built-in speaker. The Pixel Watch is powered a Samsung Exynos 9110 SoC and runs WearOS 3.5. It comes with 2GB SDRAM and 32GB storage.
Connectivity options include Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz and NFC support. It also supports GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo. The Watch is compatible with Android 8.0 or newer, so this will not work with an iPhone.
The watch’s display comes with custom 3D Corning Gorilla Glass, and this is an AMOLED display with 320 ppi and up to 1000 nits. This is an Always-on display. The watch has a 294 mAh battery with Google promising a day’s worth of battery life. The charging speed is 50 per cent in 30 minutes, and about 80 minutes to get a full charge. Google is providing a USB-C magnetic charging cable in the box.
Pixel Watch will come with sleep tracking powered Fitbit.
Sensors on the watch include a compass, Altimeter, Blood oxygen sensor, Multipurpose electrical sensor, Optical heart rate sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope and Ambient light sensor.
The watch also comes with Fitbit health and fitness features, ECG capabilities, Google Maps, Wallet, Emergency SOS, and International emergency calling. Google also plans to add fall detection to the watch later this winter. Google is also giving buyers six months free access to Fitbit Premium and three months of free YouTube premium. The watch has 5ATM water rating which means it can be taken for a swim, though only in shallow waters. Google makes it clear the watch is not waterproof.
