A Surprising Result! Pixel Watch 2 vs Apple Watch
Summary
TLDRThe Pixel Watch 2, Google's second-generation smartwatch, is reviewed in this video, focusing on battery life, design, performance, and fitness. The watch has improved battery life, lasting over 24 hours with an always-on display and heart sensor. It has a sleeker design with better haptic feedback and durability, scoring high in build quality and comfort. Performance is satisfactory with a responsive interface and quick notifications. The integration of Fitbit for fitness tracking is a plus, but the watch falls short in swim workout tracking and available metrics. Overall, it's the reviewer's top pick for an Android smartwatch, despite some fitness tracking limitations.
Takeaways
- 😀 The Pixel Watch 2 is Google's second attempt at creating a smartwatch that can compete with the Apple Watch.
- 🔋 The battery life of the Pixel Watch 2 has been significantly improved, offering over 24 hours with the always-on display and heart sensor active, and up to 36 hours in regular use.
- 📶 The watch performs well on cellular usage, providing around 10 to 12 hours of battery life, which is suitable for a full day without needing to recharge.
- 🔌 Charging has been sped up, with 12 hours of charge achieved in just 30 minutes using the new charging puck, although the charging method is noted as somewhat frustrating.
- 🛠 The build quality and design of the Pixel Watch 2 are praised, with the watch surviving durability tests and offering a comfortable, smaller form factor compared to other smartwatches.
- 💻 The watch's performance is noted as a strong point, with no lag or slow-downs in the interface, and improved UI gestures for ease of use.
- 🆘 New safety features such as check-ins and medical ID are highlighted, showing Google's focus on user safety and health.
- 🗣️ Google Assistant is integrated into the watch, offering a superior voice assistant experience compared to Siri, with context-aware capabilities.
- 🏃♂️ The Pixel Watch 2 has transitioned from Google Fit to Fitbit for fitness tracking, providing a comprehensive app for tracking various health metrics.
- 🏊♂️ While the watch has improved fitness tracking features, including heart rate and skin temperature monitoring, the swim workout feature is limited and the available metrics during workouts are less extensive than other devices.
- 🏅 Overall, the Pixel Watch 2 is considered the reviewer's favorite Android smartwatch of the year, offering a refined experience and addressing many of the issues from the first generation.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video script?
-The main topic of the video script is a review of the second-generation Pixel Watch, comparing it with the Apple Watch and evaluating its performance, battery life, design, and fitness capabilities.
What were the issues with the first-generation Pixel Watch according to the script?
-The first-generation Pixel Watch had issues with battery life, where it couldn't last a full 24 hours on a single charge, often dying overnight.
How does the battery life of the Pixel Watch 2 compare to its predecessor?
-The Pixel Watch 2 has improved battery life, offering over 24 hours on a single charge with the always-on display and heart sensor running, and up to 36 hours of usage reported by the reviewer.
What is the charging time for the Pixel Watch 2 to achieve 12 hours of battery life?
-The Pixel Watch 2 can achieve 12 hours of battery life with just 30 minutes of charging using the new charging puck.
What design aspects of the Pixel Watch 2 does the reviewer prefer?
-The reviewer prefers the smaller form factor of the Pixel Watch 2, its light weight, improved haptic feedback on the digital crown, and the clear screen.
How does the build quality of the Pixel Watch 2 fare in durability tests?
-The Pixel Watch 2 performed well in durability tests, with the back of the watch bending instead of shattering due to its metal material, although the screen did shatter like other smartwatches.
What is the general performance of the Pixel Watch 2 in terms of speed and usability?
-The Pixel Watch 2 has good performance, with no reported lag or slow-down in the interface, responsive swipe gestures, and quick notification interactions.
What new features does the Pixel Watch 2 have for safety and health monitoring?
-The Pixel Watch 2 introduces safety check-ins and medical ID features, allowing users to set timers for check-ins and share location and contact emergency services if needed.
How does the Google Assistant on the Pixel Watch 2 compare to Siri?
-The Google Assistant on the Pixel Watch 2 is considered better than Siri, being more contextually aware and not requiring users to repeat themselves as often.
What are the fitness capabilities of the Pixel Watch 2, and what are some limitations?
-The Pixel Watch 2 tracks heart rate, skin temperature, and stress, and auto-detects workouts. However, it has limitations in swim tracking and the available metrics shown during workouts compared to other fitness trackers.
What is the reviewer's overall opinion of the Pixel Watch 2 as a smartwatch?
-The reviewer considers the Pixel Watch 2 to be their favorite Android smartwatch of the year, better than the Galaxy Watch 6, especially for those interested in a smartwatch rather than a fitness watch, except for swimmers.
Outlines
🔋 Battery Life and Charging Improvements
The script discusses the improvements in battery life for the Pixel Watch 2, Google's second-generation smartwatch. The first-generation watch suffered from insufficient battery life, often dying overnight. The new model addresses this issue, offering over 24 hours of battery life with features like the always-on display and heart rate monitoring active. The reviewer also mentions achieving approximately 36 hours of battery life, providing flexibility in charging times. Additionally, the watch's battery performance remains strong during cellular use, with an estimated 10 to 12 hours of usage possible. The charging speed is also commendable, with 12 hours of charge achievable in just 30 minutes using the new charging puck, despite the reviewer's frustration with the alignment of the charging pins.
🛠 Design, Comfort, and Durability
The second paragraph focuses on the design, comfort, and durability of the Pixel Watch 2. The reviewer prefers the smaller form factor compared to the bulkier Apple Watch Ultra and appreciates the improved haptic feedback on the digital crown. The screen is clear, although the reviewer notes the persistent presence of bezels that do not extend to the edges, unlike other smartwatches. The selection of watch faces and bands has expanded, with compatibility with first-generation bands and a new stretch band option. Concerns about build quality due to Google's apparent generosity in giving away watches are dispelled after the reviewer subjected the watch to durability tests, finding it to be resilient up to the point of failure, which was similar to the Apple Watch Ultra. The material on the back of the watch contributes to its durability, bending rather than shattering under stress.
🚀 Performance and User Experience
The third paragraph delves into the performance of the Pixel Watch 2, highlighting its general speed of use and responsiveness. The reviewer is pleasantly surprised by the watch's performance, with no lag or slow-downs during navigation and interaction. The UI is intuitive, with swipe gestures working effectively. Notifications are quick to arrive and easy to interact with, and new features like safety check-ins and medical ID are noted as valuable additions. The Google Assistant is praised for its contextual awareness and voice recognition capabilities, although there are minor issues with account integration and feature limitations. The reviewer also expresses concerns about the potential removal of features from Google Assistant and the introduction of a new AI system.
🏃♂️ Fitness Tracking and Partnership with Fitbit
The final paragraph discusses the fitness tracking capabilities of the Pixel Watch 2 and its partnership with Fitbit. The watch has transitioned from Google Fit to Fitbit's ecosystem, offering a comprehensive app for tracking health and fitness data. The Fitbit app is user-friendly, allowing customization of the information displayed. While a premium subscription is available, it does not lock away essential features. The watch includes a heart rate monitor, skin temperature sensor, and stress monitor, which perform well for most activities. However, the swim workout feature is limited, and the available metrics during workouts are not as extensive as those offered by other fitness trackers. Despite these limitations, the watch accurately tracks activities and could suffice for most users, unless they are swimmers or require more detailed fitness tracking.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Android Watch
💡Pixel Watch 2
💡Battery Life
💡Charging
💡Design
💡Performance
💡Fitness
💡Smartwatch
💡Apple Watch
💡Fitbit
💡Google Assistant
Highlights
Pixel Watch 2 is Google's second-generation smartwatch, aiming to address issues from the first generation.
The Apple Watch is considered the best smartwatch, but many are interested in switching to Android.
A good smartwatch is defined by four categories: battery life, design, performance, and fitness.
Pixel Watch 2 has improved battery life, lasting over 24 hours with always-on display and heart sensor running.
The watch achieves up to 36 hours of battery life, offering flexibility in charging times.
Cellular use battery drain is around 8-9% per hour, allowing 10-12 hours of pure cellular use.
Pixel Watch 2 charges rapidly, achieving 12 hours of charge in just 30 minutes.
The charging puck is frustrating to use due to alignment issues and the lack of a universal charging standard.
The smaller form factor of the Pixel Watch 2 is preferred for its comfort and lightness.
The watch has improved haptic feedback and a clear screen, though the bezels are still noticeable.
A wide selection of watch bands is available, and the Pixel Watch 2 is compatible with first-generation bands.
Durability tests show the Pixel Watch 2 has strong build quality, surviving until the end like the Apple Watch Ultra.
The back of the watch is made of a metal material that bends rather than shatters, unlike other watches.
The screen on the Pixel Watch 2 shatters in durability tests, similar to other smartwatches.
Performance of the Pixel Watch 2 is improved, with no lag or slowness in interface or swipe gestures.
Notifications and new features like safety check-ins and medical ID are responsive and easy to use.
Google Assistant on the watch is superior to Siri and is contextually aware, making it more user-friendly.
Minor annoyances with Google Assistant include limited integration with Google Workspace accounts.
Pixel Watch 2 has moved from Google Fit to Fitbit for fitness tracking, offering two apps for management.
The Fitbit app provides comprehensive information and customization options for fitness tracking.
A premium Fitbit subscription offers additional features like daily readiness scores and guided workouts.
The watch includes a heart rate monitor, skin temperature sensor, and stress monitor that perform well.
Automatic workout detection is accurate, but swim workout tracking is limited to time only.
Pixel Watch 2 is a good smartwatch for most people, but may not be the best fitness watch, especially for swimmers.
The Pixel Watch 2 is the reviewer's favorite Android smartwatch of the year, surpassing the Galaxy Watch 6.
Transcripts
I have been waiting for an Android watch
that is as capable as the Apple watch So
today we're going to look at the pixel
Watch 2 Google's Second Generation and a
second chance at fixing the issues with
their first generation watch and we've
heard it all before that the Apple watch
is the best smartwatch on the market but
it is quite clear to me from other
videos I've made on this channel that a
lot of people are interested in
switching to Android from Apple so to
make this a fair comparison I wanted to
Define what really makes a good
Smartwatch and it really comes down to
four categories you've got battery life
design performance and fitness so
starting with battery life and also
charging now this was something that
played the first generation pixel watch
where I wasn't able to get a full 24
hours out of a single charge I tried
multiple times I tried switching the
screen off and turning the brightness
down and all sorts but it would always
die like overnight whilst I was sleeping
which would then put me in a predicament
far too often where I have to then
remember to charge my watch whilst
getting ready in the morning and then
remember to put it back on again before
going to the gym and using it for
workouts and that's if I even had enough
time to charge it in the first place now
the good news here is that they've
solved the problem this time around with
the watch now getting over 24 hours of
battery life in a single charge and
that's with the always on display and
still with their heart sensor running
every second which was kind of the thing
that everyone thought was killing the
battery life in the first time around
now I'm actually getting more like 36
hours of battery life with this watch
which is really great because it means I
can have some flexibility on when I want
to charge it you know if I forget to
charge first thing in the morning then
I've got time to do it later in the day
and that great battery performance also
extends to when it's on Cellular use
only now I seem to be losing around 8 to
9% every 1 hour of being on cellular so
at most I'm able to get anywhere from 10
to maybe 12 hours of pure Cellular use
from the watch which is actually really
really good it's enough for me to like
leave for work in the morning forget
your phone do a full day at work and
then come home and then pick your phone
up again something that was only really
possible if you used Garmin with like
their insane 20 plus day battery life or
the Apple watch Ultra that I managed to
get a full 24 hours on LTE you know on
cellular usage as well and the charging
is also pretty rapid too on the pixel
watch you get 12 hours of charge in just
30 minutes of to charging and that is
using their new charging puck which in
itself is quite a frustrating charger
because it's not just these four pins
you have to line them up in the correct
position so every time I try and do this
every day it involves a few seconds of
like faing around before remembering or
getting it in the right direction also I
don't quite understand why between like
Apple and Samsung and Google and Garmin
like every watch seems to have its own
specific charger I kind of wish everyone
would just adopt one charging standard
and stick with it like we've finally
done with USBC across you know all
phones now okay so battery let's go from
1 through 10 three one is 12 hours of
battery life so the pixel scores a 3 out
of 10 but it's not all about the battery
life that's only parts of the puzzle
what about the way it's built it's
design looks and the Comforts well in
terms of the design I actually prefer
this like smaller form factor speaking
of someone who has worn an Apple Watch
Ultra for the last year or so having a
watch with a much smaller form factor is
actually a really pleasant experience
it's small it's light it's not as bulky
it's nicer to sleep with and actually
they really improved the haptic feedback
on the digital Crown as well I just
really like where pixel are going with
like the haptic lately now in terms of
the screen itself it's really really
clear to read although I do remember
last year everyone was talking about
like these huge like bezel around the
outside now I haven't seen anyone
mentioned them this year but it is still
a shame that the screen doesn't go
always to the edges like you do on many
other SmartWatches nowadays now there's
also a pretty wide selection now of
stock watch faces and you can of course
download one of like many of them from
the Play Store and you can fit a good
amount of information on the screen if
you want to there's another Plus for the
watch this year which is their ever
growing selection of watch bands now
I've just ordered a stretch band for
this watch so I'm not a huge fan of
these kind of watch bands that tuck in
under but I like the way Google is going
with having a wide selection of bands
and also the fact that the pixel Watch 2
is compatible with the first generation
pixel watch bands as well now the one
negative thing that I thought would be a
concern of mine was the build quality of
the pixel Watch 2 because if you bought
a pixel 8 Pro at launch you were
basically given a free pixel watch and
Google seems to be very very quick at
giving these watches out to people so
even though this starts at £350 here in
the UK or £ 399 for the LTE version
which I have here it feels like it
probably isn't isn't going to be worth
that much if you know if they're giving
them away but I'm impressed I'm actually
really impressed because I recently put
the pixel Watch 2 through a series of
like pretty challenging like durability
tests and the pixel watch survived until
the very end and lasted just up until
the same point as the Apple watch Ultra
did which actually is pretty incredible
now the thing that impressed me the most
on the pixel watch in particular was
that on all the other watches I tested
the back of the watches completely
shattered whereas on the pixel watch it
didn't due to the material it's kind of
more of metal material rather than glass
on the back here so it simply like bent
and still got trash but it didn't
shatter like any of the other watches
did although when it did come down to it
the screen on the front did shatter on
the pixel watch whereas the other smart
watches I tested didn't shatter but
overall pixel Watch 2 build quality
design and whole comfort thing I'm going
to score a 7 out of 10 that small it's
comfortable I like it but the big one
that counts for a lot of what makes a
smartwatch a really good Smartwatch
performance which is something that a
lot of Android watches I've come across
a shockingly poor rats but just before
we talk about that I want to thank the
sponsor of today's video keeper who make
it possible for me to continue making
these videos now keeper also makes it
possible for me to switch devices and be
able to log into all of my favorite apps
and websites and even store things like
my proof of ID and like Finance data now
that means when I use my Windows PC at
home my Mac laptop for work my pixel
tablet my Android or my iPhone depending
on what day of the week it is I can
still easily get to all of that critical
information that allows me to use unique
passwords for everything I use there's
an even new technology that's starting
to make waves where you'll never need to
remember a password again now it's
called pass keys and it uses your
password manager to store this Pass key
so when you log in it talks to your
password manager which then provides the
key and then logs you in now it is far
more secure since you now have no
password that can be guessed or you can
be like tricked into giving away but it
does mean even more than ever you want
to be storing those pass keys on
something that works across any device
instead of storing on your phone or in
your browser which only works in that
one place now I honestly don't know
where I be today without a crossplatform
passw manager that remembers everything
for me like my memory is pretty awful so
sign up using the link down below for up
to 50% off a keeper personal or family
subscription and again huge thank you to
keeper for keeping me in a job thanks so
much so to begin with in terms of
performance we are talking about the
general speed of use how quick it is to
navigate around and use the watch in
general because the typical use case for
for any watch is that you don't really
use it 80 to 90% of the time and when
you do interact with it it's usually
only for a few seconds at a time like
checking the time starting a timer or a
workout using the voice assistant
whatever it might be and the pixel watch
is actually not that bad in fact I don't
really have anything bad to say about
the pixel watch which surprised even
myself now not once have I had the
interface lag or slow down or just take
too long to do something swipe gestures
also work pretty well it's not the
fastest thing ever it could be a little
bit more responsive but I wouldn't call
it slow now they also seem to have
nailed small things in the UI that make
an Apple Watch just so easy to use which
is actually something that Samsung have
failed in my eyes quite a few times to
do where you have to swipe exactly like
horizontally to get the watch to do
something for you so swiping left or
right at just the slightest angle on a
Galaxy watch won't do anything but
they've got that down on the pixel watch
you can kind of swipe in from an angle
and that still works now notifications
also come through quickly they're easy
to interact with easy to respond to and
we've also got the new safety check-ins
and the medical ID features which are
really nice additions to see on the
pixel Watch 2 now the safety check-in
feature in particular for those of you
who are walking home alone like late at
nights you can basically set a timer for
how long until you need to check in and
if you don't then it will share your
location and contact your emergency
contacts and dial the emergency services
so it's great to see Google taking steps
towards looking after us you also get
the Google Assistant here on the watch
which brings the best voice assistant
within easy reach now it's better than
Siri by a long shot and it's
contextually aware so you don't need to
continually repeat yourself couple of
minor annoyances though if I sit here
and say hey turn off the boys room
lights sorry it looks like the boys room
TV isn't available right now uh turn on
the boys room
lights now I also have a a Google
workspace account for work and a
personal Google account but I can't get
that workspace account to really well
work that well it's always really
Limited in terms of what it can do so
when I ask Google what's on my own
calendar today you can only read it from
my main calendar not my work calendar
now I've also heard lots of stories of
Google reigning back Google assistant
and actually removing features that it's
had for years James kimbery who runs
kimbery it basically called it the worst
thing Google has ever released and he's
hoping at least that Google will at some
point replace it with Google bar the new
like AI system but given the kind of
awful launcher the Humane AI pin how
much
protein a half a cup of vins has 15 g of
protein I'm not really sure I want AI
involved in Voice Assistant stuff just
yet but with that aside Google assistant
is good and just the pixel watch overall
is just so much more refined this year
and I'm glad to see that they've taken
user feedback on board to improve things
for the better so 7 out of 10 for the
performance but let's not get too
carried away with ourselves let's talk
Fitness now so with the pixel watch
Google has totally moved away from
Google Fit to fitbits and essentially
you have two apps to manage your watch
you've got the watch app to actually
manage and configure your watch and then
the Fitbit app kind of like apple has
their like watch app and their health
and their fitness apps and the fitb app
itself isn't too bad it gives you like
all the information that's important to
you you can tell it what you want to see
when you load up the app whether you
want to focus on your sleep getting more
active managing your weight your food
whatever it might be now there is also a
premium Fitbit subscription that it will
prompt you to sign up for and this works
in a similar way to a lot of other third
party fitness trackers like the Aur ring
the whoop strap and so forth where it
will give you a daily score for your
Readiness or your stress and like
trending sleep data and like a library
of guided workouts which for most people
you don't need so you don't have to sign
up to Fitbit premium it doesn't lock
anything like vitally important away now
this year the pixel watch has a heart
rate a skin temperature and a stress
Monitor and for the most part these work
pretty well like I actually like how the
heart rate monitor tracks every second
something which last year came at the
cost of significantly less battery life
so it's good to see them fixing that one
this year now what this means is that if
you're doing a like a hit workout or
perhaps want to track really closely to
a c certain heart Zone when you're
training you'll be able to do this more
accurately than most other SmartWatches
which don't take readings as often as
the pixel watch does now I also found
the pixel watch also detecting workout
be pretty good like going on a walk or a
run and it will pick up and start the
workout from near enough when you
actually started your workout now this
works well for me since my health
insurance gives me free drinks and loads
of discounts when I actually do certain
workouts each week so I've been able to
collect more points when wearing this
watch but the only thing that I still
get frustrated with on the pixel watch
actually it's two things now firstly the
swim workout does nothing except track
the time even though it has a setting to
set the length of the pool so you'd
think you'll be able to track the number
of lengths I SW but outside of this the
available metrics you can show during a
workout are really quite Limited in
comparison to really any other
Smartwatch or Fitness tracker now
considering the partnership with Fitbit
here it's kind of disappointing but to
be fair it will do the job for most
people and quite accurately at that but
if you want a smartwatch that's also a
good Fitness Watch like depending on the
type of activities you're doing you
might want to try one out before you
commit to actually buying one so I'm
going to score 5 out of 10 for Fitness
overall with pixel Watch 2 but as to
whether it is a good watch for Fitness
I'd argue for most people who are
interested in a smart watch not a
fitness watch then this actually checks
all of the boxes unless you're a swimmer
but that's kind of Point aside the pixel
watch this year is most definitely my
favorite Android Smartwatch of the year
like better than the Galaxy watch 6 in
my opinion but do you disagree let me
know why down in the comments below just
be nice about it please and I'll see you
in the next one
bye-bye
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