Google Pixel Watch Hands-On: Fitbit Makes Its Android Watch Debut

Google’s new Pixel Watch is the company’s first smartwatch, yet it’s also quite possibly the highest-end Fitbit tracker to date. The company unveiled the Pixel Watch during an event on Thursday, solidifying its expansion into the mobile device market, alongside the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro phones.

The announcement comes after Google teased the Pixel Watch in May during its I/O developers conference. While Google previously revealed what the watch would look like and provided a preview of its software, it saved many of the core details around pricing, design and functionality for Thursday’s unveiling. 

Aside from making the Wear OS smartwatch software that’s used by Samsung, Fossil and Michael Kors, Google’s largely been absent from the smartwatch market. The company also owns Fitbit, which it acquired in 2021. The $350 (£339, AU$549) Pixel Watch, however, is the first smartwatch to be positioned as a Google device under its flagship Pixel brand. It comes as the company has been making a renewed push into hardware to establish itself as a household name alongside Apple and Samsung in the mobile device market.

Go straight to the source for your Google Pixel Watch preorder. Prices start at $350 and devices will begin shipping on Oct. 13.

Read our Pixel Watch first take.

The Pixel Watch has an elegant design that separates it from most Android-compatible smartwatches available on the market. But coming seven years after the original Apple Watch’s launch, it has a lot of catching up to do from an industry-wide perspective. Apple leads the smartwatch space with 29% of the global market as of the second quarter of 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. Samsung is the leader when it comes to Android-compatible smartwatches with 9% of the market, a number that trails far behind Apple. 

With its sharp looks and Fitbit health metrics, the Pixel Watch already seems like a promising choice for Android device owners. But I could also see how the Pixel Watch could complicate how Fitbit’s own smartwatches fit into Google’s product lineup. The company says the Pixel Watch is for those who want Fitbit’s health tracking along with additional smartwatch features that Fitbit devices lack, such as optional LTE connectivity and Google Play Store apps.

The $300 Fitbit Sense 2, on the other hand, includes additional health and wellness capabilities such as skin temperature measurements and the ability to detect potential signs of stress. Whether the Pixel Watch becomes a hit could be an indicator of what consumers value most in a smartwatch. 

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Hands-On With the New Google Pixel Watch

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Pixel Watch may be the best-looking smartwatch yet

Google said in May it’s positioning the Pixel Watch as a premium smartwatch, and that approach comes across in its aesthetic. The Pixel Watch has a domed, circular glass design with scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and a stainless steel housing that makes it look more like a regular wristwatch than most smartwatches I’ve seen. 

The watch is water resistant up to 5 ATM, which means it should be able to withstand pressure equal to a depth of 50 meters. It also…