Like it’s done with its Pixel smartphone lineup, Google has wedged its way into the Big Tech elite of smartwatches alongside Apple, Samsung, and Garmin.
The Pixel Watch 4 has been eagerly anticipated, and for those who’ve been left lukewarm by a string of so-so, somewhat disappointing devices this year that’d built up a lot of unrealized hype, the Pixel Watch 4 should be a welcome sight.
It’s improved in a lot of ways over its predecessor. Although you’d be getting an early jump on it, since the Pixel Watch 4 goes on sale on October 9, you can already place your pre-order.
a sizable leap over the pixel watch 3
Battery life grows to 25% over the Pixel Watch 3 to 30 hours for the 41mm version and 40 hours on the 45mm version. If you manage to drain the battery all the way down to 0%, it’ll take just 15 minutes to charge it back up to 50%, about 25% quicker than the old model.
It’s also the first Pixel Watch for which you can replace the battery and the screen, meaning that if you damage or manage to wear yours out, you don’t have to toss the whole thing and buy a new one. That’s a win for sustainability.
“Pixel Watch 4 features a first-of-its-kind Actua 360 display that’s physically curved to deliver a 10% larger active area and an edgeless appearance with 16% smaller bezels,” reads Google’s August 21 announcement.
The display’s brightness increases from an already-quite-bright 2000 nits (a measurement of brightness) to 3000 nits. Greater screen brightness means it’s easier to see in harsh, bright sunlight.
Google also brags about 18% more accurate sleep tracking (don’t know how they measured that), dual-frequency GPS that means more accurate route tracking, and standalone satellite communication.
“Even when you forget to start a workout, your watch will use AI to automatically detect and classify your activity and send you a recap so you never miss out on your stats,” says Google. That sounds… all right?
It could potentially be great, or it could be annoying. I’m eager to see how it all shakes out in the real world.
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