Google Pixel Watch 3 review: The smart choice for Android users

Google Pixel Watch 3

When it comes to smartwatches, Google has been late to the party. Rivals in the premium segment have been around with their smartwatches for a while. In 2022, Google revealed its first Pixel watch and there was a sense of skepticism. Google’s idea of nurturing its own ecosystem of Pixel devices hadn’t really taken off — till the Pixel Watch arrived. A year later, the Pixel Watch 2 came as an improved version and now with Pixel Watch 3, Google is hoping that third time will be the charm.

Google has been smart in not making the Pixel Watch  a direct rival to the Apple Watch — as on many  levels it really isn’t — but offering it as well-rounded (no pun intended) smartwatch for Androids. Can it succeed? We put the Pixel Watch 3 under some rigorous testing and here’s what we think:

Google Pixel Watch 3 review: How it looks

The Pixel Watch 3 doesn’t stray far from the design playbook of its predecessor. It looks quite sleep with its pebble-shaped round dial that makes it more recognisable than the other Android smartwatches.

At first glance, the all-glass front suggests a seamless, curved infinity display. However, it isn’t and is more of an illusion. The display itself is mostly flat, with the bezels doing a fine job of taking up most of that supposed curve. Google will tell you the screen is “slightly larger” than the Pixel Watch 2’s, but unless you’re bringing a magnifying glass to your wrist, you’d be hard-pressed to spot the difference.

Much like its predecessor, the 41mm Pixel Watch 3 keeps the same featherweight build. It’s really light and comfortable to wear. The aluminium casing and the soft silicon strap make it easy to wear the Pixel Watch 3 for hours.

The front is armed with 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5, making it durable enough. But be wary as the Watch can get scratches and the 41mm looks a bit dainty.

Google has improved the brightness on the display and it really shines. With a peak brightness of 2000 nits — as much as the Watch Series 10 — the Pixel Watch 3 has a really bright display. Even in harsh sunlight, I had no trouble reading on it. It is a smart display as well because when the always-on display (AOD) kicks in, it pulls off the neat trick of dimming down to 1 nit, offering just enough glow to let you know it’s there without lighting up the whole room. The AOD feature works really well and during night, it automatically dims down.

With a refresh rate of up to 60Hz, the watch keeps things running smoothly—no stuttering or lagging as you zip between apps and notifications. In fact, it does feel more smoother than Samsung’s most expensive Watch Ultra. Google offers the Pixel Watch 3 in two sizes — 41mm and 45mm.

Google sent us the 41mm variant and frankly, it seems rather small. More so, when I traded it for the Apple Watch Ultra 2. It’s not just that the Watch looks small but it felt like a finger-tapping exercise every time I had to type a message on it. Sure, you get used to it but the real estate seems too small for doing too much on the display.

Google Pixel Watch 3 review: Performance, health features

Let’s start with one of the biggest gripes I have with the Pixel Watch. 3 — the watch faces. Honestly, some of these designs look like they were sketched by a toddler armed with crayons after a sugar rush. Where’s the finesse, the class, the sophistication, you may wonder. Not here, that’s for sure. At least not in most of the watch faces which are borderline cartoonish— and not in a good way.

Compared to the Apple Watch’s lineup of clean, crisp, and downright stylish faces, the Pixel Watch 3’s offerings feel out of their league. Sure, functionality matters, but aesthetics shouldn’t be this much of an afterthought. You’d expect a flagship Google device to come with a gallery of watch faces that scream elegance and creativity. Instead, we get a rather strange mix of clunky, uninspired designs that make your wrist feel more budget Android than cutting-edge tech. Google really needs to iron it out.

Once you get past the watch faces, you’ve to give it to Google for making a really good and powerful smartwatch. There’s a built-in speaker on the left side which is really loud and clear for audio calls. I paired the Pixel Watch 3 with the Pixel 9 first and the experience was as smooth as ever. I also paired the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 to see how well the ‘ecosystem’ works. It does work quite well as if you get a call on the Watch and want to switch to the buds, it is very seamless. The setup process is also smooth with the Pixel phone, which is expected. But I did pair it with the Samsung Z Fold6 and it took a bit too long for my liking.

The Pixel Watch 3 runs on Google’s WearOS 5, powered by Android 14, serving up a delightfully smooth, clean software experience with a user-friendly interface that’s about as intuitive as it gets. In terms of smoothness, the Pixel Watch 3 certainly better than the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. Scroll the screens of the two watches and the Pixel Watch 3 gives you a better experience for sure.

Google has come a long with WearOS and the Pixel Watch 3 is a testament to that. There are a lot of features like Find My Device, Car Crash Detection, and Fall Detection. You also get Emergency Sharing and SOS.

There are some other handy features as well. For instance, there’s the Theatre mode, which silences both the display and notifications for a while So, if you are in a meeting and don’t want constant pinging of notifications, you can turn it on. There’s also Connected Fitness, which lets you pair the watch with compatible workout machines or apps to share real-time data, such as your heart rate.

When it comes to fitness and health features, the Pixel Watch relies quite a bit on the Fitbit ecosystem and there’s nothing wrong with it. The always-on hear rate sensor can do a lot to keep a track of your cardio fitness. You can enable Irregular Rhythm, High Heart Rate, and Low Heart Rate notifications, to keep a track of cardio health. The features work quite well. In fact, most of the health fitness features work quite well on the Pixel Watch 3. A lot of smartwatches falter keeping track of the cadence but the Pixel Watch is as accurate as the Apple Watch in that regard.

The Running mode is a standout, letting you set goals for distance, time, and even target heart rates. You can plan entire routines with warm-ups, cool downs, and intervals — it is all very neatly done and is quite accurate.

For moments of zen, the Mindfulness feature guides you through breathing exercises while keeping tabs on your heart rate changes. Body Response goes a step further, tracking heart rate and micro-sweat levels to give you a heads-up when stress starts creeping in.

Google has offered detailed sleep tracking features as well. The Pixel Watch gives you a breakdown of your sleep stages: Deep, Light, REM, and times you wake up. There’s a nice graph which explains how long you spent in each stage. Like other sleep tracking features, the Pixel Watch 3 also gives you insights into oxygen variation, heart rate fluctuations, restlessness, and more, all tied up neatly in a sleep score. Just make sure you wear the watch while sleeping for at least seven nights to unlock these insights.

The Pixel Watch 3 naturally shines brightest when synced with your Google account. Calendar events are instantly synced. Maps works seamlessly on the Pixel Watch 3 as well.

When it comes to battery, the Pixel Watch 3 is something you will have to charge almost every day. During a 90-minute workout session, the battery levels dropped by almost 25%. Otherwise it remains steady throughout and can last for a day. It charges quite quickly though, which is a big plus.

Google Pixel Watch 3 review: Verdict

The Google Pixel Watch 3 is easily one of the top contenders for Android users in the premium smartwatch market. When paired with a Pixel smartphone, it works best. But even with other Android phones, it has a lot going for it.

It has a premium build, looks durable and comfortable to wear throughout the day. The 41mm  variant is nice for those with more petite wrists but typing is a bit of a pain on it. The 45mm variant offers more screen real estate and looks nice and big as well.

I mentioned at the start that Google isn’t rivalling it as an Apple Watch rival as it has quite a few things missing compared to it. For instance, the Watch 10 now gets the depth app whereas the Watch Ultra is designed for the rough and tumbles as well. Plus, the watch faces are something that Google desperately needs to improve.

Minor gripes aside, the Pixel Watch 3 is a really smart sidekick for Android users.