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Confession time: I’m not a big smartwatch guy. Despite having worn dozens of them over the past decade, I like the Apple Watch a good deal, can get with a Garmin MARQ and generally remain unfussed about the rest. Why? It takes a lot to make me want to wear the same thing every day, especially if it’s going to insist on sending me notifications every minute or so.
That’s why the first Pixel Watch was such a tantalising prospect. A well-designed wearable that could fit in and around your life instead of demanding 24/7 attention. This is the stuff my (very specific) dreams are made of, especially if you’re the owner of an Android smartphone such as those made by Samsung, Nothing or Google itself. While the Pixel Watch’s debut didn’t quite live up to ambitions – mainly because its battery life couldn’t withstand a working day – the Pixel Watch 2 is a major leap forward in most respects. It’s a smartwatch for people who don’t like smartwatches.
A perfect fit
I don’t have a particularly esteemed watch collection – a Mondaine that was a wedding present, a viscerally yellow G-Shock and an Omega to commemorate my descent into middle-agedness – but I do enjoy rotating through them on the regular. Generally, I’ll reach for a smartwatch when I’m heading to the gym, travelling abroad or want something chunky on my wrist a la the Apple Watch Ultra. What I absolutely do not want from any wearable is a giant black slate of a screen with zero personality.
Since the Google Pixel Watch 2 retains the teardrop aesthetic of its predecessor with a circular display, dinky crown and an ample array of straps, it firmly remains in the handsome smartwatch elite. Its 41mm build sits gracefully on your wrist without dominating your ‘fit much in the same way a Rolex Explorer or Cartier Ballon Bleu might. There’s always a time and a place for the square largesse of something like TAG Heuer’s Monaco (or indeed the 45mm Apple Watch), but the Pixel Watch 2 better tallies with menswear’s genderless vibe right now and is more versatile as a result. Especially since it similarly comes with a cheery array of watch faces that span from chunky cartoon lettering to an at-a-glance guide to your wellness – there's no Snoopy face as of yet though, alas.
Much of this charm has been carried over from the debut Pixel Watch, but it was significantly diminished at the first time of asking. Now, with the added oomph of a new quad-core CPU and Wear OS 4 software, the Pixel Watch 2’s performance is noticeably more snappy when swiping between screens and apps. Better still, you don’t need to fret over battery life before switching its screen to always-on so you can read it at all times and from almost any angle. Or to put things another way, the Pixel Watch 2 finally works like any other ‘normal’ watch. Why wasn’t this the case from Day 1? It’s difficult to fathom. Still, the end result is that the Pixel Watch 2 feels less like a prototype and lot closer to the finished article.
An easygoing trainer
As much as the Watch 2’s recycled aluminium build is central to its universal appeal, it still needs to check the boxes as a fitness tracker. Something that its initial incarnation (again) didn’t quite get right, even though it was positioned as having Fitbit built into its very foundations. You know, the noughties wellness pioneer that Google bought for $2.1 billion in 2021. As such, any new Pixel Watch owner gets a free six-month subscription to Fitbit Premium and its slate of trainer-instructed exercise classes.
Ignoring the six-month period when I thought that taking up Crossfit was a perfectly sensible idea (spoiler alert: it wasn’t), I don’t qualify as a fitness obsessive by any standard. Still, I do know enough about these things to tell that the Watch 2’s skills are passable and certainly a big leap forward from a year ago. The big change this time around is that auto-tracking is now enabled for activities such as walking, running, outdoor cycling, and rowing. This is especially handy if you tend to walk your dog in an early morning stupor like me. Now you’ll get a prompt about 10 minutes into proceedings to ensure everything gets logged in the right place.
Still, there were a few instances where I was expecting more from the Watch 2 while I attempted to get a sweat on. A good 20 minutes spent waving my limbs back and forth on an elliptical machine was lost to the digital ether because I didn’t realise auto-tracking wasn’t available. On a similar note, Fitbit’s swim tracking is extremely basic compared to the Apple Watch – it’s basically a glorified timer with no information on the number of laps you’ve swum or anything along those lines. For me, this is all annoying rather than terminal stuff, but there’s no escaping the fact that most folks who obsess about these things will need to look elsewhere for their smartwatch fix.
A more welcome touch is the means to keep track of stress and changing moods throughout the day. Without resorting to therapy speak, I’m a fan of any of these tools that help you notice how you’re feeling – even if they’re no substitute for talking to a professional should you need that support. A ‘Safety Check’ feature that alerts emergency contacts to your location after a set timer elapses is also a nice touch for those concerned about travelling or exercising alone.
Pixel Watch 2 verdict
The most frustrating thing about the original Google Pixel Watch was that it was so much fun to wear and so annoying when it got in the way of a good time. The Pixel Watch 2 might not represent the most sexy of upgrades, it does a far better job of sticking the landing than its predecessor. Its battery life and workout tracking capabilities are both much improved, leaving you to get on with the simple business of wearing it. As much as the Apple Watch still reigns supreme among smartwatches, the Pixel Watch 2 comes pretty close to nailing the same vibe. It’s less of a tool and more like a luxury.