Google announced the Pixel Watch 2 at today's Made by Google event in New York City, upgrading its inaugural smartwatch with Fitbit capabilities that aim to make it a worthy competitor for the Apple Watch Series 9.
Released within a month of the Apple Watch Series 9 and less than a week after the Fitbit Charge 6, the newest Pixel Watch enters the market just in time for the holiday shopping season.
The smartwatch starts at $349 for its Wi-Fi model and $399 for LTE, maintaining price parity with its predecessor.
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The Pixel Watch 2’s New Sensors
Google advertises the Pixel Watch 2 as “the best of Google and Fitbit,” as the watch has been upgraded with new body-response and skin temperature sensors to help users monitor stress.
Body-response tracking detects sweat on the skin and ties that data into heart rate variability, heart rate and skin temperature to determine when a user might be stressed throughout the day. The Pixel Watch 2 will then prompt the user that they might be stressed and ask them to log their mood. The watch will also use the Fitbit app to give users suggestions for stress relieving activities, like guided breathing or taking a walk.
This kind of tracking is also useful to detect the onset of a cold or the effects of alcohol or caffeine, Google claims.
The Pixel Watch 2 also introduces a more advanced heart rate sensor, previously used on Fitbit devices, that integrates with AI. The smartwatch can track sleep, give users a daily readiness score and tell them if their heart rate is too high or too low.
New AI
Google redesigned the Fitbit app in August with a simpler interface, but it’s taking things a step further with AI. Pixel Watch 2 users will soon be able to ask questions like “Why did I feel more tired on today’s run?” on the Fitbit app. The app will use AI to connect the dots between sleep and activity data points, and then answer the user with paragraphs of potential causes based on the user’s data.
Fitbit will roll out this capability next year to trusted testers, with priority access to Google Pixel phone users.
Google Pixel Watch 2 vs. Fitbit Charge 6
The heart rate monitoring on the Pixel Watch 2 uses "multi-path" tech, analogous to the technology used on the Fitbit Charge 6, which Google released last week. The tech had previously debuted in last year's Fitbit Sense, and essentially means that the watch is checking your heart rate in multiple places and multiple ways for a more accurate read.
Google acquired Fitbit in 2021; since then, Fitbit models have shown increasing integration with Google services. The Charge 6, like the Pixel Watch 2, utilizes Google’s machine learning for advanced heart rate monitoring and also brings in the Google suite of apps, such as Google Maps and YouTube Music.
The difference between the Charge 6 and the Pixel Watch 2 rests in the Fitbit's health and fitness focus and the comparably wider range of features in the Pixel Watch 2. While the Charge 6 has some Google integration, it’s mainly focused on enhancing workouts and helping users run errands, and so comes in at a cheaper price point ($159 vs $349).
The Pixel Watch 2 brings in tools like Google Assistant, Gmail and Calendar for keeping up with work on the go, while still leveraging Fitbit's technology for improved health capabilities over its predecessor. It has an At a Glance always-on display that can handle a broad range of tasks, including delivering contextual information such as traffic and weather conditions.
The Pixel Watch 2 comes with a 6-month Fitbit Premium membership and a 1-month trial of YouTube Music Premium.
The Pixel Watch 2's 'Safety Signal'
The Pixel Watch 2 has built-in safety features, although they're locked behind either a carrier data plan or a Fitbit Premium subscription (which allows the phone to call for help even without a data plan using a feature called "Safety Signal").
Google is introducing Fall Detection and Emergency SOS to the Pixel Watch 2, emulating identical features on the latest Apple Watch. While Apple’s smartwatch also has crash detection, satellite calling and international emergency calling, Google is focusing on safety checks and emergency sharing.
Say the user is on a date with someone they’ve never met and they want their friends and family to know where they are, just in case. They can set a timer with the Pixel Watch’s safety check—when the timer ends, the Pixel Watch will ask if the user is okay or if they want to start sharing their location with their closest, pre-selected contacts. They also have the option to contact emergency services. If the watch gets no answer, an emergency sharing feature kicks in and shares the user’s real-time location and situation with their contacts. Apple's analogous feature currently requires a phone in addition to a watch.
The feature could make more people feel safe when running errands or going for a long workout. On the other hand, it runs the same false alarm risk as Apple's similar features.
Apple Watch Series 9 vs. Google Pixel Watch 2
Like the Apple Watch Series 9, the Pixel Watch 2 has a 100% recycled case, though the Pixel is limited to recycled aluminum while Apple also offers recycled stainless steel. The Series 9 has a brighter always-on display that goes up to 2,000 nits, while the Pixel Watch 2’s max brightness is 1,000 nits. But the Pixel Watch 2 has a better reported battery life of up to 24 hours, while the Series 9 has up to 18 hours.
The Pixel Watch has blood oxygen monitoring, ECG tracking and cycle tracking through the Fitbit app, which are central features of the Apple Watch Series 9.
The Apple Watch 9 starts at $399 for a Wi-Fi-only model, with a $499 cellular option also available; the Google Pixel Watch 2 costs comparatively less ($50 less for Wi-Fi, $100 less for LTE).
Colors and bands
The Pixel Watch 2 has four color combinations: bay (light blue), porcelain (tan), obsidian (matte black) and hazel (champagne gold).
Google introduced new slim metal and active sports bands for users who want to dress the watch up or use it at the gym.
Pixel pairing
The Pixel Watch 2 works with most phones running Android 9.0 or newer and is compatible with Find My Device, Google Assistant, and the Google Home app.
A Google Account and the Google Pixel Watch app are prerequisites to using the watch. As a promotion for the Pixel 8 Pro, Google is bundling it with Pixel Watch 2 pre-orders.
