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Title: Pixel Watch 4 hands-on: A long, thoughtful list of improvements

Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2025 16:00:15 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/wearables/pixel-watc...

Most people donΓÇÖt think of Google when they think about smartwatch makers,
but the latest Pixel Watch might change that. A surprising number of updates
are coming to the Pixel Watch 4, and I was impressed by how these changes add
up to make it less of an iterative update than I initially expected.

Of all its new features, I found the Pixel Watch 4ΓÇÖs satellite
communications capability, repairable design and improved charging speeds
most compelling. Other changes, like the brighter, curved display, dual-chip
architecture, upgraded haptics engine and speaker as well as Wear OS 6 and
other software features are less exciting, but will matter more to the day-to-
day experience. The redesigned Fitbit app, which will have a new AI
experience at its core, will also impact your daily use more.

At first glance and from a recent hands-on, IΓÇÖm intrigued by the Pixel
Watch 4 and how the individual improvements might add up to a more meaningful
overall experience.

Satellite connectivity for emergency communications on a smartwatch

I want to jump right into the new feature IΓÇÖm most interested in: emergency
satellite communications. Google says the Pixel Watch 4 is the first
standalone commercial smartwatch to support this feature, and that probably
largely has to do with the chip that powers it.

The Snapdragon Wear 5 Gen 2, which Qualcomm announced today along with the
Wear 5+ Gen 2, is the first wearable processor to offer satellite support,
according to the company. ItΓÇÖll use SkyloΓÇÖs Narrowband Non-Terrestrial
Network (NB-NTN) and allow for ΓÇ£two-way emergency messaging directly from
the wearable device.ΓÇ¥ ItΓÇÖs worth noting that this will only work on LTE
models and in the contiguous United States, though.

In a recorded demo of the feature at a hands-on event, I saw what it would
look like on a Pixel Watch 4 when you try to connect to a satellite to send a
message. Now, to be extremely clear, this was a pre-recorded video that
played on loop on the device. All I did was hit play and watch. Still, it was
nice to get an idea of what the process would require. It looked like youΓÇÖd
need to follow onscreen instructions to move your wrist around while the
system searched for an available satellite to connect to. It was reminiscent
of existing versions on phones. Whether itΓÇÖs ultimately reliable or
effective is something I canΓÇÖt say until I get to actually test it.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget Improved charging dock and faster recharging

In contrast, I did get to see for myself just how quickly the Pixel Watch 4
recharges. On paper, the company says the new watch can go from 0 to 50
percent charged in 15 minutes or less. I sat next to a Pixel Watch 4 for ten
minutes as it sat on a charging dock, and saw it go from 70 percent to 90
percent in that time. ThatΓÇÖs impressive, and though that math doesnΓÇÖt
appear to match what the company promised, thereΓÇÖs a fairly straightforward
reason.

A Google representative told me that past 80 percent, the charging changes
from CC (constant current) to CV (constant voltage). Without getting too much
into the technicalities of whatΓÇÖs happening, basically when CV kicks in,
charging speeds slow down. This is a fairly standard battery optimization
measure for most modern devices.

If the Pixel Watch 4 were starting off closer to 0 percent, itΓÇÖs possible
that it would have recharged to 50 percent in 15 minutes, but I donΓÇÖt know
for certain. IΓÇÖm also not sure whether the fact that the demo unit was
connected to a portable battery instead of a wall socket made any difference
in this case. I am, however, glad to see that it was able to get 20 percent
of juice in just 10 minutes ΓÇö just about the time it takes for me to get
ready for the gym every morning.

Google also redesigned the charging dock. Instead of a puck that sits under
the watch (like youΓÇÖll find on almost all smartwatches today), the Pixel
Watch 4 has a cradle that it can sit sideways in. The charger itself has a
smaller footprint: instead of a round disc, itΓÇÖs a rectangular dock about
the size of a double A battery, with a groove in it to accommodate the watch.
You can place the Pixel Watch 4 in there, knob side up with the screen facing
either direction. When itΓÇÖs connected, the watch will show the time and
charge level and I could see that information from about six feet away.
ItΓÇÖs basically the iPhoneΓÇÖs Standby mode but for a watch thatΓÇÖs propped
up on its side.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

IΓÇÖm not sure how much easier it is to drop a watch sideways into a cradle
as opposed to straight onto a disc, but I do think having the charge level be
viewable from a distance is helpful. IΓÇÖm also glad that Google spent time
thinking about faster charging and making the device last longer, since those
were complaints we had with previous models. To be specific, the company says
the new smartwatch lasts 25 percent longer than its predecessor, thanks to a
dual-chip architecture and efficiencies via Wear OS 6.

New curved, brighter display

Google says the Pixel Watch 4 has all new hardware on both the inside and
out. In fact, it went as far as to say it completely redesigned the Pixel
Watch and that this is the biggest update to the device yet. One of the most
visible changes is the display. Not only is it 50 percent brighter than the
one on the Pixel Watch 3, but the screen itself is domed this time, not just
the glass at the top.

I didn't really see a difference at first, but when looking a Pixel Watch 4
and 3 side-by-side, the new model was noticeably brighter, and watch faces
seemed to stretch a bit closer to the edge of the case. Since the interface
uses a black background, though, it was hard to tell whether the bezel was
thinner.

There are quite a few new features that I didnΓÇÖt get to test, which IΓÇÖve
collected in a list at the bottom of this article. For now, itΓÇÖs probably
more relevant to talk about things like Gemini on Wear OS 6, Raise to talk
(to the assistant), the redesigned Fitbit app and the AI-powered updates.

Raise to talk to Gemini and AI-generated message replies

The Pixel Watch 4 isnΓÇÖt the first watch to launch with GoogleΓÇÖs latest
wearable platform (that honor belongs to SamsungΓÇÖs Galaxy Watch 8 series).
But it does have an exclusive feature to make interacting with Gemini a bit
easier: Raise to talk. Unlike on the Samsung wearable, where you have to
verbally invoke the assistant or long press the knob on the side, on the
Pixel Watch 4 you can bring your wrist to your face and Gemini will be ready
for your requests.

When it recognizes the gesture, the Pixel Watch 4 will show a small animated
icon at the bottom of its screen to indicate itΓÇÖs listening. But on my
repeated attempts to trigger it, the system only registered that I had
brought my wrist up about half of the time. Granted, I was using a watch that
belonged to a Google representative and was a bit loose on my wrist, so the
accuracy might improve with a better fit.

I did notice other Google executives perform very deliberate movements to get
the watch to listen and even then it seemed like Raise To Talk required
multiple attempts to work. This is something I will have to wait till I get a
unit in the real world to evaluate the efficacy of, but for now I am
intrigued by the potential convenience but skeptical of the actual
performance.

Senior director of product management for Google Wearables Sandeep Waraich
later explained that the system is currently tuned to recognize more
deliberate movements as a way to avoid false positives. Waraich said that
over time, and possibly by the time the Watch 4 is on shelves in October, the
motion required to trigger Raise To Talk should require less exaggeration.

When I did get Gemini to hear me, it responded fairly quickly to my question
about activities to do in New York on a hot summer day. Again, IΓÇÖd need
more time with the device to judge how useful this would be in the real
world.

There was another feature that had much more potential to be helpful though:
AI-generated quick replies to messages. I only saw a quick demo on a Google
repΓÇÖs watch, but in response to a message saying ΓÇ£HowΓÇÖd the basketball
game go?ΓÇ¥ the system suggested responses of ΓÇ£We won,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£We lost, but
it was funΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£It was greatΓÇ¥ with a basketball emoji. ThatΓÇÖs much
better than the canned prompts from before that were more likely to be
ΓÇ£Yes,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£No,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Call me laterΓÇ¥ or some other generic variant. It
did take a second for them to load, though.

A Google spokesperson at the event told us that this is possibly the first
time an on-device language model has been deployed on a smartwatch, which
might be noteworthy but itΓÇÖs not anything that will materially impact the
experience.

I will say that while I didnΓÇÖt get to dive too deeply into the rest of Wear
OS 6 with Material 3 Expressive on the Pixel Watch 4, we do already have a
review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 up and in it we cover some of the
changes to the platform. On GoogleΓÇÖs smartwatches, I liked how the new
software made better use of space in things like the Weather and Search
cards, with an improved balance between putting more information within one
page while still retaining a generous size for buttons and text.

Cherlynn Low for Engadget A closer look at the redesigned Fitbit app

One of the places any Pixel Watch owner will be spending much of their time
is the Fitbit app, where their collected health and fitness data will be
presented. I spent some time with a preview version of the redesigned app,
which will be available in October to Premium users in the US. Aesthetically,
the app looks quite different, with a customizable dashboard of stats at the
top of the main page (aka the Today tab). At the bottom are new tabs
ΓÇ£Today,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Fitness,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£SleepΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£Health.ΓÇ¥

Though the font feels more reminiscent of recent Android and Material
designs, existing Fitbit users will find the color scheme familiar. Purple is
still what your sleep progress barΓÇÖs color is, while your steps are still
shown in a teal bar. But below all those visual representations of data is a
card with a prompt to chat with the new AI Coach, followed by what Google
calls a ΓÇ£stream,ΓÇ¥ and a floating blue ΓÇ£Ask CoachΓÇ¥ button at the
bottom right.

The stream is separated into Upcoming and ΓÇ£Your day so farΓÇ¥ sections,
with the latter populated by cards summarizing your progress on areas like
sleep and fitness. In a small demo, Google's director of product management
for Fitbit and Health Andy Abramson walked us through the new product. He
showed us his app, where a card titled ΓÇ£Less sleep than usual last nightΓÇ¥
said he had about 4 hours and 28 minutes of estimated sleep. It summarized
the amount of time awake and interruptions during that period, and then asked
ΓÇ£Given the shorter duration, how are you feeling energetically this
morning?ΓÇ¥ A card further down, titled ΓÇ£Your body is well-balanced
todayΓÇ¥ and tagged ΓÇ£Readiness,ΓÇ¥ talked about AbramsonΓÇÖs readiness
score, what it means and showed a chart on his performance this week.

You can choose to continue conversations by tapping into each card, or simply
ignore them and continue scrolling down the stream. Tapping through the tabs
at the bottom brings you into similarly laid out pages with information
specific to your activity, sleep and vitals (as measured by the wearable).
That last one will show your heart rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygen and
other stats, followed by sections called ΓÇ£Health areas,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Detection and
self screeningΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£Personal info.ΓÇ¥

This presents a combination of information your fitness tracker collects, as
well as data you enter. This all feeds into the new AI Coach, which will be a
paid Fitbit Premium feature, that is meant to be your Gemini-powered
ΓÇ£personal health coach.ΓÇ¥ ItΓÇÖs still a fairly new tool thatΓÇÖs going to
be in limited preview as Google continues to assess its efficacy and evaluate
necessary tweaks and guardrails, but at least it seems like the company is
well aware of the potential pitfalls it might encounter in the development of
any AI tool for health.

In a press release announcing the new personal health coach and the Fitbit
redesign, Google said ΓÇ£WeΓÇÖre committed to building our personal health
coach with leading industry experts and through scientific research.ΓÇ¥ To
that end, itΓÇÖs partnering with Stephen Curry ΓÇ£and his performance teamΓÇ¥
and ΓÇ£also working closely with our Consumer Health Advisory Panel, a
diverse group of leading experts in medicine, AI and behavioral science.ΓÇ¥

I remain skeptical of AIΓÇÖs trustworthiness in general, but if thereΓÇÖs one
thing Google and Fitbit have itΓÇÖs an abundance of data from the years of
experience they have in collecting health data from wearables. AI seems like
a suitable method to make sense of the madness, as long as itΓÇÖs done
mindfully. And it does seem like the Pixel Watch and Fitbit teams are
thinking carefully about their approach. I will need to wait till I get to
use the new app and AI Coach on my own to see how personalized and useful it
is, of course.

Repairability plus a list of other updates coming to the Pixel Watch 4

There were quite a few other updates I didnΓÇÖt get to test during my time
with the Pixel Watch 4, including the AI-powered activity recognition system,
improved sleep-tracking and overnight skin temperature-sensing, as well as
the accuracy of the new dual-frequency GPS. I didnΓÇÖt get to check out the
feature that streams your bike workout stats to your phone in real time so
you can see the details more easily when your device is mounted to your
handlebar.

I also didnΓÇÖt go about measuring if the Watch 4ΓÇÖs vibrations were indeed
15 percent stronger than its predecessorΓÇÖs, and I wasnΓÇÖt able to verify
if the speakers were clearer than before, either.

In addition, I canΓÇÖt vouch for the durability of the Pixel Watch 4, which
is rated IP68 for dust- and water-resistance and has a custom Gorilla Glass
covering and aluminum housing. I doubt I will be putting those ruggedness
claims to the test, but itΓÇÖs heartening to know there is a respectable
level of protection here.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The good news is, even if you do manage to break the screen somehow, you
wonΓÇÖt need to buy a new Pixel Watch 4. It has a repairable design that
allows you to remove the display and battery in case those parts need to be
replaced. Again, I didnΓÇÖt break out my screwdriver and fix a Pixel Watch 4,
but I did scrutinize the (very small) screws along the case in the groove
where the straps attach to the device. Theoretically, though, I applaud the
notion of repairable devices and am pleased to see Google take this approach.

The Pixel Watch 4ΓÇÖs pricing, availability and value

One more thing thatΓÇÖs laudable: The Pixel Watch 4ΓÇÖs price remains
unchanged from the Pixel Watch 3. It starts at $349 for the 41mm Wi-Fi model,
and you can get the larger size or LTE-connected variants for more money. The
smartwatch is available for pre-order today, though itΓÇÖll only start
shipping and be in stores on October 9.

While I continue to recommend you wait till we can publish a full review
before investing your hard-earned money on any device, I do think the list of
improvements Google is bringing to the Pixel Watch series is a long,
thoughtful and meaningful one. For a smartwatch that has faced its fair share
of challenges across the generations, the Pixel Watch 4 finally feels like
itΓÇÖs both maturing and carving out a space for itself.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/wearables/pixel-watc...
list-of-improvements-160015292.html?src=rss

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