Design
Reviewers liked how it looks and feels.
Last updated
If you own a Pixel Watch 4, you no longer need a sideloading workaround for the Watch 5's faces, but the update is reaching owners in waves.
Read the story →What 11 reviewers said
More reviewsReviewers liked how it looks and feels.
The GPS tracked reviewers accurately.
Comparison
Compare watchesCost over 3 years
$399 → $759
Device price plus up to three years of optional subscription.
Weight
31g
Grams on your wrist. Lower is lighter.
Battery life
~1.3 days
How long it lasts on its own, away from a charger.
Google Health Premium costs $9.99 a month. It is optional. Over 3 years that is $360.
A personalized health coach, plus the fuller sleep and readiness analysis and the workout and mindfulness libraries.
Google Health Premium costs $9.99 a month. It is optional. Over 3 years that is $360.
A personalized health coach, plus the fuller sleep and readiness analysis and the workout and mindfulness libraries.
DeviceOptional subscription
Case only, without a strap, as the maker quotes it.
Battery life can vary based on usage, settings and firmware version.
If not this one
Pixel Watch 5 is our pick for health, fitness and the assistant. Where it does not lead, here is what does, and why you would switch.
This is Garmin's GPS running-watch line.
Titanium, sapphire, a flashlight and a cold-weather mode for long trips.
Plan routes on the watch from preloaded maps.
Quick answers
All FAQsReviewers liked how it looks and feels.
The GPS tracked reviewers accurately.
Scores published by other outlets, normalized and averaged. iDevice did not test these products for this score.
Reviewer breakdown
Liked itDidn’t
Current offers
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Reveal to on sale
The gap has ranged from 8 days to 155 days (Pixel Watch).
Frequently asked questions
If you own a Pixel Watch 4, you no longer need a sideloading workaround for the Watch 5's faces, but the update is reaching owners in waves.
Google will end the free emergency LTE fallback on Pixel Watch 2 and 3 LTE models on December 12. After that, SOS and fall detection need your phone or an internet connection.
LTE Pixel Watch 2 and 3 owners without a carrier plan lose phone-free emergency calls and fall detection on December 12, the date Google has now set.
A High is a trend from the watch's sensors, not a measurement, so treat it as a reason to get checked and not as a diagnosis. Google says a blood pressure report needs at least five days of wear in September and insulin resistance at least seven.
If you train on a Garmin and wear a Pixel Watch or Fitbit the rest of the day, your hard sessions finally count. Garmin's deeper training data still stays behind.
It's free on three generations of Pixel Watch, but the first reports won't arrive until early October. Fitbit Air owners will have to pay for Premium to get it.
Smart Wake launched as a Pixel Watch 5 feature, so a smarter alarm alone is no longer a reason to upgrade.
Proactive Suggestions is the feature in this update worth having, and it is the one with a phone requirement attached.
A Reddit post named a Pixel Watch AURA with 12 days of battery. The name is in neither of Google's wearable apps.
Neither of Google's apps has ever heard of the device, and the only AURA in Google Health is a migraine.
The hardware is the Pixel Watch 4 down to the millimetre and the screen. The four tools that justify the higher price cleared clinical validation and are not switched on until September, and the marquee one does not work in the US at launch.
Pixel Watch 1 owners were told to update a watch that is already on its final update. Google says the warning was a bug.
Breathing Emergency Detection reaches last year's watch through a software update. It works in nine European countries and nowhere in the US.
Blood pressure and insulin resistance trends carry the launch, and both also land on the Pixel Watch 3 and Watch 4.
Google is charging about €31 more for the workout strap, and its own marketing fine print says the water-repellent coating wears off and it will not cover the damage.
Gemini now opens over your watch face instead of taking the whole screen. Version 1.36 is rolling out, but Google switches the glowing new animation on from its own side.
The battery figures disagree too, and Google settles all of it on August 12.
Pixel Watch 5 keeps the same case, crown and charger as last year. The only thing new on the outside is the colour of it.
A Play Console listing shows the Pixel Watch 5 on the same processor as the Watch 4 with 3GB of RAM, though the listing cannot prove the chip is unchanged.
A new leak claims the Galaxy Watch 9 also gets Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear Elite
Next in Smart Watches
Garmin Forerunner →