I have to be honest, the review on main channel is not doing justice to the audience. It's more like a first impression video. There are lots issues not mentioned in the review and this video, and it wasn't even compared to its competiton, which is crucial for a portion of viewers that watch the review video before making purchase.
@@amirhosein5264 For real. One of the worst tech youtubers if you actually want to know how it performs. I noticed his Pixel 7 review didn’t even have any low light pictures.
This isn't the review channel dude. Honestly baffles me how mfs want reviews out of his podcast. They cover multiple topics per episode. The mkbhd channel is where his reviews go
The google fit / Fitbit/ Health stuff is exactly what google faced with Hangouts, chat, duo, meet, etc. When you try to maintain multiple "similar" apps in the same ecosystem, people will just get confused or frustrated and choose to use something else. Google either needs to figure this out, or they're going to end up ruining the perception of Fitbit in the flailing.
True, they need to get this right if they are serious about the watch/fitness. But they aren't, so they will do this half-assed. In reality, does the fitbit name really carry that much value? I want google fit with better/more features, currently my main fitness app(s) is adidas running/trainning (that came to be with adidas purchase of runtastic) and I love their UI and the way you can drill into the stats and compare arbitrary timespans to check your progress. One of the reasons i don't use google fit as my main fitness app is because it does not support BLE HR monitors, neither does fitbit, and with just the phone app you can only track like 2 kinds of activities and the fitbit app UI is bad.
That "1st gen" thing is making me crazy. They had years to develop it, they sat around and saw what everyone else was doing, and they own Fitbit. It's good but it just should be better.
Doing it for the first time has a lot of things that need to be done. Finding ways to literally make it negotiating manufacturing contracts all these things take years which is why it's a bit outdated. But now the fundamentals are set just have to negotiate with Samsung or LG about a more futuristic display and a better chip and there you have 2nd gen. Compare Apple watch 1 to 2 and especially 3. Night and day in 2 years.
first gen is the most Bullshit argument here. Some tech people are acting like we're in a vacuum where no other smartwatches exist. We have literally a DECADE of Smartwatch development and on top of that Google freakin' owns FitBit 🤦🏻♂️ There is absolutely no excuse for the garbage they have released here. Some of the basic stuff they did would even have been unacceptable if Apple did it on the very first Apple Watch and that was back in 2014 - not 2022.
@@gwine9087 There's something called patents. Doesn't matter if everyone has made a watch today. It's just as hard to start from scratch as it was for Apple with the first Apple watch. If not harder since you have to try to keep up with the way better watches out there today compared to 2013.
@@eruptic6503 Extremely stupid to compare the Pixel Watch 1 to the first Apple Watch. When Apple launched the Apple Watch, there were basically no other good Smartwatches so they HAD to figure out a lot. Google on the other hand? They have to figure out NOTHING because everyone else has done that over the last almost ten years and Google also literally owns Fitbit.
It is SO SO expensive for what it is though. After 6 months, you start to pay for the Fitbit subscription. For people who keeps it around for 3 or 4 years, it is $650-$700, or $770 or $820 depending on if you get the LTE. It can be even more expensive than the Apple Watch ultra for something that is inferior to even the regular Apple Watch.
You don’t need Fitbit premium. The subscription is no different than Apple Fitness plus. I’ve used both AW and Fitbit before and imo Fitbit premium gives you more bang for your buck than Apple Fitness plus.
I had the same experience at first with the terrible battery life. After messing around with it for a while I discovered that it was constantly trying to update all the apps. I had to update them all one by one. After everything was updated the battery seems to last a lot longer. I went from charging it twice a day to just once. I'll throw it on the charger for like an hour before I go to bed and it lasts pretty much all day.
I'm getting more than a day out of a charge now. I'm getting about a day and a half. I haven't even worried about charging it and haven't even gotten close to draining the thing.
I don't think I really heard MKB say why he's "done" with it. Did I miss something? Sounded more like just more first-impression reviews. That said, here's hoping an update will allow for settings to improve battery life. Frankly, I want the smart features more than the Fitbit features. If I want to know my heart rate, I'll ask for it. As simple as it was, I really miss my Pebble Time Steel in a lot of ways.
4:20 - on galaxy watch, make a watch backup, factory reset, restore backup. Takes 5 minutes and the watch will be exactly how it was before. Also you only need to do this if you change phones or purposely remove/unpair the watch from your phone, on your phone. Forcing you to reset the watch everytime you completely unpair it or are trying to connect to a new phone, its a security feature. If it didnt do that, if it got stolen people would just connect it to their phones, not have to delete anything and have access to all your sensitive health and GPS history data. 4:45 - About the notifications, unless you are talking about the Pixel Watch here, the Galaxy Watch can do all that you are saying, and they don't come all on by default, just some important apps come on by default (like health, SMS, calls etc), and theres a toggle to switch all off or on
I'm highly skeptical that the heart rate monitor is the issue for the battery life, simply because that is a Fitbit feature, and Fitbits don't have this battery life problem. The newest Fitbit models, that have the same sensors + more sensors, have 6 or more days of battery life (I can get more than 5 days with always on display on + all sensors on at all times on my Fitbit Sense 2). It's not the heart rate monitor that kills the battery, it's the smart features, it has always been the smart features. That's the reason why most fitness trackers have decent battery while most smart watches don't. The battery life is a Google issue, not a Fitbit issue.
Can't agree more, if Fitbit, Garmin, Huawei, Xiaomi fitness bands can deliver far better battery life with similar sets of features. Its other aspects of the OS/hardware that's the problem
The actual issue might be the old chip they put in it. I've used a Skagen Falster 2, which got released in late 2018 and it had a similar battery life.
That’s true. I’ve been saying the same thing for some time. Fitness devices, even the Garmins, have a weak SoC, because even though it may seem otherwise, but sports computations need very little computing power, not much more than a calculator. The screens tend to be poor as well. Many use E-Ink screens, which are reflective, and use little power, but don’t look great, and need a sidelight with a button to use it.
I'm guessing it's bc those fitness watches aren't running the os or background usage smart watches do. I wouldn't know tho I've never used a fitness watch only Apple/Samsung watches
Buying Fitbit premium just to access and see some extra stats and metrics collected by the watch? I was done the moment I got to know about that. If you have iOS, get Apple Watch. If Android, get Galaxy Watch 4/5 or Fossil etc. This is just like a BETA version available for you to purchase Lol
They should just release a software update that allows the heart rate to not track every second. Maybe something like every 30 seconds that would significantly increase the battery life. Or just only have it scanning that frequently when you're physically on a workout, but the rest of the time it's not as frequent.
Basically just do it like everyone else or like Apple... the Apple Watch measures the heart rate like every 2-6 minutes normally and when you do workout it then is tracking it every 5 seconds. And that works perfectly fine when you look what Apple has done over the last years, how many lives it saved etc. Google is measuring even single second but I think they don't even have something like notifications when you have a way too high heart rate while resting or whatever.
@@kikij_7995 ikr. Everyone other competitive smartwatch does. This could be used to enable the 1 second heart rate pings and just have it be once every 10 seconds for normal use. Nope, it's all the time sadly
I'm charging about once every 2 days. That's with 'always on display' off and a couple other power saving options. Zero connectivity issues. My biggest complaint is that I cannot power share with my Pixel phone using Qi
I've had my pixel watch for 4 days. It connected without any issue to my Samsung 20 note ultra. Have to charge it twice a day if you are sleep tracking and keeping always on display on. It does charge quickly.
I think I'll go all in on Google's ecosystem if the Pixel 8 and Watch 2 are good Google has utterly impressed me on the software side, hardware is the only place I feel they're lacking
I just got the pixel 7 pro used and I think I'll get the watch 2 too, I'm just thinking of maybe waiting for the 3rd gen. Have you got the watch, if so how is it?
On my Pixel 6 Pro it was seamless. I took it out of the box and it just turned on and my phone saw that I had one and installed everything. Cellular features at this size is insane; it gives me assistant from the wrist to deal with all my home automation crap. Coming from a Garmin, I'm happy af. I usually do 1st and 3rd gen stuff... 1st gen is fun, plus it helps product dev. 2nd gen is iterative refinement that usually doesn't help much, 3rd gen (for google anyway) is usually a little cheaper and heavily refined by deleting features that didn't work well in 1st and 3rd, plus all the software and power saving is dialed in. Like, the 6 pro is interesting and tweaky... but the 3a was perfect daily driver. Then you can hack the 1st gen with custom roms for weirder uses, and fi lets you keep the sim active just for data. It's comfy now, things aren't priced too unreasonably.
I quite frankly disagree. I work as a PE Teacher so lots of physical active stuff going on. Yesterday I charged it before bed to a 100%, tracked my sleep, wore it all day while working and right now after 20 hours I still have 42% And that includes reading notifications and manage my music over the PW
@@feline-fox LTE Version although only on wifi mode because my current carrier has no e Sim. Always on display, tilt to wake deactivated and energy saver mode. That's it
I love the Pixel watch so far. Zero complaints. Comparing it to my Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, the fit is better, the look is better, the notifications are better... Even the part that's supposed to suck, the battery life, is better on the Pixel watch. I swear I am not making this up. It's a really, really good first-gen product.
Also experiencing the same. This is my first android experience in 12yrs and the watch and pixel 7 work perfectly for me. I think it's sleek and does everything I need it to do.
Same. No problems with battery life. After 24 hours including sleep tracking and no battery saver I usually have 20-30% Maybe those with issues didn’t update the watch including the apps, which could fix some of those issues.
I use it since 3 days and for me it does everything I want pretty fine, EXCEPT there seems to be problems with the synchronization between the watch and the Fitbit app. But that will be fixed by updates I think. Other than that, the watch seems fine to me. I get a day of battery life just like with the apple watch so that's no concern for me
10:47 I was waiting for someone to mention Health Sync. I've got a Garmin watch and a Samsung phone. I like to keep the Garmin stuff stored in Samsung Health because I've been planning to move to a Galaxy Watch soon. It works nice, syncs every morning (or any time I open the app). I would recommend trying the 7 (or 14) day trial, then spending the $3.99 for the full version.
If they'll do similar optimizations as Samsung did with GW4. It can be pretty nice watch. I mean the battery on GW4 was terrible at the beginning and now it's literally 1,5 day watch with AoD and sleeptracking in use.
Several of these issues (connectivity, overpulling heart rate, battery life) have also been present in the Fitbit Ionic and Versa series. Fitbit's brand name is much stronger than its recent offerings generally, and if Google wants to be successful I imagine some reorganization of Fitbit's hardware team is required.
Personally, I love this watch! It's super nice on my wrist compared to my apple watch or Samsung watch. Luckily for me, by 4pm my battery is at 74 percent 😃 My day starts at 5AM. But, yeah, it does check the heart rate extremely often. Also, I REALLY love the talk to text feature- it always gets my messages correct (which is not something I can say for my apple or Samsung). Luckily, my watch connected to my Pixel 7 Pro quickly and easily 🤷
I'm loving my watch and have no issues. I don't need Fitbit subscription and I'm happy with the basic fitness. I'm using the Ringke metal ring to protect the edge, so no issues with cracking the edge. Battery life isn't as bad as everyone complains about. Software updates most likely will fix most problems.
Is there another way to access the apps on the watch without having to firmly press the big side button? I find you have to press the button firmly and gets annoying if you have to click it frequently. I was hoping there was a way to change one of the swipe functions to get to apps that way? If you know or figure it out please let me know 🙏🤗
This is the most attractive-looking smartwatch that I've seen so far. As for the size, I think they picked a medium size that would work for most women and men, and I appreciate that. Many smartwatches are so large (e.g. Apple Watch Ultra) and don't work as well for women.
I have a speculation that poor battery life is due to poor app management. I discovered that you cannot disable phone notification right now, and some of the setting options are still unfinished. This is something I like/hate about Pixel product line in general. Often times, especially with their later iterations, have minimal issue during the launch, then it have some insane amount of bug/error after few month, then they resolve it gradually. I like the size because my daily driver before pixel watch was Garmin Fenix 6x.
The device doesn't have any issues with battery. This dude just like to trash anything that's not apple. But he walks on a egg shell when it comes to apple
@@novadon4729 having a wristwatch with 24 hour best case batterylife with a fresh new battery and takes 1 hour 20 of those 24 hours to charge is a huge fundamental flaw. Having to take off and charge a watch every single day gets very old very fast. I'm getting one free with my pixel 7 Pro and is a flawed concept.
@@nick1635 so long as I can get through the day with a watch, I could always charge it while I'm sleeping. But my galaxy watch 5 pro is giving me a consistent 2.5 days battery. You should check it out or the Garmin
They probably can't combine fitbit and google stuff so easily b/c of health data. They might have to put users through a new NUX / consent flow to get them to agree to share health data with Google, which might freak people out more than simply rolling out fitbit as a watch on the pixel watch with no additional work. There is also probably data storage requirements for health data that the rest of the google services might not be able to support? I bet they merge it, but it will take time.
As a very active person (swim, bike, hike, CrossFit, etc) I appreciate the active heart rate monitoring. It helps dial in my training and recovery. It's very close in accuracy with my chest strap monitor. If 1 second updates bother you, don't look at your watch every 1 second. Google definitely has a track record for making things confusing, but I think they did a great job for gen1. Had my watch for a week, no battery issues. 24hrs is on the weak side but as noted plug it in for 20 min and you'll grab 40% +/- battery life
I was really looking forward to the Pixel Watch, but it didn't release in Norway. Looking at this I'm kinda glad it didn't, but I really hope there will be a gen. 2 with more built-in features (rather than borrowing from Fitbit Premium), as well as fixing the battery. Question though, when can we realistically expect a gen. 2? I'm new to smart watches, and was mainly looking forward to this because of the integration with other Pixel/Google Home devices.
on my fossil gen 6 which finally got wear os 3, in the wellness app there's an option to disable continuous heart rate monitoring and it made a huge difference in battery life, ending the day with 30% more in most cases with it off vs on. i actually had better battery life on wear os 2 but 3 looks so much nicer and feels a lot more fluid
Glad to hear you mention the fact that the android wear OS watches randomly disconnect and you need to factory reset the watch and setup again - it's an issue I've been having and I wasn't sure if it was just my watch but it sounds more like a platform issue
I imagine the heart rate tracking is a Fitbit thing, not a Google thing. My Fitbit Versa 3 (and previously Versa 2) also does the constant heart rate tracking, and they still get several days of battery life. That is disappointing.
I have an older ticwatch 3 pro and it has a dual screen solution to save battery by having a more traditional basic time display on top when it goes to sleep. Plus when it goes into essential mode, it can go like 3+ days before being completely dead, so atleast you have a functioning time keeper until you remember to plug it in
The connectivity issues sound exactly like the issues I had with the Pixel Buds when they first dropped. It was so infuriating that I returned them. Sad to hear Google still can't get it right when it comes to hardware.
Thanks for covering this product, I've been considering getting one as earlier this year I'd gotten the Pixel 6. I may wait for updates to the software or the next iteration now. Unsure. We will see what the future holds, I hope!
I have an Apple Watch and I really don’t understand battery complaints. Yes, I charge my watch once a day, if I had to charge it every 2-3 days I’d for sure forget or just not have a routine. I put it on the charger when I get in the shower and put it back on when it is fully charged. If I don’t take a shower, I just put it on the charger when I’m getting ready for bed and it’ll be fully charged when I’m ready for sleep. (I do sleep tracking.) You do need a routine, but once you have one, it’s easy.
I don't understand some of these complaints. Maybe the watches vary wildly? I charge mine at night while I shower. I put it back on and track my sleep, go through my day, and workout. I end the day between 30-45% battery left with all that. The Fitbit app DOES auto track exercise. It catches every walk I do with my dog and just automatically adds it to my fitness tracking. Also I had connectivity issues at first but I force updated all the apps and now there are zero problems with that. I think the watch has issues with updating.
I have the P6 and am interested in this watch, the Wi-Fi version of course. Truly, I do want to experience the watch but am watching reviews. Honestly, I think I'll give it a go.
Battery is the biggest downside so far, but I love everything else. The design, bands, fluidity of the OS, animations, haptics, and the heart rate tracking are all excellent so far. I'm a long time Galaxy Watch user and personally I like the Pixel Watch more.
I bought the P7 but I am returning it. Didnt see the value in it as much as I wanted to. Decided to keep the watch and it is the Wi-Fi version to pair with my P6.
@@madrobothd never been a power use w/ any device I have owned. I don't really utilize the full potential of a device. The battery, for me, will not impact my daily use much at all. Much like the one guy, I won't care much for the sleep tracking aspect. I will take the watch off before bed b/c I sleep hard & more likely to crack the display. When I'm ready for bed, the watch will charge. 😂
Have had zero connectivity issues. My first day I charged it up, left every feature on including the always-on display, and drained it to zero battery. Next day did an hour workout with fitness tracking, checked messages throughout the day, etc. Lasted about 16 hours. Adjusted some settings, turned always on display off. Now i get about 26-27 hours. Been using it since Friday. Overall I'm happy with it.
I do wish there was a way to adjust how often it pings the heartbeat sensor. But sounds like something that can be fixed in an update. Also I love how fast this charges. Ten minutes on the charger and I get like an extra 35-40%
The disconnect issue mentioned by him is an ANDROID issue. Happens with me too. About once every week. What i do is just restart my phone and it's fixed
What phones are you people using? I use a note 20 ultra and the GW4 and NEVER had this issue, and I go out without my phone all the time. I have been using the watch since february daily.
@@hugocosta6125 it isnt consistent with everyone. Some people have this issue, while many don't. But IF anyone has it, then restarting the device (phone) is the solution.
I got a smartwatch last year and told myself I'm not switching until I've worn it for some 4 years, which seems reasonable to me. Bought a Ticwatch Pro 3 secondhand but in good condition from someone who had it 6 months but needed the money, such that this thing has 18 months now. Average duration of battery life from a full charge is still 3 days. I do not have it on always-on mode, of course, I use the FTSN screen which is the secret behind it, but I do allow it to wake up to show me notifications, which it does just fine. It auto-detects when my heart-rate is up so I can go into a workout mode if I forget to start it manually, and tracks me through the night. I have no doubt the Pixel's sensors are more accurate, but the difference is nowhere near enough to justify the price difference to a watch that has 3 times the battery life. So, thanks for the video! I was really concerned that when I got this watch I might be shooting myself in the foot since something better might come out soon, but I've felt vindicated, so be assured to even someone with no intention of buying the watch like me, your video has been useful.
Tried it for myself. I wasn't impressed. Rocking the Galaxy Watch5 44mm BT and loving it. Better battery and bigger watch face. Once I install the Google stuff I like including Gboard, Assistant, and wallet - it's an overall better experience in my opinion.
1:58 it can check your heart rate every second because there is an ASIC for that. Apple uses more software than hardware to check the heart rate and this incur in more watts spent, I suppose
I just bought a Pixel Watch. I can't state enough that so far I'm really happy with it. It's an amazing smartwatch for the money. The design and features are amazing!! Battery life lasts one day easily. To be honest, I put it on Battery Saver mode similar to my pixel phone besides turning off Adaptive Brightness. I am fine with turning those off. I have noticed that Marques always nitpicks on little and irrelevant things when it comes to Pixel products. So I take his reviews with a grain of salt. His reviews are biased towards Apple, which has had major shortcomings over many of its products.
One thing no one really comments on pertaining to the cost is the fact that the Pixel Watch body is stainless steel. If you order an Apple Watch Series 8, the cheapest stainless version is $700. This isn't to excuse battery issues or anything else, but body material is a consideration in my mind. In that regard, the pricing looks a bit different. Again, this is just considering the body material. Would it be significantly cheaper if it were aluminum? I have no idea - I just know that an aluminum Apple Watch is substantially cheaper than the stainless version.
YES NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT THIS, how is this watch with “fast charging” slowly dying just by updating the software while it’s on the damn charger, wth is that google, they needa better battery and better screen and I’m all for the pixel watch but we’ll see if there are improvements next year I guess 😢
Google should release an update to control the heart beat scans. To be able to turn it completely off or at different intervals would surely solve the battery issues.
it wouldn't solve the battery issues because the battery issues come from the smart features, not the fitness tracking. Fitbits have 6+ days of battery life even with always on display and constant sensors running (so do most other trackers with similar sensors). It's smart watches that have poor battery life, and that's because of the smart features, not the fitness tracking features.
No it wouldn't. heart rate scanning is not draining as much as some people might think. Even when you reduce it to like once per minute (so only 1/60th the amount) you would save like 5-10% in total. Not more.
My main issue with the "battery hot take" about anything longer than one day but not quite 2 days being pointless is... I don't replace a smartwatch every year / 2 years. I need the battery to last a full day even after the battery has deteriorated a bit. If after 2 years I never make it to the end of the day anymore, it's a no from me.
I don't know what the issue is. Lasts longer than my Apple watch series 7. Only thing I did was turn off the tap to wake feature. Also it's only been few days. Give it time for software updates to fix issues.
I do not have battery issues, turn off always display and I use bedtime mode. Also, reading heart rate has a benefit to track ur wellness all around. Apple does it for like 30 min or so, anything can happen in 30 min ;)
Also the battery don't have to go too low that the battery will degrade faster. Battery going below 20% and above 80% have more charge cycles than in between either of those.
4:38 I don't know how you are using the watch, but I used my Galaxy Watch everytime, no problem with connectivity and now the Gen 6, still no problem with connectivity. I was not in a situation where I had to reset the watch. I don't think it has necessarily to do with Android itself.
i knew the first gen was going to be experimental. the battery drainage is the biggest problem for me. Also a smartwatch doesn't need to be a phone on your wrist. GOogle needs to realise what they want to emphasize, and optimize for what their users need the most, not for what they 'think' they might want.
Honestly my experience has been more on the positive side. I only charge it once a day with sleep tracking and exercises. AoD on, Tilt to Wake off, LTE version (but still connected to phone). I love the watch, no complaints here. I actually use health sync to sync Fitbit to Google fit.
I noticed on my Pixel watch if you turn off tilt to wake at night then it saves you a ton of battery life Right now is 4:35 p.m. I still have 50% from yesterday
I have a fitbit on its last legs and was really interested in the prospect of the pixel. But now I'm not so sure. The battery is just a killer if you want to sleep track.
My battery life has been phenomenal, I did a personal no charge test and got 32 hours lol and that's just using the watch as how I use all my other smart watches. AOD off TTW on. Normally though I put the watch on the charger while I'm in the shower at nights / mornings
I been doing the same, when i shower or something like that, quick nuke of the battery. Battery hasnt been great but I expected it with it being a first gen
I love Marques, but he barely gives smart watches that aren't the Apple Watch a shot. Pretty sure the only non Apple watches he's ever reviewed are the Moto 360, the OnePlus Watch and now the Pixel Watch. But there are tons of good watches out there from Samsung, Fitbit or Garmin that your audience would probably love to hear your take on. I have the Pixel Watch now and I love it so far. The battery will be an adjustment, but I love everything else about it, so I can put up with charging it a little more frequently.
I'll preface by saying I do like my pixel watch, however I haven't had a smart watch since my Michael kors smartwatch like 5 years ago. THAT SAID, battery is a big issue, giant pain in the butt. Also, I got it via preorder on the 13th and it was super annoying to a) get the update to even download or install and b) once I did get it to go through I did have to factory reset the watch for connectivity. 😒 Also, I already have a scratch on the glass. I work an office job and I'm largely sedentary other than the gym/ walks/ everyday movements so it's unfathomable that I already have somehow scratched this thing. Also you suggested that they missed the boat big time by not getting rid of Google fit and rebranding Fitbit to Google Fitbit, I love that idea. The paywall is so unfortunate as well. Lastly, why on earth does the Fitbit app more more like a Google application than the pixel watch app on my pixel 6?! On the other side of the coin, I have a 5.5" wrist circumference and the size is gorgeous on my dainty wrist. Also, I personally love how the bands connect for that seamless look and personally don't mind having to buy watchbands. It's a gorgeous piece of hardware.
Coming from a Galaxy Watch 4, I have been extremely pleased with my Pixel Watch. I have had 0 issues. The GPS connects 10x quicker than my Galaxy Watch before a run and no hiccups with my earbuds connection during my run. The UI is soooo much smoother than the Galaxy Watch. I charge during my morning and nighttime shower and battery life has not been an issue. I HATE auto workout tracking so I am happy this watch does not have this feature. Fitbit integration does not feel disjointed in my opinion...seems like many reviewers are just getting caught up in the name??? Overall I am extremely pleased with the watch. I love MKBHD and have been watching for years but man...I've never disagreed more.
Would like to see more comparisons and opinions compared to he galaxy watch not the apple watch lol. People getting the pixel watch aren't getting an apple watch as a second purchase option
Indeed they don't really compete.. nobody is choosing their phone ecosystem based on a watch! Comparing with the galaxy watch would be interesting esp. as a non-samsung owner - having used the GW4 which was fairly crippled with a non-samsung phone it'd be interesting to know if they're still doing that.
Google Fit/Fitbit situation with the whole Google ecosystem is the one last thing that turned me away from Pixels and Google in general. I just can’t trust that my data in one of their apps is still going to be there in 5 years or, as with Fit, even in a year. They just killed or abandoned maintenance of too many apps
You might be a Google dote. I wanted to like the watch so bad everything was perfect until I actually got up and personal with the watch. It was pretty much common place with Google. They always miss a few no brainers.
I do wonder what charger you use for the Apple Watch if it charges that slow lol. I have an Anker charger and my series 7 can go from 1 to 100 in a little less than an hour
*I wish it was 50$ cheaper & slightly bigger, but overall I like it. With AOD enabled (with the 5G version) I'm easily getting through the day (charging overnight), losing 3-5%/hr without using the fitness tracking complications.* I did the same thing with all of my previous cellular-connected Wear devices & had similar battery life.
I wish there was a "just a watch" setting that I could use to shut down everything but time/date, and allow the battery to last a long weekend. If I'm going away for a week or two, I might bring my charging disk. But I can't see myself packing the disk for every overnight trip or long weekend. That means the watch stays home, which defeats the purpose of a smart watch.
coming from an apple watch and I must say I really like the Pixel watch, I am having no issues with the battery it does what I need and I like the simplicity of the device.
I must be the luckiest person on the planet. My watch has been great. No issues connecting via Bluetooth. Battery when monitoring sleep uses about 10% not 20-30% like people are reporting. Day-to-day been using about 10% per every 4 hours, so just charging when I'm in the shower and not having any issues. Oh and I bought a 30W fast charger from Amazon, charges from around 20% to full in an hour or so.
You're not lucky, they're just entirely too nitpicky. I haven't had any of the issues discussed in the video. They know they're exaggerating, but it fits the narrative that the Pixel Watch isn't great, so why not blow these issues, that definitely aren't widespread, out of proportion?
I ordered the Pixel Watch from Best Buy for my wife for our anniversary. We were told that it would be delivered October 13th. Item was delayed (call it Best Buy's fault or Googles, whatever it doesn't matter) for mid November. In the mean time, all of these reviews started coming out saying the battery was terrible and the watch seemed very fist gen. So we cancelled the order and bought the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 for her and she's super happy with it. It was available right away and battery life has been killer. Sad to say, Google really dropped the ball on this one.
Great option the galaxy watch, no big mistake. I got my Pixel 2 days ago, into the third one today and I've only charged it once! I'm at 12% right now!
@@jmoore2284 the order was delayed till mid November. We were promised delivery by mid October. I get that this seems like we were impatient, but it just got frustrating being told different things
I actually have Fitbit automatically check my training. Are you sure about it? It works smoothly, and stop as soon as it detects I'm not moving and heart rate is going down.
I had the Garmin venu plus because I was hoping it'd be enough of a smartwatch but couldn't do it. Garmin venu is a superb fitness watch but not smartwatch. Just went back to SW5 until Android gets a true Apple Watch contender.
@@CoachJavy24 Fair enough brother, to each their own. It still has smartwatch functionalities like notifications, but maybe you wanted more. It's a mix between a fitness watch and a smartwatch. It's hard to beat the Garmin ecosystem for sports/health imo. But the SW5 is a solid choice!
@@footballhd1111 it is hard. You want the best of both worlds but so far nothing imo competes to the apple watch. I will never go Apple but that watch is top tier. Garmin does it really well and is getting closer and closer to really competing with Sammy if it can integrate some better smart features.
Sold mine as soon as I got it, IMO first iterations always have issues & the bezel is way to small for me, will stick with my Venu for the time being as it ticks all the boxes for me at a fraction of the price
This is why Apple continues to win in their ecosystem. I still feel like Google is only in its infancy of trying to get their software, and hardware down so they are releasing incomplete products for a high price. I've been a loyal Android user for 10 years, but I feel like now Apple is the way to go to get a phone or watch that just works.
@xOyinoUS yup i plan on keeping my pixel 6 pro as a "backup" for when i switch to Apple completely. i also have a samsung note 10 that sort of still works
I have a samsung watch 5 40mm that I've set to constantly check for my heart rate and it lasts me about 36 hours. I'm never using cellular on it, to be fair, but if I'm getting that great of results I don't see why Google can't do something similar.
Samsung went out of their way to reengineer motherboard components to put a bigger battery in the watch 5, google did none of that. In fact if you look at teardowns of the pixel watch it looks like one of those chinese knock off devices. They spent years making this watch too 😂
I was really looking forward to this, but it does feel very first gen. I've been using my Fossil Gen 5 since release, and was hoping to upgrade to this, but I think I'm going to hold off for something else. The idea is there, the execution just needs more work.
MKBHD has sold his soul to Apple. Very biased reviews. He is going on and on about HR being measured every sec. If Apple would have done the same then he would have been like OMG... Now I can get continuous HR! I say this as I recall how he roasted pixel 3 for it's notch and now he loves dynamic island in iPhone....
Enjoying the watch so far. I do wish the bezel was slimmer but I believe it will be on next year's watch. I'm not a sleep tracker or what you would call a heavy user. My battery had been lasting me until I go to sleep easily with at least 30% left. I've only had it a few days ago maybe that will go down as I use it more. I think that this is a good first volley from Google. Gen 2 will be a serious contender if Googs can make the same improvement like the 6 to 7 series phones did.
When it comes to watches, I can't accept having to charge them regularly. This is where I love my Seiko watch with a solar panel built in. I've had it for 8 years and still going without worrying about batteries
Thing is for people like me who don't use sleep tracking (watches are uncomfy to sleep with) won't care about the battery life. I will be charging at night regardless of if it could last 48 hours. I find the design and weight are really attractive features. Accurate heart rate tracker as well.
heart rate tracker is very standard honestly, there’s plenty of better watches with more accuracy. And if you do any exercise you can forget about accuracy cuz pixel watch is even worse at tracking exercises
@@jrodjpg I guess I should have been more clear. Accurate enough to hang with the rest. To me the top features are design, weight, and wear os. Heart rate tracker is good enough and may even have a slight edge. Battery life is mid but fine if not sleep tracking. Price...Well ya it's over priced but what are you gonna do.
@@DoubblEvil for me the top fearures are the health tracking and OS, if I wanted a watch that tells the time I could get an ancient one and plus I wouldn’t need to charge it ever. To each their own though
@@jrodjpg Hey, fair enough. Like everyone has been saying it's not great but it's good enough. And tbh my plan is to trade it in down the line for gen 2 or if I'm patient maybe gen 3.
I think the disconnecting is definitely an android issue. I had to reset my galaxy watch 5 a lot for disconnecting after i change from galaxy s22 to pixel 7 pro.
I'm really liking it. Bezel's a non-issue, battery life needs a daily charge, but I can pop it off for an hour or so when I'm at my desk. Lovely UI, nice and smooth, does what I want it to, no crashes, re-inits so far. Availability of chargers needs improving and MS needs to port their TO DO list over, but that's it. Oh, and Tidal please.
I've never had a smart watch before. I love Pixel phones. I got a watch for like $180 through a Verizon deal. I like it. Annoyed by Fitbit notifications, but I'm sure I can disable them. Turn your always-on screen off and you won't have battery life issues. I'm getting over 24 hours.
Google's Tensor chip isn't actually designed by Google though, they go to Samsung and request a SoC that has specific requirements and leave it to Samsung to design it based off Exynos. Apple actually designed the microarchitecture from scratch themselves. It makes it very difficult for Google to bring down costs and be as flexible, because they are still heavily relying on Samsung.
That's not accurate. Google designs the chip, they have had teams working on chip development for years. Infact members of that team came from Apple. They then contracted Samsung to produce those chips for them because they have the capacity to make them.
Yeah that's Google though, they don't really make their own stuff. They just absorb other companies and try to unify them. RUclips, nest, Fitbit, nexus devices, even the first couple Pixel devices were made by another phone company, until they bought HTC's phone division.
@@andrewnlaidlow Literally the only thing in the Tensor Chip designed in-house is the TPU, everything from the Cortex X1s, the A76s, the A55s, the Mali GPU, and the modem on the SoC is based off Samsung design and architecture. Google may have ordered a custom configuration of this SoC, but it is not designed by them by and large.
@@RDJ1SS To an extent, you can say the same thing about Apple. They acquire companies and technology they need to develop in-house first Party tech they consider necessary for their hardware. For example, PrimeSense, LuxVue Technology, Emagic, Intel’s smartphone modem division, etc. they even poach important tech leaders from other companies like Jim Keller from AMD. There is something fundamental within how Apple does things internally vs Google, but without more information, it’s impossible to know exactly what that is.
Had initial connection issue, but after a Google system update everything resolved. Battery lasts a full day (7am till 10pm) with 40% spare. Don't sleep with it so I'm ok.
I have to be honest, the review on main channel is not doing justice to the audience. It's more like a first impression video. There are lots issues not mentioned in the review and this video, and it wasn't even compared to its competiton, which is crucial for a portion of viewers that watch the review video before making purchase.
Yeah, this really feels like a "rushed out" video.
Agreed. Maybe would be nice a sequel of that video.
Don't watch mkbhd if you want actually useful reviews
@@amirhosein5264 For real. One of the worst tech youtubers if you actually want to know how it performs. I noticed his Pixel 7 review didn’t even have any low light pictures.
This isn't the review channel dude. Honestly baffles me how mfs want reviews out of his podcast. They cover multiple topics per episode. The mkbhd channel is where his reviews go
The google fit / Fitbit/ Health stuff is exactly what google faced with Hangouts, chat, duo, meet, etc. When you try to maintain multiple "similar" apps in the same ecosystem, people will just get confused or frustrated and choose to use something else. Google either needs to figure this out, or they're going to end up ruining the perception of Fitbit in the flailing.
Knowing Google's history, my guess is they're gonna screw it up. Good luck
I was going to say the exact same thing about all the messaging apps.
It's so confusing and it's not a good thing 🤷🏻♂️
Well said
True, they need to get this right if they are serious about the watch/fitness. But they aren't, so they will do this half-assed.
In reality, does the fitbit name really carry that much value? I want google fit with better/more features, currently my main fitness app(s) is adidas running/trainning (that came to be with adidas purchase of runtastic) and I love their UI and the way you can drill into the stats and compare arbitrary timespans to check your progress.
One of the reasons i don't use google fit as my main fitness app is because it does not support BLE HR monitors, neither does fitbit, and with just the phone app you can only track like 2 kinds of activities and the fitbit app UI is bad.
The CEO needs to take harsh decision and just merge the team, cut off, and continue... Stop trying to make everyone happy
That "1st gen" thing is making me crazy. They had years to develop it, they sat around and saw what everyone else was doing, and they own Fitbit. It's good but it just should be better.
Doing it for the first time has a lot of things that need to be done. Finding ways to literally make it negotiating manufacturing contracts all these things take years which is why it's a bit outdated. But now the fundamentals are set just have to negotiate with Samsung or LG about a more futuristic display and a better chip and there you have 2nd gen. Compare Apple watch 1 to 2 and especially 3. Night and day in 2 years.
@@eruptic6503 But Apple was on the bleeding edge. Google has been sitting around watching. Not the same.
first gen is the most Bullshit argument here. Some tech people are acting like we're in a vacuum where no other smartwatches exist. We have literally a DECADE of Smartwatch development and on top of that Google freakin' owns FitBit 🤦🏻♂️ There is absolutely no excuse for the garbage they have released here. Some of the basic stuff they did would even have been unacceptable if Apple did it on the very first Apple Watch and that was back in 2014 - not 2022.
@@gwine9087 There's something called patents. Doesn't matter if everyone has made a watch today. It's just as hard to start from scratch as it was for Apple with the first Apple watch. If not harder since you have to try to keep up with the way better watches out there today compared to 2013.
@@eruptic6503 Extremely stupid to compare the Pixel Watch 1 to the first Apple Watch. When Apple launched the Apple Watch, there were basically no other good Smartwatches so they HAD to figure out a lot. Google on the other hand? They have to figure out NOTHING because everyone else has done that over the last almost ten years and Google also literally owns Fitbit.
It is SO SO expensive for what it is though. After 6 months, you start to pay for the Fitbit subscription. For people who keeps it around for 3 or 4 years, it is $650-$700, or $770 or $820 depending on if you get the LTE. It can be even more expensive than the Apple Watch ultra for something that is inferior to even the regular Apple Watch.
You don’t need Fitbit premium. The subscription is no different than Apple Fitness plus. I’ve used both AW and Fitbit before and imo Fitbit premium gives you more bang for your buck than Apple Fitness plus.
@@DTruong8 yeah but is apple fitness plus required for most features of apple watch?
@@DTruong8 more bang for the buck because the "extra" features are in Apple's free tier?
@@alyx6427 premium isn't required to use the Fitbit features of the watch.
premium not required and i'd even argue that the features it would add are useless for normies anyway.
I had the same experience at first with the terrible battery life. After messing around with it for a while I discovered that it was constantly trying to update all the apps. I had to update them all one by one. After everything was updated the battery seems to last a lot longer. I went from charging it twice a day to just once. I'll throw it on the charger for like an hour before I go to bed and it lasts pretty much all day.
Things like that are keeping me out of android world XD
@@awdadwadwad1723 booo.. weak
@@damehuri lmao
Same, much better now
I'm getting more than a day out of a charge now. I'm getting about a day and a half. I haven't even worried about charging it and haven't even gotten close to draining the thing.
I don't think I really heard MKB say why he's "done" with it. Did I miss something? Sounded more like just more first-impression reviews. That said, here's hoping an update will allow for settings to improve battery life. Frankly, I want the smart features more than the Fitbit features. If I want to know my heart rate, I'll ask for it. As simple as it was, I really miss my Pebble Time Steel in a lot of ways.
Kinda Clickbaity
actually his video on the matter does explain why he'd be done with it hah
4:20 - on galaxy watch, make a watch backup, factory reset, restore backup. Takes 5 minutes and the watch will be exactly how it was before.
Also you only need to do this if you change phones or purposely remove/unpair the watch from your phone, on your phone. Forcing you to reset the watch everytime you completely unpair it or are trying to connect to a new phone, its a security feature. If it didnt do that, if it got stolen people would just connect it to their phones, not have to delete anything and have access to all your sensitive health and GPS history data.
4:45 - About the notifications, unless you are talking about the Pixel Watch here, the Galaxy Watch can do all that you are saying, and they don't come all on by default, just some important apps come on by default (like health, SMS, calls etc), and theres a toggle to switch all off or on
I'm highly skeptical that the heart rate monitor is the issue for the battery life, simply because that is a Fitbit feature, and Fitbits don't have this battery life problem. The newest Fitbit models, that have the same sensors + more sensors, have 6 or more days of battery life (I can get more than 5 days with always on display on + all sensors on at all times on my Fitbit Sense 2). It's not the heart rate monitor that kills the battery, it's the smart features, it has always been the smart features. That's the reason why most fitness trackers have decent battery while most smart watches don't. The battery life is a Google issue, not a Fitbit issue.
Can't agree more, if Fitbit, Garmin, Huawei, Xiaomi fitness bands can deliver far better battery life with similar sets of features. Its other aspects of the OS/hardware that's the problem
The actual issue might be the old chip they put in it. I've used a Skagen Falster 2, which got released in late 2018 and it had a similar battery life.
That’s true. I’ve been saying the same thing for some time. Fitness devices, even the Garmins, have a weak SoC, because even though it may seem otherwise, but sports computations need very little computing power, not much more than a calculator. The screens tend to be poor as well. Many use E-Ink screens, which are reflective, and use little power, but don’t look great, and need a sidelight with a button to use it.
The Fitbit watches have a waaaaay lighter and simpler os on them, that's the only reason why they have a better battery life.
I'm guessing it's bc those fitness watches aren't running the os or background usage smart watches do. I wouldn't know tho I've never used a fitness watch only Apple/Samsung watches
Buying Fitbit premium just to access and see some extra stats and metrics collected by the watch? I was done the moment I got to know about that.
If you have iOS, get Apple Watch. If Android, get Galaxy Watch 4/5 or Fossil etc.
This is just like a BETA version available for you to purchase Lol
if you’re on android get huawei GT watches, samsung watches have terrible accuracy
Huawei or Garmin are the top watches. Galaxy Watches are more about the smart features and not so for sports or fitness
They should just release a software update that allows the heart rate to not track every second. Maybe something like every 30 seconds that would significantly increase the battery life. Or just only have it scanning that frequently when you're physically on a workout, but the rest of the time it's not as frequent.
Basically just do it like everyone else or like Apple... the Apple Watch measures the heart rate like every 2-6 minutes normally and when you do workout it then is tracking it every 5 seconds.
And that works perfectly fine when you look what Apple has done over the last years, how many lives it saved etc.
Google is measuring even single second but I think they don't even have something like notifications when you have a way too high heart rate while resting or whatever.
The issue here is that the Pixel Watch does not have Auto Start/Stop Workout detection
@@GetShrektMrKrabs what?!
@@kikij_7995 ikr. Everyone other competitive smartwatch does. This could be used to enable the 1 second heart rate pings and just have it be once every 10 seconds for normal use. Nope, it's all the time sadly
@@GetShrektMrKrabs even hybrids with near to no computing power like the Steel HR have that, wth ? O_o
I'm charging about once every 2 days. That's with 'always on display' off and a couple other power saving options. Zero connectivity issues. My biggest complaint is that I cannot power share with my Pixel phone using Qi
That's weird, I can power share with my pixel 7 and the pixel watch just fine
I've had my pixel watch for 4 days. It connected without any issue to my Samsung 20 note ultra. Have to charge it twice a day if you are sleep tracking and keeping always on display on. It does charge quickly.
Twice a day is unacceptable
Wow. Twice a day? I rarely charge the watch. AoD on. and I get around 30% charge left after 24h.
I think I'll go all in on Google's ecosystem if the Pixel 8 and Watch 2 are good
Google has utterly impressed me on the software side, hardware is the only place I feel they're lacking
I just got the pixel 7 pro used and I think I'll get the watch 2 too, I'm just thinking of maybe waiting for the 3rd gen.
Have you got the watch, if so how is it?
samsung has the feature of continuous heart rate monitor in galaxy watch 4/5 but they don't market it as much as pixel did
But most important: you can change it to manual.
@@thalesludwig exactly.
My og galaxy watch had continuous heart rate tracking and all day battery when I was on android, but it was a chonker
On my Pixel 6 Pro it was seamless. I took it out of the box and it just turned on and my phone saw that I had one and installed everything. Cellular features at this size is insane; it gives me assistant from the wrist to deal with all my home automation crap. Coming from a Garmin, I'm happy af. I usually do 1st and 3rd gen stuff... 1st gen is fun, plus it helps product dev. 2nd gen is iterative refinement that usually doesn't help much, 3rd gen (for google anyway) is usually a little cheaper and heavily refined by deleting features that didn't work well in 1st and 3rd, plus all the software and power saving is dialed in. Like, the 6 pro is interesting and tweaky... but the 3a was perfect daily driver. Then you can hack the 1st gen with custom roms for weirder uses, and fi lets you keep the sim active just for data. It's comfy now, things aren't priced too unreasonably.
I quite frankly disagree. I work as a PE Teacher so lots of physical active stuff going on.
Yesterday I charged it before bed to a 100%, tracked my sleep, wore it all day while working and right now after 20 hours I still have 42%
And that includes reading notifications and manage my music over the PW
Thanks, am interested to know if you had to change any setting etc, is it the Wifi or 5g version?
@@feline-fox LTE Version although only on wifi mode because my current carrier has no e Sim. Always on display, tilt to wake deactivated and energy saver mode. That's it
I love the Pixel watch so far. Zero complaints. Comparing it to my Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, the fit is better, the look is better, the notifications are better... Even the part that's supposed to suck, the battery life, is better on the Pixel watch. I swear I am not making this up. It's a really, really good first-gen product.
Also experiencing the same. This is my first android experience in 12yrs and the watch and pixel 7 work perfectly for me. I think it's sleek and does everything I need it to do.
Same. No problems with battery life. After 24 hours including sleep tracking and no battery saver I usually have 20-30% Maybe those with issues didn’t update the watch including the apps, which could fix some of those issues.
@@mariooooo01 cancel order ASAP
@@mariooooo01 just get the GW5 bro, It's much much better
Same here. I had the Galaxy watch 4 (40mm) and have the same experience. 👍🏻
I use it since 3 days and for me it does everything I want pretty fine, EXCEPT there seems to be problems with the synchronization between the watch and the Fitbit app. But that will be fixed by updates I think. Other than that, the watch seems fine to me. I get a day of battery life just like with the apple watch so that's no concern for me
10:47 I was waiting for someone to mention Health Sync. I've got a Garmin watch and a Samsung phone. I like to keep the Garmin stuff stored in Samsung Health because I've been planning to move to a Galaxy Watch soon. It works nice, syncs every morning (or any time I open the app). I would recommend trying the 7 (or 14) day trial, then spending the $3.99 for the full version.
If they'll do similar optimizations as Samsung did with GW4. It can be pretty nice watch. I mean the battery on GW4 was terrible at the beginning and now it's literally 1,5 day watch with AoD and sleeptracking in use.
Several of these issues (connectivity, overpulling heart rate, battery life) have also been present in the Fitbit Ionic and Versa series. Fitbit's brand name is much stronger than its recent offerings generally, and if Google wants to be successful I imagine some reorganization of Fitbit's hardware team is required.
why does google keep failing is products? why would they put such a small battery in a 2023 watch?
Personally, I love this watch! It's super nice on my wrist compared to my apple watch or Samsung watch. Luckily for me, by 4pm my battery is at 74 percent 😃 My day starts at 5AM. But, yeah, it does check the heart rate extremely often. Also, I REALLY love the talk to text feature- it always gets my messages correct (which is not something I can say for my apple or Samsung). Luckily, my watch connected to my Pixel 7 Pro quickly and easily 🤷
I'm loving my watch and have no issues. I don't need Fitbit subscription and I'm happy with the basic fitness. I'm using the Ringke metal ring to protect the edge, so no issues with cracking the edge. Battery life isn't as bad as everyone complains about. Software updates most likely will fix most problems.
What they don't mentioned is that you get the same battery life from an apple watch.
They sell screen protectors already?
@@ForsakenWolf nice ty ill take a look
Is there another way to access the apps on the watch without having to firmly press the big side button? I find you have to press the button firmly and gets annoying if you have to click it frequently. I was hoping there was a way to change one of the swipe functions to get to apps that way? If you know or figure it out please let me know 🙏🤗
This is the most attractive-looking smartwatch that I've seen so far. As for the size, I think they picked a medium size that would work for most women and men, and I appreciate that. Many smartwatches are so large (e.g. Apple Watch Ultra) and don't work as well for women.
I have a speculation that poor battery life is due to poor app management. I discovered that you cannot disable phone notification right now, and some of the setting options are still unfinished. This is something I like/hate about Pixel product line in general. Often times, especially with their later iterations, have minimal issue during the launch, then it have some insane amount of bug/error after few month, then they resolve it gradually. I like the size because my daily driver before pixel watch was Garmin Fenix 6x.
Just got mine yesterday. Used it today for the first time. Only lost 30% battery from 6:30 AM-4 PM. I love it.
The device doesn't have any issues with battery. This dude just like to trash anything that's not apple. But he walks on a egg shell when it comes to apple
@@novadon4729 I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this
@@novadon4729 having a wristwatch with 24 hour best case batterylife with a fresh new battery and takes 1 hour 20 of those 24 hours to charge is a huge fundamental flaw. Having to take off and charge a watch every single day gets very old very fast. I'm getting one free with my pixel 7 Pro and is a flawed concept.
@@nick1635 so long as I can get through the day with a watch, I could always charge it while I'm sleeping. But my galaxy watch 5 pro is giving me a consistent 2.5 days battery. You should check it out or the Garmin
that's power hungry considering its a small oled screen. my apple watch goes down to 15% all day with 45 mins cardio and 30 mins strength training
They probably can't combine fitbit and google stuff so easily b/c of health data. They might have to put users through a new NUX / consent flow to get them to agree to share health data with Google, which might freak people out more than simply rolling out fitbit as a watch on the pixel watch with no additional work. There is also probably data storage requirements for health data that the rest of the google services might not be able to support? I bet they merge it, but it will take time.
As a very active person (swim, bike, hike, CrossFit, etc) I appreciate the active heart rate monitoring. It helps dial in my training and recovery. It's very close in accuracy with my chest strap monitor. If 1 second updates bother you, don't look at your watch every 1 second.
Google definitely has a track record for making things confusing, but I think they did a great job for gen1. Had my watch for a week, no battery issues. 24hrs is on the weak side but as noted plug it in for 20 min and you'll grab 40% +/- battery life
I was really looking forward to the Pixel Watch, but it didn't release in Norway. Looking at this I'm kinda glad it didn't, but I really hope there will be a gen. 2 with more built-in features (rather than borrowing from Fitbit Premium), as well as fixing the battery. Question though, when can we realistically expect a gen. 2? I'm new to smart watches, and was mainly looking forward to this because of the integration with other Pixel/Google Home devices.
on my fossil gen 6 which finally got wear os 3, in the wellness app there's an option to disable continuous heart rate monitoring and it made a huge difference in battery life, ending the day with 30% more in most cases with it off vs on. i actually had better battery life on wear os 2 but 3 looks so much nicer and feels a lot more fluid
Glad to hear you mention the fact that the android wear OS watches randomly disconnect and you need to factory reset the watch and setup again - it's an issue I've been having and I wasn't sure if it was just my watch but it sounds more like a platform issue
Happened to me also !
18:00 I think a really important thing to think about is, that the battery life goes down in time so the 36h of the AW would be nicer in the future
I imagine the heart rate tracking is a Fitbit thing, not a Google thing. My Fitbit Versa 3 (and previously Versa 2) also does the constant heart rate tracking, and they still get several days of battery life. That is disappointing.
Fitbit polls the heart rate sensor about every 5 seconds on the versa, 1 second on the pixel
@@bpj the original versa? I have a Versa 3 and mine appears to update every second.
I have an older ticwatch 3 pro and it has a dual screen solution to save battery by having a more traditional basic time display on top when it goes to sleep. Plus when it goes into essential mode, it can go like 3+ days before being completely dead, so atleast you have a functioning time keeper until you remember to plug it in
The connectivity issues sound exactly like the issues I had with the Pixel Buds when they first dropped. It was so infuriating that I returned them. Sad to hear Google still can't get it right when it comes to hardware.
why are so many people complaining about the apple watch charging slowly? my series 7 honestly charges in like 1hour and 15 min from 0-100
Thanks for covering this product, I've been considering getting one as earlier this year I'd gotten the Pixel 6. I may wait for updates to the software or the next iteration now. Unsure. We will see what the future holds, I hope!
I have an Apple Watch and I really don’t understand battery complaints. Yes, I charge my watch once a day, if I had to charge it every 2-3 days I’d for sure forget or just not have a routine. I put it on the charger when I get in the shower and put it back on when it is fully charged. If I don’t take a shower, I just put it on the charger when I’m getting ready for bed and it’ll be fully charged when I’m ready for sleep. (I do sleep tracking.) You do need a routine, but once you have one, it’s easy.
I think a pixel watch A series would be good. Like the Apple watch SE.
I don't understand some of these complaints. Maybe the watches vary wildly? I charge mine at night while I shower. I put it back on and track my sleep, go through my day, and workout. I end the day between 30-45% battery left with all that. The Fitbit app DOES auto track exercise. It catches every walk I do with my dog and just automatically adds it to my fitness tracking.
Also I had connectivity issues at first but I force updated all the apps and now there are zero problems with that. I think the watch has issues with updating.
I have the P6 and am interested in this watch, the Wi-Fi version of course. Truly, I do want to experience the watch but am watching reviews. Honestly, I think I'll give it a go.
if you end up buying it, have always-on screen and tilt-to-wake disabled, so battery lasts more than 24h.
Battery is the biggest downside so far, but I love everything else. The design, bands, fluidity of the OS, animations, haptics, and the heart rate tracking are all excellent so far. I'm a long time Galaxy Watch user and personally I like the Pixel Watch more.
I bought the P7 but I am returning it. Didnt see the value in it as much as I wanted to. Decided to keep the watch and it is the Wi-Fi version to pair with my P6.
@@GoBzi I'll be sure to do so. I'm certain another video had this advice too.
@@madrobothd never been a power use w/ any device I have owned. I don't really utilize the full potential of a device. The battery, for me, will not impact my daily use much at all. Much like the one guy, I won't care much for the sleep tracking aspect. I will take the watch off before bed b/c I sleep hard & more likely to crack the display. When I'm ready for bed, the watch will charge. 😂
Have had zero connectivity issues. My first day I charged it up, left every feature on including the always-on display, and drained it to zero battery. Next day did an hour workout with fitness tracking, checked messages throughout the day, etc. Lasted about 16 hours. Adjusted some settings, turned always on display off. Now i get about 26-27 hours. Been using it since Friday. Overall I'm happy with it.
I do wish there was a way to adjust how often it pings the heartbeat sensor. But sounds like something that can be fixed in an update. Also I love how fast this charges. Ten minutes on the charger and I get like an extra 35-40%
The disconnect issue mentioned by him is an ANDROID issue. Happens with me too. About once every week. What i do is just restart my phone and it's fixed
What phones are you people using? I use a note 20 ultra and the GW4 and NEVER had this issue, and I go out without my phone all the time. I have been using the watch since february daily.
@@hugocosta6125 it isnt consistent with everyone. Some people have this issue, while many don't. But IF anyone has it, then restarting the device (phone) is the solution.
I got a smartwatch last year and told myself I'm not switching until I've worn it for some 4 years, which seems reasonable to me. Bought a Ticwatch Pro 3 secondhand but in good condition from someone who had it 6 months but needed the money, such that this thing has 18 months now. Average duration of battery life from a full charge is still 3 days. I do not have it on always-on mode, of course, I use the FTSN screen which is the secret behind it, but I do allow it to wake up to show me notifications, which it does just fine. It auto-detects when my heart-rate is up so I can go into a workout mode if I forget to start it manually, and tracks me through the night. I have no doubt the Pixel's sensors are more accurate, but the difference is nowhere near enough to justify the price difference to a watch that has 3 times the battery life.
So, thanks for the video! I was really concerned that when I got this watch I might be shooting myself in the foot since something better might come out soon, but I've felt vindicated, so be assured to even someone with no intention of buying the watch like me, your video has been useful.
Tried it for myself. I wasn't impressed. Rocking the Galaxy Watch5 44mm BT and loving it. Better battery and bigger watch face. Once I install the Google stuff I like including Gboard, Assistant, and wallet - it's an overall better experience in my opinion.
1:58 it can check your heart rate every second because there is an ASIC for that. Apple uses more software than hardware to check the heart rate and this incur in more watts spent, I suppose
I just bought a Pixel Watch. I can't state enough that so far I'm really happy with it. It's an amazing smartwatch for the money. The design and features are amazing!! Battery life lasts one day easily. To be honest, I put it on Battery Saver mode similar to my pixel phone besides turning off Adaptive Brightness. I am fine with turning those off. I have noticed that Marques always nitpicks on little and irrelevant things when it comes to Pixel products. So I take his reviews with a grain of salt. His reviews are biased towards Apple, which has had major shortcomings over many of its products.
One thing no one really comments on pertaining to the cost is the fact that the Pixel Watch body is stainless steel. If you order an Apple Watch Series 8, the cheapest stainless version is $700. This isn't to excuse battery issues or anything else, but body material is a consideration in my mind. In that regard, the pricing looks a bit different.
Again, this is just considering the body material. Would it be significantly cheaper if it were aluminum? I have no idea - I just know that an aluminum Apple Watch is substantially cheaper than the stainless version.
Do you think the new W5+ chipset will finally fix WearOS watches?
I had the watch connected to the charger, and as I was updating several apps, I noticed it was slowly *discharging*.
YES NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT THIS, how is this watch with “fast charging” slowly dying just by updating the software while it’s on the damn charger, wth is that google, they needa better battery and better screen and I’m all for the pixel watch but we’ll see if there are improvements next year I guess 😢
Google should release an update to control the heart beat scans. To be able to turn it completely off or at different intervals would surely solve the battery issues.
Ive thought about this and I think it should be adaptive, it should know when you are working out, ect and change the rate based on your activity
@@PodiumTuningRacing Exactly, scanning every seconds sounds cool and different from other competitors, but at the cost of trashy battery life.
it wouldn't solve the battery issues because the battery issues come from the smart features, not the fitness tracking. Fitbits have 6+ days of battery life even with always on display and constant sensors running (so do most other trackers with similar sensors). It's smart watches that have poor battery life, and that's because of the smart features, not the fitness tracking features.
No it wouldn't. heart rate scanning is not draining as much as some people might think. Even when you reduce it to like once per minute (so only 1/60th the amount) you would save like 5-10% in total. Not more.
My main issue with the "battery hot take" about anything longer than one day but not quite 2 days being pointless is... I don't replace a smartwatch every year / 2 years. I need the battery to last a full day even after the battery has deteriorated a bit. If after 2 years I never make it to the end of the day anymore, it's a no from me.
I got the ringke attachment and a cheap screen protector from Amazon and its been perfect
Me too. Bought the Ringke before I got the watch. I have no issues, don't need Fitbit subscription and I love everything about the watch.
@@ForsakenWolf just ordered mine yesterday I think it adds to the watch look and will protect it. Can't wait to get it
I don't know what the issue is. Lasts longer than my Apple watch series 7. Only thing I did was turn off the tap to wake feature. Also it's only been few days. Give it time for software updates to fix issues.
I do not have battery issues, turn off always display and I use bedtime mode. Also, reading heart rate has a benefit to track ur wellness all around. Apple does it for like 30 min or so, anything can happen in 30 min ;)
Also the battery don't have to go too low that the battery will degrade faster. Battery going below 20% and above 80% have more charge cycles than in between either of those.
I love that some watches give you a live heart rate. My Garmin shows a graph for the last 4 hours with the live heart rate
4:38 I don't know how you are using the watch, but I used my Galaxy Watch everytime, no problem with connectivity and now the Gen 6, still no problem with connectivity. I was not in a situation where I had to reset the watch. I don't think it has necessarily to do with Android itself.
i knew the first gen was going to be experimental. the battery drainage is the biggest problem for me. Also a smartwatch doesn't need to be a phone on your wrist. GOogle needs to realise what they want to emphasize, and optimize for what their users need the most, not for what they 'think' they might want.
No swim tracking.... 😭 I was holding out for this watch for my swim tracking and triathlon training. So much sigh.
Honestly my experience has been more on the positive side. I only charge it once a day with sleep tracking and exercises. AoD on, Tilt to Wake off, LTE version (but still connected to phone). I love the watch, no complaints here. I actually use health sync to sync Fitbit to Google fit.
I noticed on my Pixel watch if you turn off tilt to wake at night then it saves you a ton of battery life Right now is 4:35 p.m. I still have 50% from yesterday
It's an android issue. Happens more often than I like with my fossil gen 6
I have a fitbit on its last legs and was really interested in the prospect of the pixel. But now I'm not so sure. The battery is just a killer if you want to sleep track.
My battery life has been phenomenal, I did a personal no charge test and got 32 hours lol and that's just using the watch as how I use all my other smart watches. AOD off TTW on.
Normally though I put the watch on the charger while I'm in the shower at nights / mornings
I been doing the same, when i shower or something like that, quick nuke of the battery. Battery hasnt been great but I expected it with it being a first gen
I've had multiple Garmin watches on Android and never had a disconnection issue. I have had some weird connection issues with my ear buds though
I love Marques, but he barely gives smart watches that aren't the Apple Watch a shot. Pretty sure the only non Apple watches he's ever reviewed are the Moto 360, the OnePlus Watch and now the Pixel Watch. But there are tons of good watches out there from Samsung, Fitbit or Garmin that your audience would probably love to hear your take on.
I have the Pixel Watch now and I love it so far. The battery will be an adjustment, but I love everything else about it, so I can put up with charging it a little more frequently.
I'll preface by saying I do like my pixel watch, however I haven't had a smart watch since my Michael kors smartwatch like 5 years ago. THAT SAID, battery is a big issue, giant pain in the butt. Also, I got it via preorder on the 13th and it was super annoying to a) get the update to even download or install and b) once I did get it to go through I did have to factory reset the watch for connectivity. 😒 Also, I already have a scratch on the glass. I work an office job and I'm largely sedentary other than the gym/ walks/ everyday movements so it's unfathomable that I already have somehow scratched this thing. Also you suggested that they missed the boat big time by not getting rid of Google fit and rebranding Fitbit to Google Fitbit, I love that idea. The paywall is so unfortunate as well. Lastly, why on earth does the Fitbit app more more like a Google application than the pixel watch app on my pixel 6?!
On the other side of the coin, I have a 5.5" wrist circumference and the size is gorgeous on my dainty wrist. Also, I personally love how the bands connect for that seamless look and personally don't mind having to buy watchbands. It's a gorgeous piece of hardware.
My Garmin Instinct watch polls heart rate 24/7 and it lasts 2-3 weeks on a charge... Also provides phone notifications.
Yeah but Garmin smartwatches aren't really smart
19:46 They were acting like they were high on metaverse for that signoff man
You would think Google could have learned with their partners on previous android watches.
Coming from a Galaxy Watch 4, I have been extremely pleased with my Pixel Watch. I have had 0 issues. The GPS connects 10x quicker than my Galaxy Watch before a run and no hiccups with my earbuds connection during my run. The UI is soooo much smoother than the Galaxy Watch. I charge during my morning and nighttime shower and battery life has not been an issue. I HATE auto workout tracking so I am happy this watch does not have this feature. Fitbit integration does not feel disjointed in my opinion...seems like many reviewers are just getting caught up in the name??? Overall I am extremely pleased with the watch. I love MKBHD and have been watching for years but man...I've never disagreed more.
Would like to see more comparisons and opinions compared to he galaxy watch not the apple watch lol. People getting the pixel watch aren't getting an apple watch as a second purchase option
Indeed they don't really compete.. nobody is choosing their phone ecosystem based on a watch!
Comparing with the galaxy watch would be interesting esp. as a non-samsung owner - having used the GW4 which was fairly crippled with a non-samsung phone it'd be interesting to know if they're still doing that.
Google Fit/Fitbit situation with the whole Google ecosystem is the one last thing that turned me away from Pixels and Google in general. I just can’t trust that my data in one of their apps is still going to be there in 5 years or, as with Fit, even in a year. They just killed or abandoned maintenance of too many apps
Dang I must be the only one obsessed with my watch🙃
I thought I was too .. I'm scared now.
You might be a Google dote. I wanted to like the watch so bad everything was perfect until I actually got up and personal with the watch. It was pretty much common place with Google.
They always miss a few no brainers.
I do wonder what charger you use for the Apple Watch if it charges that slow lol. I have an Anker charger and my series 7 can go from 1 to 100 in a little less than an hour
*I wish it was 50$ cheaper & slightly bigger, but overall I like it. With AOD enabled (with the 5G version) I'm easily getting through the day (charging overnight), losing 3-5%/hr without using the fitness tracking complications.*
I did the same thing with all of my previous cellular-connected Wear devices & had similar battery life.
If this goes on sale during Black Friday I will probably purchase it.
I wish there was a "just a watch" setting that I could use to shut down everything but time/date, and allow the battery to last a long weekend. If I'm going away for a week or two, I might bring my charging disk. But I can't see myself packing the disk for every overnight trip or long weekend. That means the watch stays home, which defeats the purpose of a smart watch.
Maybe airplane mode will do this?
coming from an apple watch and I must say I really like the Pixel watch, I am having no issues with the battery it does what I need and I like the simplicity of the device.
I must be the luckiest person on the planet. My watch has been great. No issues connecting via Bluetooth. Battery when monitoring sleep uses about 10% not 20-30% like people are reporting. Day-to-day been using about 10% per every 4 hours, so just charging when I'm in the shower and not having any issues.
Oh and I bought a 30W fast charger from Amazon, charges from around 20% to full in an hour or so.
You're not lucky, they're just entirely too nitpicky. I haven't had any of the issues discussed in the video. They know they're exaggerating, but it fits the narrative that the Pixel Watch isn't great, so why not blow these issues, that definitely aren't widespread, out of proportion?
I ordered the Pixel Watch from Best Buy for my wife for our anniversary. We were told that it would be delivered October 13th. Item was delayed (call it Best Buy's fault or Googles, whatever it doesn't matter) for mid November. In the mean time, all of these reviews started coming out saying the battery was terrible and the watch seemed very fist gen. So we cancelled the order and bought the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 for her and she's super happy with it. It was available right away and battery life has been killer. Sad to say, Google really dropped the ball on this one.
Great option the galaxy watch, no big mistake. I got my Pixel 2 days ago, into the third one today and I've only charged it once! I'm at 12% right now!
@@jmoore2284 the order was delayed till mid November. We were promised delivery by mid October. I get that this seems like we were impatient, but it just got frustrating being told different things
I actually have Fitbit automatically check my training. Are you sure about it? It works smoothly, and stop as soon as it detects I'm not moving and heart rate is going down.
I have the galaxy watch 4 lte version and not once have i had a connection issue its actually been flawless
I got my watch on thursday and didn't have any connectivity issues with the phone (pixel 7).
Garmin Venu 2 ladies and gentleman. I get 7-10 days battery life easy and Garmin ecosystem is great for health tracking.
I had the Garmin venu plus because I was hoping it'd be enough of a smartwatch but couldn't do it. Garmin venu is a superb fitness watch but not smartwatch. Just went back to SW5 until Android gets a true Apple Watch contender.
@@CoachJavy24 Fair enough brother, to each their own. It still has smartwatch functionalities like notifications, but maybe you wanted more. It's a mix between a fitness watch and a smartwatch. It's hard to beat the Garmin ecosystem for sports/health imo. But the SW5 is a solid choice!
@@footballhd1111 it is hard. You want the best of both worlds but so far nothing imo competes to the apple watch. I will never go Apple but that watch is top tier. Garmin does it really well and is getting closer and closer to really competing with Sammy if it can integrate some better smart features.
I had about 92% left after bedtime mode. I also cut down a LOT of battery stuff, so that might be why mine didn't go down all that much
It annoys me to no end that they're ignoring Google Fit
Sold mine as soon as I got it, IMO first iterations always have issues & the bezel is way to small for me, will stick with my Venu for the time being as it ticks all the boxes for me at a fraction of the price
This is why Apple continues to win in their ecosystem. I still feel like Google is only in its infancy of trying to get their software, and hardware down so they are releasing incomplete products for a high price. I've been a loyal Android user for 10 years, but I feel like now Apple is the way to go to get a phone or watch that just works.
@xOyinoUS yup i plan on keeping my pixel 6 pro as a "backup" for when i switch to Apple completely. i also have a samsung note 10 that sort of still works
I have a samsung watch 5 40mm that I've set to constantly check for my heart rate and it lasts me about 36 hours. I'm never using cellular on it, to be fair, but if I'm getting that great of results I don't see why Google can't do something similar.
Samsung went out of their way to reengineer motherboard components to put a bigger battery in the watch 5, google did none of that. In fact if you look at teardowns of the pixel watch it looks like one of those chinese knock off devices. They spent years making this watch too 😂
I was really looking forward to this, but it does feel very first gen. I've been using my Fossil Gen 5 since release, and was hoping to upgrade to this, but I think I'm going to hold off for something else. The idea is there, the execution just needs more work.
MKBHD has sold his soul to Apple. Very biased reviews. He is going on and on about HR being measured every sec. If Apple would have done the same then he would have been like OMG... Now I can get continuous HR! I say this as I recall how he roasted pixel 3 for it's notch and now he loves dynamic island in iPhone....
Enjoying the watch so far. I do wish the bezel was slimmer but I believe it will be on next year's watch. I'm not a sleep tracker or what you would call a heavy user. My battery had been lasting me until I go to sleep easily with at least 30% left. I've only had it a few days ago maybe that will go down as I use it more.
I think that this is a good first volley from Google. Gen 2 will be a serious contender if Googs can make the same improvement like the 6 to 7 series phones did.
When it comes to watches, I can't accept having to charge them regularly. This is where I love my Seiko watch with a solar panel built in. I've had it for 8 years and still going without worrying about batteries
Thing is for people like me who don't use sleep tracking (watches are uncomfy to sleep with) won't care about the battery life. I will be charging at night regardless of if it could last 48 hours. I find the design and weight are really attractive features. Accurate heart rate tracker as well.
heart rate tracker is very standard honestly, there’s plenty of better watches with more accuracy. And if you do any exercise you can forget about accuracy cuz pixel watch is even worse at tracking exercises
@@jrodjpg I guess I should have been more clear. Accurate enough to hang with the rest. To me the top features are design, weight, and wear os. Heart rate tracker is good enough and may even have a slight edge. Battery life is mid but fine if not sleep tracking. Price...Well ya it's over priced but what are you gonna do.
@@DoubblEvil for me the top fearures are the health tracking and OS, if I wanted a watch that tells the time I could get an ancient one and plus I wouldn’t need to charge it ever. To each their own though
@@jrodjpg Hey, fair enough. Like everyone has been saying it's not great but it's good enough. And tbh my plan is to trade it in down the line for gen 2 or if I'm patient maybe gen 3.
I think the disconnecting is definitely an android issue. I had to reset my galaxy watch 5 a lot for disconnecting after i change from galaxy s22 to pixel 7 pro.
I'm really liking it. Bezel's a non-issue, battery life needs a daily charge, but I can pop it off for an hour or so when I'm at my desk. Lovely UI, nice and smooth, does what I want it to, no crashes, re-inits so far. Availability of chargers needs improving and MS needs to port their TO DO list over, but that's it. Oh, and Tidal please.
I've never had a smart watch before. I love Pixel phones. I got a watch for like $180 through a Verizon deal. I like it. Annoyed by Fitbit notifications, but I'm sure I can disable them. Turn your always-on screen off and you won't have battery life issues. I'm getting over 24 hours.
Google's Tensor chip isn't actually designed by Google though, they go to Samsung and request a SoC that has specific requirements and leave it to Samsung to design it based off Exynos. Apple actually designed the microarchitecture from scratch themselves. It makes it very difficult for Google to bring down costs and be as flexible, because they are still heavily relying on Samsung.
That's not accurate. Google designs the chip, they have had teams working on chip development for years. Infact members of that team came from Apple. They then contracted Samsung to produce those chips for them because they have the capacity to make them.
Yeah that's Google though, they don't really make their own stuff. They just absorb other companies and try to unify them. RUclips, nest, Fitbit, nexus devices, even the first couple Pixel devices were made by another phone company, until they bought HTC's phone division.
@@andrewnlaidlow Literally the only thing in the Tensor Chip designed in-house is the TPU, everything from the Cortex X1s, the A76s, the A55s, the Mali GPU, and the modem on the SoC is based off Samsung design and architecture. Google may have ordered a custom configuration of this SoC, but it is not designed by them by and large.
@@RDJ1SS To an extent, you can say the same thing about Apple. They acquire companies and technology they need to develop in-house first Party tech they consider necessary for their hardware. For example, PrimeSense, LuxVue Technology, Emagic, Intel’s smartphone modem division, etc. they even poach important tech leaders from other companies like Jim Keller from AMD. There is something fundamental within how Apple does things internally vs Google, but without more information, it’s impossible to know exactly what that is.
Had initial connection issue, but after a Google system update everything resolved. Battery lasts a full day (7am till 10pm) with 40% spare. Don't sleep with it so I'm ok.