When Google finally announced the Pixel Watch 3, I was excited to get my hands on the device and see what had changed from the previous model to this new model. There’s the obvious change, of course. The Pixel Watch 3 comes in a larger size. Google finally did it. It made a smartwatch with a larger screen. After two years of users basically begging for a bigger screen, it delivered. Then there’s all the improvements that aren’t so obvious. Stuff that isn’t a visible change at first glance. Like the watch using Google’s new Actua display technology, the promise of improved battery life, some new features, and more.

After using the Pixel Watch 2 off and on over the past year, I always found myself going back to the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. I thought for sure that this year with the Pixel Watch 3, the same thing would happen and I would end up back with the Galaxy Watch 7. After all, Samsung’s smartwatches had typically been my personal favorite. To my surprise, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Google has finally created a smartwatch that I want to continue using as my daily driver.

Although I don’t think the Pixel Watch 3 is perfect, as nothing ever is, Google has gotten a lot closer to perfection this time around, so much so that I think the Pixel Watch 3 is genuinely a home run for the company. But how does it stack up against its predecessor? Is it worth making the jump if you already own a Pixel Watch 2 or one of Samsung’s watches from this year or last year? At a base cost of $349.99, you’ll want to be sure the Pixel Watch 3 deserves your hard-earned cash. Let’s dive in a take a closer look at the device and see if it’s worth spending your money on.

Table of Contents

Google Pixel Watch 3 Review: Hardware and Design

When it comes to the overall design, Google’s Pixel Watch smartwatches haven’t changed from year to year. That’s true this year too. The Pixel Watch 3 has the same round watch case with a display that pours over the sides. Google said way back with the original Pixel Watch that its inspiration for the design of the watch case was water droplets, and it’s stuck to this design throughout what is now a third generation of watches.

That’s a lot less weird than you might think, though. Apple has pushed out nine generations of smartwatches and with the exception of the Apple Watch Ultra, every iteration of the Apple Watch has looked exactly the same. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch smartwatches have done this too. With very little, if any, design changing from year to year with its standard Galaxy Watch models.

In short, the Pixel Watch 3 design hasn’t really changed at all when you think of the overall design, and that’s perfectly fine with me. Because it’s a really good-looking smartwatch. Of course, there are some changes to the design. Such as the bigger display option this time around. And quite honestly, the Pixel Watch series is all the better for it. So here’s hoping Google sticks with this change from here on out.

Hardware: Still good, just a little more refined

This year Google has made a few adjustments to the hardware but again, nothing really major here. There’s the bigger 45mm option of the watch in addition to the standard 41mm that it has offered for two years. Google has also changed up the color combinations. I got my hands on the Matte Hazel 45mm watch with the matching Hazel band, and after staring at it daily for a little while now, I have to say that I really like this color. I am not a fan of glossy finishes on tech so the matte finish on this Hazel model is right up my alley.

The band system hasn’t changed at all either and it still locks in place the same way it always has. You remove the bands the same way as well. I’ve never really had many gripes with the Pixel Watch since its first iteration, save for the fact that it uses the haptic crown instead of a rotating bezel like the Galaxy Watch series, but putting all the cards out on the table, I like the band attachment system less and less.

Attaching the band is mostly fine, but it’s when I try to remove it that I always seem to struggle with getting it off. And I know I can’t be the only one who has this issue. I can appreciate Google’s attempts to do something different and come up with a relatively decent approach to this mechanism. However, it’s just not as easy to use as Samsung’s one-button system with the locking pins.

I do want to stress that this is a very minor hardware and design detail that I think can be improved, but in no way does it cause me to want to stop using the watch. I just won’t be changing out the bands all that often, if at all.

Speaking of the bands, once again these are the same as what you got with the Pixel Watch 2. A “fluoroelastomer with soft touch coating” material that uses the infinity loop fastener. That being said, you can pick up other band types if you want additional styles to cycle through, or if you just don’t care for the Active Band that comes with the watch as much.

Both the haptic crown and side button are unchanged again here as well, but as you can tell this has quickly become the theme when describing the design and the hardware. Because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Even the chipset has stayed the same as it’s powered by the Snapdragon Wear 5100. As I briefly touched on before, there are a few hardware changes, even if mostly everything else is untouched.

These do come with new displays and that’s not just regarding the size. The batteries have been improved as well. At the end of the day, the design is and has always been solid. And now that there’s a bigger display option, there’s little left for Google to do to improve the look of the Pixel Watch series.

Google Pixel Watch 3 Review: Display

This is one of the bigger (no pun intended) changes to the watch this year. First, let’s go over the most obvious, the display is now bigger. At least, if you go with the 45mm size option. And, you should. Having a bigger screen really does make a difference in seeing information and interacting with the UI.

Things just feel a lot less cramped than when I had used the Pixel Watch 2. Now part of that might be due to the fact that I’m so used to using larger smartwatches like the ones Samsung makes. As all but once I’ve had the larger option. Regardless, Google’s choice to make a larger model and give users the choice to pick which one they want was a smart move.

In addition to the new larger 45mm size, the Pixel Watch 3 is using a new type of display this year. Instead of the AMOLED display like on last year’s Pixel Watch 2, the Pixel Watch 3 is using Google’s new Actua Display technology. As part of this change, the displays on both watch sizes have smaller bezels. So even the 41mm technically has a larger display than last year if you think of it in terms of the usable screen space. The more important factor of this change is that the display is a lot brighter this year.

With the Pixel Watch 2, the display had a peak brightness of 1,000 nits. Which, is fine really as I didn’t have much of an issue with it during my time of use. The Pixel Watch 3 display, however, has a peak brightness of 2,000 nits. Double the brightness of last year’s model. Again, I never really had issues with the brightness on the Pixel Watch 2. That being said, I do notice the stark difference with the Pixel Watch 3 and I like it a lot. It’s much, much easier to see everything in direct sunlight.

Now I don’t think I ever ended up having the display reach the peak brightness, which is fine. The main point is that it’s brighter from the get-go and I think this was one of the most important improvements Google could have made. Long story short, the display is excellent. With the 45mm size, it’s both bigger and brighter with a subtle improvement to the clarity. Touch responsiveness also seems good so there’s nothing to complain about there either.

As for durability, the display is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. So it’s strong, but the shape could present some issues if it’s banged up too much. So as always, I recommend users try to refrain from accidentally (or intentionally) knocking the watch up against stuff.

Google Pixel Watch 3 Review: Performance

While Google’s chipset for the Pixel Watch 3 hasn’t been changed from last year’s model, the performance does feel a little snappier than before. Then again, there were no real complaints from me with the Pixel Watch 2 when it came to performance, so I didn’t expect there to be any issues this time around either.

Part of the snappier performance is undoubtedly due to the inclusion of Wear OS 5. In most situations, I didn’t experience any snags or hiccups after interacting with parts of the UI. Scrolling from screen to screen was nice and smooth and launching apps or opening up notifications was the same. The only time I ever noticed a bit of slowness was when I would go to unlock the watch by putting in the PIN. In just about every scenario it was perfectly fine.

Once in a while though it would take an extra second to get to the home screen after entering the PIN code. In all honesty, this is probably the best-case scenario for how performance played out, short of there being zero actual issues at all. So I’m pretty happy with the watch in terms of how it performs. I think most users who pick it up will be too.

While your experience may vary based on which apps you use, I have yet to come across anything where the watch didn’t perform exceptionally well other than with the occasional slower unlock. When you think about it, that’s a pretty big accomplishment considering the performance of Wear OS watches from more than a few years ago. They were sluggish, and generally just not as fun to use. Which is why I stuck mostly with Samsung’s options, even after it made the switch from Tizen to Wear OS.

Google Pixel Watch 3 Review: Battery Life and Charging

I think this is my favorite thing about the Pixel Watch 3. Battery life has always been a point of contention for users with Wear OS smartwatches for a long time. And the Pixel Watch in particular, while still better than most options, has never been great. This is what’s really funny to me. Google still advertises that the Pixel Watch 3 comes with “24+ hours of battery life,” and yet, it’s been lasting me well over 24 hours. Granted, I do use my smartwatches a little differently than probably most users.

I don’t wear watches all day, and I often forget to put them on at night to wear them while I sleep. However, I keep the screen brightness at its maximum level, and with the Pixel Watch 3 I have left the Always-On-Display enabled the entire time. At the time of writing this review, I was on the third day of the watch being off the charger and I had worn it to bed two nights in a row. While wearing it most of the day. The battery was sitting at 39% by about 11 am and I had gotten up about 7 am, and I interacted with the watch enough that it outpaced the Galaxy Watch 7 for me.

I think that’s pretty good. It’s also a definite indication that Google has really stepped its game up with battery life this year. The Pixel Watch 2 would never last me this long and would without a doubt have needed a charge by this time. I suspect that I’ll need to charge the watch on the fourth day of being off the charger. And if that’s the case throughout my time with it, then you will see no complaints from me about how long this battery lasts. So far, things are good. And I honestly don’t see things getting worse.

Finally, Google gave us a smartwatch that has underpromised and over-delivered in the battery life department, and I couldn’t be happier about that. In terms of a hard number, I was able to get two full days of use out of the watch while using it more consistently, and on average about four days when I use the watch how I normally do. Which is about half the day on my wrist and half the day off, unless I’m out of the house all day.

Charging

When it comes to charging, I didn’t notice much of a change. It still charges up about as fast as the Pixel Watch 2 did, although there was a slightly longer time this year given that the 45mm Pixel Watch 3 has a bigger battery. It took just over an hour for me to charge the watch all the way up to 100% from about 1%. I do want to reiterate though that I typically don’t wear a watch all day and use it throughout the entire day.

So when using it where I wore it about half the day, I was only having to spend about 30 minutes placing it on the charger before it was back up to a full battery. And that’s more than enough time for me to place it on the charger when I get up, and have it be a full battery again by the time I’m done showering and making a cup of coffee. If you use your watch the same way, you shouldn’t have to wait very long during charge cycles. Even if you drain it completely before you charge it, you’re still only looking at a little over an hour to get a full battery.

For me, that was about 79 minutes which is right around what Google claimed for charging to 100% on the 45mm model. So you just have to be prepared to put it on the charger when you have more than that time before you leave the house and you’ll be good to go.

Google Pixel Watch 3 Review: Software

Software is once again a big change with the Pixel Watch 3 this year compared to last year’s Pixel Watch 2 due to the inclusion of Wear OS 5. So there are both little nuances that are harder to spot in terms of changes and some more obvious updates. One such change is the addition of new watch faces and on top of that a whole new watch face protocol. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use any of the old watch faces you might have used on past Wear OS watches unless they’ve been updated to use Google’s new “Watch Face Format” protocol.

For me, that’s perfectly fine, because I’ve become pretty enamored with one of the stock options that was preloaded onto the Pixel Watch 3. The one I’m using is called ‘Active’ and I love it because there’s so much information displayed on it. It gives me a ton of data to see at a glance. It houses a total of nine complications that are interchangeable. So right off the bat, you get access to all kinds of data without ever having to first launch an app. And the fact that you can customize these complications by swapping them out makes this even better.

Anytime I want to check my step count, caloric burn, heart rate, or even the weather, it’s all right on the watch face. I also have complications with how many miles I’ve traveled and how many floors I’ve climbed. Now, I don’t use all of these every single day and some days rarely any of them are used or interacted with very much. But it’s nice that they’re there because I can use them and interact with them if I want to. And I don’t have to launch an app first to do it.

That being said, touching these complications does technically launch an app. It just takes you directly to that information inside the app instead of having you launch the app first and then going to search for it. It’s much more convenient.

There’s also now an option to use the watch as a Google TV remote, which is nifty if you have a Google TV device or a TV with the OS baked in. I don’t have either of those, so I never got to test this. But I imagine it’s a super convenient feature for those who do. Another new thing with the software this year is Google’s new Morning Brief.

I quite like this feature and it’s nice to wake up in the morning and then while I’m starting my day, go through the Morning Brief and see how well I slept and then what the weather is going to be like. The Morning Brief also shows you things like your Readiness Score, but I didn’t get to properly test this by review time because you have to wear the watch to bed for a full 7 days in a row. I often forget to put the watch on while I go to bed because I’m so used to not wearing one at all. So this review will be updated once I’ve met that time requirement to include information about the Readiness Score.

Auto Bedtime Mode

This is another really great feature of the Pixel Watch 3 that I adore. As I’ve said repeatedly at this point, I don’t love wearing my smartwatch to bed. When I do though, the last thing I want is to get constant notifications coming in from my phone. In most cases, I wouldn’t wake up from my phone buzzing in the middle of the night. However, having a watch on my wrist has most certainly woken me up a time or two because I don’t always remember to turn Bedtime Mode on.

Now, I don’t have to remember. Auto Bedtime Mode does what it says. It automatically enables Bedtime Mode once the watch detects that I’ve fallen asleep so I won’t be disturbed. This is absolutely wonderful and I don’t think I want to go back to a smartwatch that doesn’t have this feature. It’s just one more thing I can check off my list of things to do because the watch will just take care of it for me. I don’t want another piece of tech with a laundry list of tasks that I’m required to complete for the best possible user experience.

I want my smartwatch to enhance my life, not make it more complicated. And I think this feature in particular really helps to facilitate that. If you’re planning on getting a Pixel Watch 3 and wearing it to sleep for the tracking and Readiness Score features, definitely enable Auto Bedtime Mode, you won’t regret it.

Google Pixel Watch 3 Review: Fitness

Much of the fitness stuff on the Pixel Watch 3 will be familiar to users of the Pixel Watch 2 but there are some changes worth noting. For starters, Google has improved usability for runners with some advanced features that should make using this watch for run tracking more enjoyable. I think the big things here are the ability to create a customized run on the watch with various metrics and targets you’re trying to hit, and the ability to get real-time guidance as you run.

Advanced running features

Now, I’m not a runner but I do go on walks from time to time because I do need to have some form of exercise. With that said, I’m sure I hardly used these features to their potential. The advanced running features don’t really work for the walking activity, but I did try building a run to see what it was like and what you have access to should you choose to use this feature.

You have a pretty good amount of customization and can start by adding an interval type, such as distance, setting that interval (I chose 2 miles), and then you hit the “+” button on the next screen to add more intervals like rest time and warmup time if you want. You can also add in additional intervals like a target heart rate zone, and your current pace for fastest or slowest times. So you can set things to be as complicated or as simple as you want.

All of this is also doable on the phone from the Fitbit app if you want to use that instead, but it’s much more convenient to do everything from the watch. Especially if you’re setting everything up when you’re already outside and about to actually start your run. Plus, if you have the LTE model of the Pixel Watch 3 then you can leave your phone at home and still utilize this feature fully.

The real-time guidance can also be nifty as the watch will not only alert you with audio when you’ve finished an interval, but it can give you haptic feedback once you’ve finished one and it’s time to move on to the next one too. So you never really have to look down at your watch unless it’s time to do so. This means you can focus on your run and not on your watch display, breaking your focus.

All-in-all I think these are useful improvements that users are going to really love when it comes to using this watch for fitness activities. On top of all this, you can press the side button to pause your workouts and then press it again to resume them. And if you swipe left on the screen in your workout, you can bring up music management controls to pause a song or start it back up. It’s all very intuitive and keeps you once again, focused on your workout and not on other distractions.

Should you buy the Google Pixel Watch 3?

Where last year I didn’t think there were enough improvements to recommend that everyone upgrade from the Pixel Watch to the Pixel Watch 2, I think this year, there are more reasons why it’s worth spending the money to upgrade. Google has done a pretty good job at elevating what was a decent smartwatch to a great one. That being said, the Pixel Watch 3 isn’t going to be right for everyone. So, only you can really decide if the Pixel Watch 3 is right for you and worth your money. But I do really believe that it is worth it for most people.

Especially for those who already use an older Pixel Watch. And for anyone who uses a different type of smartwatch with their Android phone, the Pixel Watch 3 is worth looking into.

You should buy the Pixel Watch 3 if:

You want the larger 45mm watch with a bigger display
You’ll benefit from the advanced run features, Auto Bedtime Mode, and other changes
You want battery life that can last you at least two days

You shouldn’t buy the Pixel Watch 3 if:

You use a Galaxy Smartphone and want the integrations that a Galaxy smartwatch would offer
You already own a Pixel Watch 2 and like the smaller screen, don’t mind the battery life