Google’s Pixel Watch 3 is available in two sizes.

Choice is good — especially when it comes to wearables. Human bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and there's no such thing as one size fits all.
Google’s Pixel Watch 3 is available in two sizes.

Choice is good — especially when it comes to wearables. Human bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and there's no such thing as one size fits all. Until Tuesday's Made by Google 2024 event, the Pixel Watch has only been available in one size: 41mm.

Announced Tuesday, the Pixel Watch 3 adds some much-welcomed choice to the line. In addition to the 41mm model, the smartwatch will also be available in 45mm. Both versions sport larger screens than the Pixel Watch 2, owing in part to smaller bezels.

The display is also brighter, jumping from a maximum of 1,000 to 2,000 nits-a lovely improvement for a device that's intended to be seen during the day. In terms of AMOLED display density, it's rocking a 320 ppi density, with refresh rates up to 60 Hz.

The chip is the same as the one in last year's model. It is a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 5100, with the addition of a Cortex M33 co-processor. The battery is the same also, on the 41mm at 306 mAh, where the 45mm version's is 420 mAh. Google claims the same 24 hours of battery life with the always-on display enabled. With Battery Saver mode, the life jumps to 36 hours.

That's a nice bump over the Apple Watch's stated 18 hours of life. Battery remains the biggest sticking point for that product. The OnePlus Watch 2, meanwhile, is at the other end of the spectrum, going up to 100 hours. That comes courtesy of a dual-engine architecture, which switches processors to dramatically decrease power consumption.

Other notable bits are on the software side. Fitness is a core feature, as Google's 2021 Fitbit acquisition continues to be foundational for the watch. The company is getting more serious about appealing to the running community with the Watch 3. It uses a combination of motion sensing and machine learning to form a fuller picture of things like cadence, stride length and vertical oscillation.

A new running dashboard keeps all of those metrics in one place.

"Create a variety of running routines — add timed warmups and cool downs, set target pace, heart rate, times and distances or even set up interval routines with repeats," Google writes. "Plan, execute, and reflect to beat your best. Then execute your saved run routines with real-time on-wrist guidance via audio and haptic cues."

The company is still trying to upsell "serious" runners on its $10-a-month Fitbit Premium membership. That upgrade, in turn, employs AI from Google, coupled with past runs to create workout goals.

The Fitbit app now features a new feature called Morning Brief. That brings in sleep metrics, a "readiness score," weekly goals and other health numbers. Weather's in there, too, for a better picture of what the morning run will look like.

The 41mm starts at $350 for Wi-Fi and $450 for LTE. The 45mm version runs $400 for Wi-Fi and $500 for LTE.

 

Blog
|
2024-11-18 21:21:43