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The Pixel Watch 2 offers improvements over the original Pixel Watch. It now provides an all day battery life with always on display. It also has a fresh safety feature and sensors design to provide better heatlh insights, including the most accurate heart rate tracking available on any fitness tracker or smartwatch.
The screen on the Pixel Watch 2 is lighter than it’s predessor. Internally, the Pixel Watch 2 boasts a quad core processor and a co processor that can last 24 hours. The phone can be up and running wityhin 30 minutes with fast charging.
Other than using it to track your active performance, the watch can help in in various ways. e.g. sleep monitoring, stress detection.
When it comes to software, machine learning is incorporated into the software with Fitbit’s Body Response feature, powered by a new continuous electrodermal activity (cEDA) sensor, can help identify potential signs of stress taking into account of heart rate, rate varaibility, skin temperature etc. It will send you notifications when it detects physical indicators of both positive and negative stress, including excitement.
For improved sleep monitoring and overall wellness assessment, a new skin temperature sensor works overnight to unveil valuable insights and track changes in your well-being.
With the Pixel Watch 2, you can easily access important health and fitness information using just your voice. Simply open the Google Assistant app and ask questions like “How did I sleep last night?”
[nextpage title=”User Interface, Wear OS 4, Fitbit and apps”]
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Wear OS 4
Wear OS 4 brings a number of new features and improvements, including smarter notifications, improved accessibility and customization, and the ability to use watch transfer or backup and restore to easily transfer your data and settings to a new phone or watch.
The Pixel Watch 2 also has a number of new apps to help you get more done. You can now get notifications from Gmail, Calender and catch up with your email right from the watch. You can also listen to podcasts on YouTube Music by playing it via a bluetooth earpiece or check nearby place information in Google Maps. And there are now more apps to download on Google Play for Wear OS, including AllTrails, Audible, and WhatsApp.
The crown of the watch is where you access the apps installed on the watch. There is WhatsApp, PlayStore etc. By scrolling the crown, you get access to the torch light, Google Home, Wallet (Google Pay), settings etc. In fact, you can set up the Google Pay and use the watch to make payments. [See youtube video below]
You can also find your phone when it’s gone missing with Find My Phone. And with Automatic Call Screener for Dialer on Wear OS, coming later this year to Pixel Watch 2, Google Assistant can also screen unknown calls from your Pixel phone and show you transcripts right on your wrist. (Available in certain countries).
Finally, there are plenty of ways to add some personal flair to your Pixel Watch 2. You can choose from a selection of six new watch face families, ranging from simple and subtle to expressive and colorful. And there are a variety of bands to choose from, so you can find the perfect one to match your style.
[nextpage title=”Conclusion”]
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The setup process for the Pixel Watch 2 proved to be a relatively simple endeavor. In essence, we navigated through the steps to connect it to our chosen smartphone, employing the Pixel Watch App, and proceeded to install the Fitbit app.
The watch’s health and fitness features come to life when it’s paired with the FitBit app. This integration enables you to monitor various metrics such as step counts, heart rate, and more. Notably, the watch seamlessly detects activities like running, walking, and workouts, without requiring manual input. Furthermore, it grants you access to data on blood oxygen levels, skin temperature, sleep quality, and stress insights—all accessible through the watch interface.
However, one noticeable drawback of this smartwatch is its battery life. Expect to recharge it every other day. Worst of all, wireless charging is missing on the Pixel Watch 2.
It’s worth mentioning that we couldn’t help but notice the absence of a dedicated SPo2 (blood oxygen) app that you could activate at will. Instead, the watch only measures SPo2 levels while you sleep, which might not align with everyone’s preferences. We also found that accessing SPo2 readings took some effort, both on the watch itself and within the FitBit app. Ideally, such information should be readily available, much like pulse rate data.
The tiny speaker answers your queries e.g. asking for directions using Google Assistant. Unfortunately, it can’t be used for playing music. Youtube music app will only playback through your paired ear piece.
To sum it up, the Pixel Watch 2 effectively functions as a fitness tracker. However, the integration of numerous features has made the watch somewhat complex to navigate. For instance, a more streamlined approach could involve merging the Watch app and FitBit app. Instead of requiring users to scroll in multiple directions and search the app list using the crown, a user-friendly search bar could be implemented to assist users in locating specific functions or apps.
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Pros:
- Improved battery life compared to original Pixel Watch
- New Heatlh tracking features : stress level, sleep quality
- The Pixel Watch 2 has a nice design which look good on a variety of wrists
- IP68 rating
Cons:
- Apps are limited
- Battery life can last for slightly more than 24 hours without a recharge
- No app for SPo2 measurement on demand
- Speaker on watch has limited functionality
Ratings
Performance 9
Design 9
Features 10
Usability 7
Value for money 7
Score : 8.4 / 10