{"id":85817,"date":"2025-08-21T20:39:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T20:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/85817\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T20:39:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T20:39:11","slug":"pixel-watch-4-first-look-google-introduces-a-stunning-curved-redesign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/85817\/","title":{"rendered":"Pixel Watch 4 First Look: Google Introduces a Stunning Curved Redesign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google’s Pixel smartwatch<\/a> is getting a sleeker, curvier look. Unveiled today at the Made by Google event, the Pixel Watch 4 continues the signature teardrop glass design of its predecessors\u2014but now, the display itself is domed beneath the glass, further emphasizing its elegant curve.<\/p>\n

We had a chance to see the Pixel Watch 4 ahead of today\u2019s announcement, and the new curved display makes a strong first impression. It’s not just about looks, either\u2014the screen is larger, brighter, and features slimmer bezels than the previous model. Inside, it houses a bigger battery and enhanced AI features, including quick access to Google\u2019s conversational assistant, Gemini<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Like the Pixel Watch 3<\/a>, it comes in two sizes\u201441mm and 45mm\u2014and pricing remains unchanged: $349 for the smaller version and $399 for the larger model (LTE costs $100 more). Preorders for the watch are open now, and shipments will begin on October 9. If you’re on the fence about upgrading, read on for what to expect. <\/p>\n

Design: Curvier Than Ever<\/p>\n

The Actua 360 domed display under the curved glass of the Pixel Watch 4 enhances visibility quite a bit, especially when looking at the watch at an angle. Google notes that the display has 10% more active area and 15% smaller bezels than the Pixel Watch 3, which itself has a 16% slimmer bezel than the Pixel Watch 2<\/a>. Similarly, the Pixel Watch 4 increases the maximum screen brightness to 3,000 nits, up from 2,000 nits last generation and 1,000 nits in the first two generations. In two years, Google has done a lot of work on its watch displays. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n The new Pixel Watch design looks striking (Credit: Eric Zeman)\n<\/p>\n

We have concerns about the durability of the curved glass, which the domed display exacerbates. For its part, Google touts the fortitude of its aerospace-grade aluminum housing and Corning Gorilla Glass cover. The Pixel Watch 4 has an IP68<\/a> durability rating and is water resistant to 164 feet of depth, specs that match the Pixel Watch 3. Unlike its predecessor, the Watch 4 is fully serviceable, Google says, so you can replace the display or battery if something does go wrong. <\/p>\n

On the inside, the Pixel Watch 4 has received a boost. It has a Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor with a Cortex-M55 coprocessor, upgrades from the Qualcomm SW5100 and Cortex-M33 in last year\u2019s model. This Qualcomm chipset is debuting in the Pixel Watch 4, complete with emergency satellite communication, a first for a wearable chip. If you\u2019re hiking out of range of your phone and any kind of traditional signal, you should still be able to call for help. Otherwise, the Pixel Watch 4 has 32GB of storage and 2GB of memory, the same as the Watch 3. <\/p>\n

The Pixel Watch 4 is compatible with most phones running Android 11<\/a> or newer and runs Wear OS 6.0. The operating system is one generation newer than what’s available on the Pixel Watch 3, and the biggest upgrade, aside from bumps in efficiency, is access to Google\u2019s Gemini.<\/p>\n

Software and Sensors: Added AI Assistance <\/p>\n

Google\u2019s Pixel Watch 4 is the second major smartwatch to launch with built-in access to the company\u2019s conversational generative AI assistant Gemini, after the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8<\/a>. With Gemini, you\u2019re able to ask questions, send texts, and interact with your watch\u2019s features and apps such as Google Calendar, Google Home, and Google Maps. You can even activate Gemini by simply raising your wrist. <\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

\n The Pixel Watch 4 should automatically track exercises more reliably (Credit: Eric Zeman)\n<\/p>\n

On the wellness front, Gemini will enable a personal AI health coach that will offer fitness and sleep advice. Google says the coach will launch in preview this October for all Fitbit and Pixel Watch users.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Pixel Watch 4 adds new exercise modes, including pickleball and basketball, and the ability to stream real-time cycling metrics to the Fitbit app for use as a heads-up handlebar display. It also offers new AI activity recognition capabilities, so it should be able to correctly classify your workout, even if you forget to start tracking the exercise yourself. Plus, it has an improved skin temperature sensor for more accurate overnight health data, and a dual-frequency GPS for precise location tracking in cities and forests. <\/p>\n

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Otherwise, the Watch 4 carries forward all the sensors of the previous-gen model, including an accelerometer, an altimeter, an ambient light sensor, a barometer, a compass, an electrical sensor to measure skin conductance (cEDA) to gauge stress, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, a multi-path optical heart rate sensor, and a skin temperature sensor. It can also monitor blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) with red and infrared sensors and take an ECG with multipurpose electrical sensors. <\/p>\n

The Pixel Watch 4 uses that sensor data to provide AI-powered Daily Readiness Score, Cardio Load, and Target Load metrics, features we praised when we reviewed its predecessor. The Daily Readiness Score provides a sense of how hard you should push for the day. Cardio Load indicates how hard you\u2019ve been exerting your cardiovascular system on a rolling seven-day basis. Target Load offers a specific workout goal for the day, based on your Readiness and Cardio Load. The Watch shows a morning brief to walk you through these metrics and whatever other information you need to know about your day. Samsung smartwatches similarly use Galaxy AI to offer a holistic Energy Score. <\/p>\n

Google’s smartwatch even offers advanced running coaching, letting you use AI to plan a workout tailored for your current fitness level. These daily run recommendations, along with a library of audio and video workouts, come as part of the Fitbit Premium service for $9.99 per month. Samsung introduced a sleep and running coach in its latest smartwatch models, and it is not locked behind a paywall. <\/p>\n

Recommended by Our Editors<\/p>\n

Battery Life: Slightly Boosted<\/p>\n

Both sizes of the Pixel Watch 4 have bigger batteries than their respective predecessors, increasing to 325mAh from 306mAh in the 41mm version and to 455mAh from 420mAh in the 45mm watch. <\/p>\n

Google promises 24 hours of battery life on a charge for both versions of the Pixel Watch 3, and they exceeded that estimate in our testing. With the always-on display enabled, the smaller version lasted 34 hours, and the larger model powered through 46.5 hours between charges. With the Pixel Watch 4, Google has increased the promised capacity to 30 hours on the smaller version and 40 hours on the larger. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n The Pixel Watch 4 looks like an alarm clock while resting on its charger (Credit: Eric Zeman)\n<\/p>\n

Google has also redesigned the charger. The watch sits upright on the charger instead of resting on a magnetic puck like before. While in the charging stand, the watch can display the time, battery percentage, and any set alarms. It should charge quickly, with Google claiming it can go from dead to 50% battery in 15 minutes on the stand. <\/p>\n

The Best New Android Watch?<\/p>\n

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 8 is a tough act to follow. In terms of lifestyle capabilities, both the Galaxy and Pixel watches have access to Gemini. A bump in battery life could help give Google an edge.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n The curved display of the Pixel Watch 4 (Credit: Eric Zeman)\n<\/p>\n

Samsung’s smartwatches gained several new health and fitness capabilities this year, including free AI-powered running and sleep coaching and antioxidant testing that can offer insight into your dietary health. The Pixel Watch 4 also has a few new wellness features, and we’re excited to find out whether its AI activity detection and improved skin temperature sensor make a tangible difference, so stay tuned for our full review.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, for more coverage from Google\u2019s event, check out our first impressions of the Pixel 10<\/a> lineup and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About Andrew Gebhart<\/p>\n

\n Senior Analyst, Smart Home and Wearables\n <\/p>\n

\"Andrew<\/p>\n

I\u2019m PCMag\u2019s senior analyst covering smart home and wearable devices. I\u2019ve been writing about tech professionally for nearly a decade and have been obsessing about it for much longer than that. Prior to joining PCMag, I made educational videos for an electronics store called Abt Electronics in Illinois, and before that I spent eight years covering the smart home market for CNET.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I foster many flavors of nerdom in my personal life. I\u2019m an avid board gamer and video gamer. I love fantasy football, which I view as a combination of role-playing games and sports. Plus, I can talk to you about craft beer for hours and am on a personal quest to have a flight of beer at each microbrewery in my home city of Chicago.<\/p>\n

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\n Read Andrew’s full bio
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Read the latest from Andrew Gebhart<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Google’s Pixel smartwatch is getting a sleeker, curvier look. Unveiled today at the Made by Google event, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[64,63,213,105],"class_list":["post-85817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-gadgets","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}