I can’t see the cheaper gadget as a compromise. The Edge has built-in GPS and a battery rated for up to a week.<\/p>\n
So why would anyone pay $220 more? I went through both spec sheets line by line, and I found four good reasons.<\/p>\n
I don’t think most people will miss any of them. The ones who do, though, will miss them very, very loudly.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n \t\t I’m ignoring the looks, because everything else is fantastic<\/p>\n The Edge packs a lot of tracker into a $180 body<\/p>\n GPS and a week of battery for half the price<\/p>\n The Fitbit Edge is something between the screen-less Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 5. Google priced it at $180 in the US, roughly half the price of a Pixel Watch at full price.<\/p>\n The hardware is very generous for the price. The Edge has a 1.34-inch AMOLED display in an aluminum body that weighs only 17.7 grams.<\/p>\n You get a physical side button, new snap-in bands, and 5 ATM and IP68 water resistance.<\/p>\n Battery life is a good reason to pick a Fitbit over a smartwatch. Google says it runs up to seven days on a charge.<\/p>\n It’s also Google’s first fitness tracker with a replaceable battery, which is great news if you hang on to your gadgets for years<\/a>. <\/p>\n The sensor list is long too. Fitbit Edge has built-in GPS and an altimeter for tracking elevation on hikes. It also offers skin temperature tracking and an ECG sensor.<\/p>\n Feature Price Display Technology Battery Life Operating System Phone Compatibility Weight That’s a lot of tracker for the money. Still, I’d hold off on pre-ordering until you’ve seen the four features the Edge leaves out.<\/p>\n You lose the Wear OS app store<\/p>\n A curated Fitbit OS built around a battery<\/p>\n The Edge falls short on software. It runs a lean proprietary Fitbit OS rather than Wear OS.<\/p>\n Google’s feature list shows only a handful of essential apps. It includes music controls, weather, timers, and alarms, with Google Maps directions coming soon.<\/p>\n There’s, however, no Google Play Store. On a Pixel Watch, you can install third-party workout apps or smart home controls when you want.<\/p>\n The Edge keeps you inside a chamber designed to stretch the battery. If you depend on a particular workout app or love tinkering with your watch, it’ll feel limited quickly.<\/p>\n No LTE means your phone must come along<\/p>\n The Edge tracks your run but can’t keep you reachable<\/p>\n Plenty of runners and cyclists would rather leave their phone at home. The Pixel Watch 5 has cellular models for that crowd.<\/p>\n With LTE, you can text and stream music without a phone nearby, and still reach emergency SOS if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n The Edge won’t cut that cord. Its spec sheet lists Bluetooth 5.4 and built-in GPS, but no Wi-Fi or cellular radio.<\/p>\n The GPS tracks your distance and pace on an outdoor run. Anything involving messages or live syncing still needs your phone in your pocket.<\/p>\n Google Wallet didn’t make the cut<\/p>\n There’s no NFC chip<\/p>\n Tap-to-pay is one of the best reasons to wear something on your wrist. Paying for a post-run coffee without going for your wallet is the kind of small win you notice every day.<\/p>\n The Pixel Watch 5 works with Google Wallet for that. The Edge covers plenty of health sensors and basic Google integrations, but it has no NFC chip<\/a>, so Google Wallet is off the table. <\/p>\n Gemini on the Edge is a coach that you can’t talk to<\/p>\n AI does the thinking on your phone<\/p>\n The Pixel Watch 5 runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated chip with 64GB of storage, which powers Gemini on the watch.<\/p>\n You get a conversational voice assistant on your wrist, and since the September update, it can handle basic actions like timers and workouts offline. The Edge takes a different tack.<\/p>\n Google promises “personalized coaching built with Gemini,” which uses AI to crunch your health data and build custom workouts inside the Google Health app<\/a>, so it reads your fitness numbers and tells you what to do with them. <\/p>\n
\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/pixel-watch-5-pocket.JPG\"\/)
<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tI tested the Pixel Watch 5 and discovered Google’s best smartwatch yet
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Fitbit](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/fitbit-edge-on-a-wrist.png\")
\n Credit:\u00a0Lucas Gouveia \/ Android Police<\/p>\n
\n Fitbit Edge
\n Pixel Watch 5 (41mm Wi-Fi)<\/p>\n
\n $179.99
\n $399.99<\/p>\n
\n 1.34-inch AMOLED
\n Actua 360 OLED (1 to 60Hz, 3,000 nits)<\/p>\n
\n Up to 7 days (2 days with Always On Display)
\n Up to 30 hours (Always On Display enabled)<\/p>\n
\n Proprietary Fitbit OS
\n Wear OS 7<\/p>\n
\n Android 11+ and iOS 16.4+
\n Android 12+ (No iOS support)<\/p>\n
\n 17.7 grams
\n 31.0 grams (without band)<\/p>\n![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/pixel-watch-2-wearos-6.png\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/t-mobile-cell-tower-close-5g-lte.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Open](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/open-wallet-with-google-wallet-logo-loyalty-cards-and-tickets.png\"){kind=logo}
\n Credit:\u00a0Lucas Gouveia \/ Android Police<\/p>\n![\"Scissors](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/scissors-cutting-through-the-gemini-logo-surrounded-by-coins.png\"){kind=logo}
\n Credit:\u00a0Lucas Gouveia \/ Android Police<\/p>\n
![\"Expensive](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/expensive-smart-fitness-setup-with-a-peloton-bike-ai-mirror-smart-scale-and-workout-gear.png\")