Pixel Watch 4 is the leap forward Google needed | Long term review

 

Its hard to believe that Google is on their 4th generation smartwatch but they are. In this short amount of time I can honestly say that each version got better. Maybe not by leaps and bounds but modestly with each revision. I've owned each version of the Pixel Watch and the improvement year over year is evident to me. Not just in the hardware department but the software too.

I was really close to not upgrading from the PW3, however, after seeing the increase in battery life, charging speeds improvements and upgraded display quality I was all in. Now after spending a year with the device I am glad that I went with the latest model.

Day to day

There is no real noticeable design change if you look at the watch straight on. The major change is on the left side with the charging pins being quite visible. I don't mind the look at all and think having the charging pins visible gives the watch some much needed character. Overall I like the design and it just works. 

Software is solid and the design changed in March when Google gave the Pixel Watch 2 and up the Material 3 Expressive treatment. Google has been on fire with design lately and the PW is no different. In June Google updated the PW2 and up to Wear OS 7 where further refinements were made. If you are interested in seeing a video on that let me know in the comments section.

Recommendations and final thoughts

I typically don't recommend anyone upgrade year over year on most modern devices and the same can be said here. If you have a PW3 there is no need to upgrade. That device runs the latest version of Android and the battery life is solid especially the 45mm model. It's debatable with the PW2 but the leaps forward with the PW4 in two generations makes it a worthy upgrade to me. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed using this watch everyday. From wearing it as an accessory to working out with it this smartwatch has been awesome to wear. The software UI is beautiful, fast and fluid while being incredibly stable. I can easily get two and half days on a single charge so battery anxiety is no longer a factor. The features and the fitness tracking all just work whether you decide to pay for the premium service or not. I can literally go on and on. Google has something special with the PW4 and I can't wait to see what they bring with the PW5.