Google’sPixel Watch 2is one of ourfavorite Wear OS watches. It’s not much different from the first generation, but it’s got a uniquelyGooglelook, and with more reliable battery life than the original, the second-gen Pixel Watch is easier to recommend to more people. But there are still things we’d change about Google’s newest watch if we could. Here are five things about the Pixel Watch 2 we hope Google fixes in its next smartwatch.
1Those bezels
The Pixel Watch 2 is one of the more striking smartwatches you can get, but its design is almost entirely unchanged from the first generation. For the most part, that’s great: its curved display glass and seamless band mechanism look as slick today as they did last year. But in sticking so close to the first generation’s design language, the Pixel Watch 2 inherited a comparatively huge display bezel.
That chunky bezel doesn’t matter all that much in real life; modern Wear OS is on permanent dark mode, so the screen blends in nicely with the black glass around it. All the same, that space around the edges of the Pixel Watch 2’s screen is wasted; shrinking the bezels would mean room for a bigger display without having to make the watch’s case any larger.
2The dim display
The screen inside the Pixel Watch 2’s wide bezels is also overdue for a refresh. Its round OLED panel is fine enough, with high enough pixel density to look good at a distance and vibrant colors. But compared to what you’re able to get from the competition — chiefly, theSamsung Galaxy Watch 6— it’s starting to look a little antiquated.
The Pixel Watch 2’s screen has a low refresh rate by modern Wear OS standards at 30Hz. Other Android smartwatches have 60Hz displays, meaning motion on their screens looks smoother than it does on the Pixel Watch 2. More importantly, though, the Pixel Watch 2’s screen maxes out at a brightness of 1,000 nits — considerably dimmer than the 2,000 nits peak Samsung’s latest watches can hit. It’ll only matter sometimes, but the Pixel Watch 2 isn’t as easy to read in bright sunlight as the Galaxy Watch 6 is.
It’s not that the Pixel Watch 2’s screen looks bad, but that it doesn’t looksasgood as what Google’s competition is offering for the same or less money. If the Pixel Watch is meant to compete in the premium space, it should do more to offer a premium experience, and compared to other high-end wearables, its display is lacking.
3The single size option
Just like the first-generation Pixel Watch, the Pixel Watch 2 comes in a single size: 41mm. That’s a comfortable medium-small size, but that it’s the only size option means the Pixel Watch 2 won’t appeal to a wide swath of the smartwatch-buying population. A larger size would have a bigger screen that would be easier to read, and a bigger battery that would last longer on a charge. Some people just prefer big watches, too, and Google doesn’t have much to offer those people.
Google would do well to take a page from Samsung’s book and offer multiple size options for future generations of Pixel Watch. The 41mm size is good for anyone who likes lower-profile watches, but an additional bigger option — maybe 45mm or so — would really broaden the Pixel Watch’s appeal.
4The ‘new’ charger
This one really is a nitpick, but here goes: Google borrowed an existing Fitbit charger design for the Pixel Watch 2, ditching the original Pixel Watch’s inductive charger in favor of magnetically aligned charging pins. The new generation charges a little faster, which is good, but the charger only works in one orientation, which adds a hint of friction to setting the watch on its charger. And while it’s nice that you can use the charger from a Fitbit Versa or Sense to charge the Pixel Watch 2, it’s a little awkward that the original watch’s charger doesn’t work with the new one.
5The price
That the Pixel Watch 2 didn’t see a price hike from the first generation is kind of a win in itself, but at $350, both generations have been really expensive relative to other Wear OS watches. Samsung’s watches don’t have Fitbit integration or the Pixel Watch’s unique look, but they’re more affordable, with the entry-level Galaxy Watch 6 starting at $280 — $70 less than the Pixel Watch 2. Samsung’s watch has a bigger, better display and longer battery life, too.
At this point, it doesn’t seem likely Google would release a third generation Pixel Watch at a lower price; even if the $350 Pixel Watch 2 is expensive by Wear OS standards, it does undercut the $399 Apple Watch Series 8, its Apple ecosystem counterpart. But there’s always the possibility of a lower-tier Pixel Watch to go along with the flagship model in the future,à laGoogle’s A-Series Pixel phones and earbuds. A $250 Pixel Watch A-Series would surely be a hit.
Maybe next year
The Pixel Watch 2 is a great Wear OS watch — but Google’s in a good position to make some big changes in an eventual Pixel Watch 3. We’re now two years into an annual release cadence for the Pixel Watch series, so the next generation could very well be available come this time next year. Whenever we get another smartwatch from Google, we’d be surprised if it didn’t address at least a few of our complaints here.
Google Pixel Watch 2
The Google Pixel Watch 2 is the sequel to Google’s first self-branded smartwatch. The second generation doesn’t reinvent the wheel, instead offering a handful of low-key improvements like a redesigned digital crown, Wear OS 4 out of the box, and a newer chipset that should offer better performance and battery life.
