is a senior reporter and author of the Optimizer newsletter.She has more than 13 years of experience reporting on wearables, health tech, and more. Before coming to The Verge, she worked for Gizmodo and PC Magazine.
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Five years ago, I used to groan when it came time to review an Android smartwatch. Back then, anything that wasn’t a Samsung watch was disappointing at best. The space was fragmented, battery life was dismal, and interest just didn’t seem to be there. But now, the $349.99 Google Pixel Watch 4 is the most interesting flagship smartwatch launch of the season.
That wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card.
The Pixel Watch 4 may look exactly like the Pixel Watch 3, but it’s a fundamentally different watch. Hardware-wise, the fourth-gen watch is now repairable, features a domed display, and has upgraded specs, like bigger batteries, a new speaker and haptics, and a faster processor. Wear OS 6 adds a complete redesign with Material 3 Expressive, and of course, Gemini is now on the wrist with a new raise-to-talk gesture. On the fitness and health front, sleep tracking is improved, there’s now dual-frequency GPS, and there’s improved automatic activity detection. As for battery life, it lasts longer and charges faster.
Delightfully wearable
The latest Pixel Watch doesn’t upend Google’s design language. It still comes in 41mm and 45mm sizes and looks the same on your wrist. But move closer, and you’ll start seeing the differences.
The curve of the domed Actua 360 display is particularly noticeable on the 45mm watch. The bezels are 16 percent thinner, giving you 10 percent more screen real estate. The curve was most noticeable whenever I was scrolling through menus. Google’s Material 3 Expressive software design change is a smart refresh. Tiles hug the edge of the domed display, and animations and buttons are larger with more rounded edges. You can fit more information on a single screen, and the playful design gives the Pixel Watch 4 a more distinctive flavor than before. When paired with a Pixel phone, the devices match each other’s color themes, giving a more cohesive overall vibe.
The battery life is excellent this time around.
The display is also brighter, maxing out at 3,000 nits, on par with the Apple Watch Ultra 3. It’s easier to view in direct sunlight.
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