Most people don’t think of Google when they think about smartwatch makers, but the latest Pixel Watch might change that. A surprising number of updates are coming to the Pixel Watch 4, and I was impressed by how these changes add up to make it less of an iterative update than I initially expected.
Of all its new features, I found the Pixel Watch 4’s satellite communications capability, repairable design and improved charging speeds most compelling. Other changes, like the brighter, curved display, dual-chip architecture, upgraded haptics engine and speaker as well as Wear OS 6 and other software features are less exciting, but will matter more to the day-to-day experience. The redesigned Fitbit app, which will have a new AI experience at its core, will also impact your daily use more.
At first glance and from a recent hands-on, I’m intrigued by the Pixel Watch 4 and how the individual improvements might add up to a more meaningful overall experience.
Satellite connectivity for emergency communications on a smartwatch
I want to jump right into the new feature I’m most interested in: emergency satellite communications. Google says the Pixel Watch 4 is the first standalone commercial smartwatch to support this feature, and that probably largely has to do with the chip that powers it.
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The Snapdragon Wear 5 Gen 2, which Qualcomm announced today along with the Wear 5+ Gen 2, is the first wearable processor to offer satellite support, according to the company. It’ll use Skylo’s Narrowband Non-Terrestrial Network (NB-NTN) and allow for “two-way emergency messaging directly from the wearable device.” It’s worth noting that this will only work on LTE models and in the contiguous United States, though.
In a recorded demo of the feature at a hands-on event, I saw what it would look like on a Pixel Watch 4 when you try to connect to a satellite to send a message. Now, to be extremely clear, this was a pre-recorded video that played on loop on the device. All I did was hit play and watch. Still, it was nice to get an idea of what the process would require. It looked like you’d need to follow onscreen instructions to move your wrist around while the system searched for an available satellite to connect to. It was reminiscent of existing versions on phones. Whether it’s ultimately reliable or effective is something I can’t say until I get to actually test it.
A Pixel Watch 4 with a satellite graphic on its screen showing the word (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
Improved charging dock and faster recharging
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