Pixel Watch 3 vs Pixel Watch 2: Is It Better?

Aug. 14, 2024

Google’s attempt at Wear OS watches has been pretty successful with the Pixel Watch and the Pixel Watch 2. With the resurrection of Wear OS and healthy competition, Google has launched thePixel Watch 3alongside thePixel 9 seriesat the Made by Google event. It brings a few improvements over its predecessor, but is it worth shelling out the extra premium? Here’s our Pixel Watch 3 vs Pixel Watch 2 comparison to help you decide.

Pixel Watch 3 vs Watch 2: Build and Design

The overall dimensions of the Pixel Watch 3 are similar to the Pixel Watch 2’s. It retains the circular pebble-like design withrounded corners. The casing of the Watch 3 is built from aluminum, similar to the Watch 2. It features the same button androtating crownon the right, a band mechanism, and a sensor array at the bottom.

One of the major changes is that the Pixel Watch 3 comes in a45mm variantwith a 36 x 36 mm chassis. It has a bigger display but retains the 20mm strap size of regular Pixel Watch 3 and 2. The size of the 41mm Pixel Watch 3 is 32 x 32 mm.

Overall, there aren’t any significant changes in the design apart from an option to choose a bigger variant if 41mm is too small, which is great.

The display department is where we see our first change. Pixel Watch 3’s display is now brighter and has slimmer bezels. The bezels are down to 4.5mm from 5.5mm on the Watch 2. As a result, the resolution has seen a slight improvement. The size of the display remains the same, i.e.,1.2-inchwhile the 45mm variant gets a1.4-inchdisplay.

The 41mm Pixel Watch 3 features a408 x 408pixel display, whereas the 45mm features a456 x 456 pixelsresolution. Both are OLED displays and are capable of reaching a peak brightness of2,000 nits, which is double that of the Pixel Watch 2.

There are no additional sensors on the Pixel Watch 3. But Fitbit gets a few new features such as Personal Best, Cardio Load, and Advanced Running Metrics. There’s a Morning Brief feature which shows Readiness Score. We’re sure all these features will eventually make their way to the Pixel Watch 2 as well, since they’re not tied to the hardware.

One major addition to the Pixel Watch 3 series is the addition ofUltra-wideband, which should help your Watch be precisely located or locate other devices and be a part of the GoogleFind My Devicenetwork. Ultra Wideband support was planned for Pixel Watch 2 but was later dropped due to unknown reasons.

Both the Pixel Watch 3 and Watch 2 feature QualcommSnapdragon Wear 5100. It’s a quad-core SoC with 4 xCortex-A53cores clocked at 1.7 GHz. The Pixel Watch 2 performs well and the Pixel Watch 3 should as well.

The battery on the Watch 3 is a310 mAhcell, a measly 4 mAh increase from the Pixel Watch 2’s 306 mAh cell. However, the 45mm variant features a420 mAhunit which should help the watch last much longer. Google claims24 hoursof battery life on both.

The charging time and connector remain the same, although Google weirdly claims the Pixel Watch 3 charges 20% faster; however, the comparison is not between the previous-gen Pixel Watch but its bigger variant with a bigger battery. What are you doing, Google?

Both the Pixel watches boastWear OS 4.0out of the box, and Google promises3 years of major Wear OS updates. The Pixel Watch 2 hasn’t even started exhausting its update quota, so it should be supported until the Pixel Watch 3 is supported.

The 41mm Pixel Watch 3 comes in four color combinations – Silver chassis/Rose Quartz Band, Black/Obsidian, Gold/Hazel, and Silver/Porcelain. The 45mm variant comes in – Hazel/Hazel, Black/Obsidian, and Silver/Porcelain.

The Pixel Watch 2 on the other hand came in four variants – Silver/Bay, Black/Obsidian, Gold/Hazel, and Silver/Porcelain. I like the Bay colorway of the Pixel Watch 2 more than any other colorway, but I could be biased because blue is my favorite color. The Rose Quartz and Hazel variants look pretty good as well.

As for the pricing, the Pixel Watch 2 cost $349 during its launch but the Pixel Watch 3 costs the same for the 41mm Wi-Fi-only variant, i.e.,$349($449for LTE). Similarly, the 45mm variant costs$399and$499for the Wi-Fi-only and LTE models, respectively.

For what we call pretty minor overall improvements, the Pixel Watch 3 is not worth upgrading to. Hence, we’d recommend sticking to the Pixel Watch 2 if you already own one.

If you want to buy a Pixel Watch, the Watch 2 will probably be discounted, and we recommend getting it instead. If you want the 45mm version that costs $399, we suggest youskip the Pixel Watchand get the Galaxy Watch 7 or otherbest Wear OS watchesthat are less expensive and a tad bit more feature-rich.

What are your thoughts on Pixel Watch 3 pricing? Let us know in the comments.