{"id":161530,"date":"2025-08-20T16:31:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T16:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/161530\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T16:31:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T16:31:13","slug":"google-pixel-watch-4-hands-on-big-ideas-for-the-ai-wearable-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/161530\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Pixel Watch 4 hands-on: big ideas for the AI wearable future"},"content":{"rendered":"

The original Pixel Watch<\/a> was late to the game. For years, there had been rumors of a Google smartwatch that never materialized. Then, when it finally arrived, it was a quintessential first-gen device, with thicc bezels, dismal battery life, and a host of quirks that needed ironing out. My DMs were full of people wondering when the watch would be unceremoniously dumped into Google\u2019s infamous product graveyard. A part of me wondered if Google was going to spend the next decade playing catch-up.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to 2025, and I\u2019m holding the Pixel Watch 4 at Google\u2019s office in New York City. On the surface (and my wrist), it doesn\u2019t look like much has changed. But after fiddling with a few menus, watching some demos, and talking over the updates, it\u2019s evident that Google has a clear vision about where smartwatches are going.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overall lens through which we see our mission as a team is \u2018essential companion,\u2019\u201d says Sandeep Waraich, Google\u2019s product lead for Pixel wearables. That \u201cessential companion,\u201d Waraich says, should be a wearable and continuous presence on your body that\u2019s intelligent, helps coach you to better health, and also acts as a \u201cguardian.\u201d<\/p>\n

Viewed that way, the bevy of Pixel Watch 4 updates starts to look like a roadmap.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pixel Watch 4\u2019s new display has thinner bezels, 10 percent more screen area, and a 50 percent increase in brightness.<\/p>\n

Starting with hardware, the Pixel Watch 4 has a new domed \u201cActua 360\u201d display \u2014 as in, the display itself, not just the glass, is also domed. What this translates to is about 10 percent more visible screen space, 15 percent thinner bezels, and a 50 percent increase in maximum brightness to 3,000 nits. On a table, there\u2019s a lineup of the Pixel Watch 2, 3, and 4 with the flashlight app turned on. Side-by-side, the improvements are striking.<\/p>\n

Material 3 Expressive in Wear OS 6<\/a> also helps emphasize the Pixel Watch\u2019s roundness. (No squircles<\/a> here, folks.) The widgets have more rounded edges, and each screen has been redesigned to be more glanceable, fitting more complications. It\u2019s not Liquid Glass, but there are subtle animations when flitting through menus that call your attention to the Pixel Watch\u2019s rain droplet-inspired design. Altogether, it\u2019s a design tweak that makes sense and is aesthetically pleasing.<\/p>\n

Google also says battery life has improved. The 41mm watch gets an estimated 30 hours on a single charge, while the 45mm gets 40 hours. That can stretch up to two days in battery saver mode for the smaller watch and three days for the larger one. I couldn\u2019t test that at a hands-on, but I did get to see the improved fast charging in action. At 1:30PM ET, I stuck a 45mm Pixel Watch 4 with 50 percent battery on the watch\u2019s new side-mounted charger. By 1:48PM, it was at 94 percent. Google says this translates to about 25 percent faster charging, taking only 15 minutes to go from zero to 50 percent.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/a><\/p>\n

Look! Tiny screws! According to Waraich, the inside of the Pixel Watch 4 resembles a \u201cbento box\u201d for better serviceability. <\/p>\n

I was prepared to hate the new side-mounted charger, which sees the charging pins moved onto the edge opposite the crown. Three proprietary chargers in four years feels wasteful. But while I don\u2019t love e-waste, I do like the change. For one, it turns your watch into a little desk or nightstand display. It also makes it so that it doesn\u2019t matter what kind of strap you use. With more traditional charging pucks, a loop-type band without a clasp tends to flop over. My colleague Allison Johnson pointed out that it kind of looks like the Pixel Watch is resting its tired little head on a pillow. That\u2019s kind of cute.<\/p>\n

Another thing that caught my eye: if you remove the straps and peer into the lugs, you now see two teeny tiny screws \u2014 because starting this year, the Pixel Watch 4\u2019s display and battery will be replaceable and repairable. The screws aren\u2019t proprietary either, and according to Waraich, the idea is to make the devices as durable and long-lasting as possible. He also says this will be true of every Pixel Watch going forward.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s huge. Smartwatches are notoriously hard to repair, and the Pixel Watch\u2019s screen design makes it particularly prone to damage. (The Verge should know; we unintentionally cracked the displays of two Pixel Watches.) Repairability has specifically been a pain point<\/a> for the Pixel Watches<\/a>, so seeing Google take that feedback to heart is encouraging.<\/p>\n

Put together, these hardware updates really zero in on Google\u2019s attempt to build a glanceable device that lasts a long time. As for the personalized companion part, well, of course that\u2019s referring to AI.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/a><\/p>\n

The new charger looks like a little pillow for a sleepy smartwatch.<\/p>\n

As with the Galaxy Watch 8<\/a>, Gemini has a big presence on the Pixel Watch 4. It replaces Google Assistant and is capable of more complex queries \u2014 even if none have been able to blow my mind<\/a> yet. But, in a bid to make interacting with Gemini as smooth as possible, the speaker and haptic engines have also been updated so you can hear and interact more easily. There\u2019s also a new raise-to-talk gesture that lets you speak to Gemini without having to use the wake word. The processor has been upgraded to the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 to enable more on-device AI features, as well, like smart replies. On the Pixel Watch 4, you\u2019ll get more smart reply options to texts that refer to the content of your conversations. They\u2019re not confined to the default Messages app, either.<\/p>\n

But the major AI update this time around is a Gemini-powered health coach that\u2019s slated to arrive alongside a revamped Fitbit app in October. So far, I\u2019ve been skeptical about AI fitness features<\/a>, but I\u2019m cautiously curious about what I\u2019ve seen from Google. The gist is the health coach will act more like a personal trainer than a Captain Obvious summary generator. If you sleep poorly, it\u2019ll adjust workout suggestions. (This is also why Google is also introducing an improved sleep algorithm.) You can tell it that you\u2019ve been injured, and that too will be taken into consideration when generating weekly fitness plans. I did a deeper dive on the health coach demo<\/a>, but to keep things brief, this is the first time that I\u2019ve felt remotely intrigued by any AI health coaching feature.<\/p>\n

Another big first is the Satellite SOS mode. If you\u2019re without your phone and in a remote area with no signal, you can still call emergency services. (So long as you have the LTE version of the watch.) The big thing here is that there\u2019s no extra subscription cost. The watch will also feature more accurate dual-frequency GPS \u2014 a nice update given that I\u2019ve had issues with the Pixel Watch\u2019s GPS maps in the past.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/a><\/p>\n

It only looks like last year\u2019s Pixel Watches. These updates are incredibly substantive.<\/p>\n

When you look back at the original Pixel Watch, this is a substantial amount of progress. There\u2019s a healthy mix of sensible and experimental ideas. As far as AI smartwatch assistants, Google has beaten Apple to the punch. (Technically, Samsung got Gemini on a smartwatch first, but Gemini is Google\u2019s baby.) Satellite SOS on a smartwatch is also an industry first, and Google is making a statement here with repairability. We\u2019ll have to see how that AI coach fares in testing, but here, too, Google is barreling forward.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying every update or idea presented here is a good one. But you can at least see the shape of Google\u2019s plans: a sleek, all-day, and personalized companion that lets you bring AI where your phone can\u2019t easily go. There are rough edges. Some would argue glasses are a much better form factor for this concept. But, given how many wearable makers have felt stuck in a loop of iterative updates, it\u2019s refreshing to see that Google has a bold, wearable thesis that it\u2019s working toward. Whether it can truly execute on delivering the ultimate \u201cessential companion\u201d is up for debate. But right now? Dare I say it, I think Google has the wearable juice.
Photos by Allison Johnson \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

<\/a>Follow topics and authors<\/strong> from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.<\/p>\n