When we reviewed the Pixel Watch back in October, we genuinely liked Google’s first Android smartwatch, and found it to be a solid choice for those not already deep into Samsung’s eco-system. One thing we weren’t so keen on was the Pixel Watch’s disappointing battery life, but if leaked details turn out to be correct, that’s a problem Google plans to fix with the Pixel Watch 2.
As with the original Pixel Watch, Google is expected to announce its second Wear OS-based smartwatch sometime later this year closer to the holiday shopping season. Details have been sparse, but according to unnamed sources who recently spoke to 9to5Google, we now potentially know a little bit more about how Google plans to address the shortcomings of the original with the Pixel Watch 2.
Goodbye Samsung Exynos, Hello Qualcomm Snapdragon
The original Pixel Watch arrived with a Samsung Exynos 9110 chipset under the hood, which was already at least three years old at the time, having shown up in Samsung’s own smart wearables a few years prior. The Pixel Watch’s interface never felt laggy or like its processor was being over-taxed, but for the Pixel Watch 2, Google is apparently ready to trade-up to the latest W5-series Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, which will double the number of A53 cores (from two to four) which are built on a 4nm process that will deliver other benefits besides raw processing power.
Better Battery Life, Even With the Screen Always On
Our review of the original Pixel Watch found its battery life to be average at best. With the always on display turned off, by bedtime the LTE model we tested had 30 per cent of its battery life remaining, and after wearing it overnight for sleep tracking, it was at 16 per cent in the morning. But according to details leaked to 9t05Google, Google testers are getting over a day of usage on a single charge with the Pixel Watch 2’s display always on, which could result in a couple of day’s use on a single charge with power conservation features enabled.
More Fitbit Features Coming to the Pixel Watch
Despite Google aquiring Fitbit a few years ago, the original Pixel Watch also wasn’t quite as capable as Samsung’s smartwatches, or even Fitbit’s own wearables, when it came to its fitness tracking capabilities and accuracy, to the point of even not pausing its tracking when our tester stopped to rest during a walk. According to 9to5Google’s sources, the Pixel Watch 2 will gain similar sensors to what the Fitbit Sense 2 uses, including an electrodermal activity (cEDA) sensor for tracking the wearer’s stress levels throughout the day (by measuring sweat levels on the surface of the skin) as well as a skin temperature sensor, which is mostly used overnight to track changes in core body temperature to improve the accuracy of sleep tracking.
Although Google definitely has a track record of killing off products that don’t perform as well as it hopes, the best feature of the original Pixel Watch was the potential of what it could be, so it’s reassuring to see that Google is already doing what’s needed to improve its performance and capabilities, and to address concerns raised about the original model.