Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch: Should you upgrade?

Google launched the Pixel Watch last year, marking its entry into the wearables space and expanding its Pixel ecosystem. According to the report , the Pixel Watch did surprisingly well for a first-generation product, selling over 880,000 units in Q4 2022. Today, the search engine giant finally launched the Pixel Watch 2 alongside the Pixel 8 series. Things that stood out and other things that should have been improved over the previous generation. In this guide, we’ll compare the Pixel Watch 2 and the Pixel Watch to help you decide if its successor is worth your hard-earned money.

Build quality and dimensions

Pixel Watch 2 and Watch have precise dimensions and similar build quality (stainless steel). Both feature Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the front and a stainless steel chassis. One of the things users wanted from Google for the Pixel Watch 2 was a larger watch face, but unfortunately the Watch 2 has the same bezel as the Pixel Watch and only comes in one size. A larger 44mm version would have allowed Google to include a bigger battery, but that’s the way it is.

It’s almost impossible to tell them apart from the front, but the back of the Watch 2 has a different look, with the sensors spread across a circular section instead of next to each other. This time there are also new straps in different colors, which look quite nice.

Pixel Watch 2 vs. Pixel Watch: Display

The Pixel Watch 2 and Watch have the same display size of 1.2 inches, but the difference is in resolution. Pixel Watch 2 boasts an AMOLED 384 x 384 pixel display with 320 PPI pixel density and up to 1000 nits of peak brightness. The Pixel Watch, on the other hand, features AMOLED 450 x 450 pixels with a pixel density of 453 ppi and a peak brightness of 1000 nits.

Since the Watch 2 has a slightly lower resolution, the battery needs to power far fewer pixels, which should result in slightly better overall performance while also extending battery life. We’ll get into performance later, but it also has a new processor built on 4nm architecture, which should significantly improve overall battery life along with performance.

Pixel Watch 2 or Pixel Watch: Performance

The Pixel Watch 2 is powered by the newer Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 processor, and as mentioned, it’s built on a 4nm process. This is a significant upgrade in terms of both performance and efficiency compared to the Pixel Watch’s Exynos 9110, the 10nm chip originally used in the Galaxy Watch in 2018.

For all you geeks out there, the W5 Gen 1 is a quad-core SoC with Cortex-A53 cores and Adreno 702 GPU all running at 1.7 GHz. It does not have the coprocessor found in W5+ Gen 1. Coprocessors are used for ultra-low power tasks such as secondary low power displays for AODs like the TicWatch Pro 5.

Battery life comparison

With a slightly larger battery and lower resolution screen, the Pixel Watch 2’s battery life should be significantly better compared to the Pixel Watch. Paired with Qualcomm’s latest 4nm SoC for wearables, the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1, the Pixel Watch 2 is more in line with Google’s claims of 24-hour battery life, unlike the Pixel Watch, which apparently lasted less than 24 hours. You should.

Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch: New features

Notable new features in Pixel Watch 2 include a skin temperature sensor, stress level indicator, pace tracking, heart rate zones, and new safety features. While the first three features are hardware dependent, users can expect the latter two features to arrive on Pixel Watches running Wear OS 4. The new multi-band heart rate sensor is now much more efficient and accurate than the previous generation.

People really care about temperature sensors and stress levels, and there are plenty of people who do, but the Pixel Watch 2 is the best choice in this comparison.

However, if you don’t care about the aforementioned features, most of the software tweaks introduced at the Pixel Watch 2’s launch should make it to the Pixel Watch in future updates.

Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch: Compare specs

Pixel Watch 2 or Pixel Watch: Which one should you buy?

The Pixel Watch 2 costs $350, an increase of $50 compared to last year’s Pixel Watch. To that end, you get a slightly larger cell, a significantly faster and more efficient SoC, and new sensors to measure skin temperature and stress levels. Unless you don’t mind a new sensor and already have good battery life on your Pixel Watch, it’s worth upgrading. However, I’m sure many of you have waited a year for the Pixel Watch 2, so enjoy the fruits of your patience. The Pixel Watch 2 is a WearOS device worth checking out if you’re interested in the Pixel ecosystem.

For those who don’t really care about the Pixel ecosystem, Samsung also offers a great smartwatch. The Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 5 are still great smartwatches available at affordable prices, especially with the Watch 5 costing $200 for the 44mm version as of this writing.