OPINION: Google has finally unveiled the Pixel Watch, and while it looks impressive, I’m struggling to get excited.
Sure, it’s rocking a modern, snazzy design and all of the high-end features you could hope for, but that’s not enough. After being disappointed by a previous smartwatch purchase, the Samsung Gear S3, I’ve become very fussy about the battery life of a smartwatch.
When the Gear S3 was fully charged, I really enjoyed controlling my Spotify playlist from my wrist or sneakily checking phone notifications during a meeting without appearing rude. However, I soon became fed up with the wearable’s irritating requirement to be recharged every single night.
It’s already tiresome enough that I need to remember to recharge my smartphone on a daily basis, but at least I use my handset enough to justify the frequent top ups. But having to recharge my watch every day as well become too much of a hassle, especially since it’s nowhere as useful or essential as my smartphone.
After one too many forgetful nights of charging, I soon fell out of the habit of wearing the Samsung Gear S3, leaving it collect dust on my bedside table.
Ever since, I’ve been on the lookout for a new smartwatch that can sync up with my smartphone and last at least a week before demanding to be plugged into the mains. Sadly, such a device is yet to meet my demanding criteria.
When the Pixel Watch was first rumoured, it piqued my interest. Maybe this could be the smartwatch that finally got me back onboard. But with Google failing to mention anything about the battery life during today’s official reveal, I’m becoming very sceptical.
Rumours (via 9to5google) suggest that the Pixel watch will pack a 300mAh cell, which is encouraging since it’s larger than the 247mAh battery in the Galaxy Watch 4. But doing some quick maths shows that it’s still highly likely that the Pixel Watch will even be able to outlast three days on a single charge, never mind a week.
If that’s the case, I don’t really care how many high-end features it has. The likes of heart-rate tracking, 4G connectivity and compatibility with Google apps are all very useful, but they’ll all be made redundant if the watch runs out of battery after one forgetful night.
I do appreciate that making a digital watch with so much functionality and a week-long battery life is near-on impossible right now, so I am being impractical. But for equal measure, what’s the point in purchasing the Pixel Watch if it’s only going to be resigned to the same fate as my dusty Samsung Gear S3?
So come on Google, cut down on those battery-depleting features and give me a smartwatch that has even more stamina than Mo Farah, as that’s the only way you’re going to win me over.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.