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The Pixel Watch 2 vs. the competition: A more robust wearable

Here's how Google's newest smartwatch stacks up against other wearables on the spec sheet.

Google

Google officially announced the Pixel 2 on Wednesday during its ‘Made by Google Event.’ Perhaps, the most exciting change is that the wearable will run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chip and use a Cortex M33 co-processor. That new coprocessor specifically should be able to handle less demanding tasks, like driving the always on display (AOD) more efficiently. The Pixel 2 can hold more charge at 306 mAh, up from the first Pixel watch’s 294 mAh charge capacity. This slight bump in battery capacity, combined with more efficient processors should extend the time between charges. While the official Pixel Watch 2 specs list the battery life at 24 hours, the same as the original Pixel Watch, that is with the AOD enabled.

Another welcome change? Improved durability. Aside from the Gorilla Glass crystal encasing on the face, the watch has an IP68 rating now, meaning it can survive dust and being dunked in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes. The new Pixel’s casing is also completely made of recycled aluminum, making the wearable slightly lighter. But, in tandem with the thinner domed glass cover on the face, the new wearable boasts a sleeker design.

In the landscape of smartwatches that have a wealth of tracking capabilities, the Pixel 2 is running up against Apple's latest Watch Series 9 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6. While specs aren’t the only way to discern which watch is right for you, it helps to know how they compare on things like battery life and screen size. So, don’t base your purchasing decision purely on the table below, but here's how the Google Pixel 2’s hardware stacks up.

Google Pixel 2

Apple Watch Series 9

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

Pricing (MSRP)

$349 for Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

$399 for 4G LTE model

41mm Aluminum: $399
45mm Aluminum: $429
41mm Stainless steel: $699
45mm Stainless steel: $749

40mm: $299.99
44mm: $329.99

Dimensions

41mm: 12.3mm height

41mm: 1.61 x 1.38 x 0.42 inches
45mm: 1.77 x 1.50 x 0.42 inches

40mm: 1.53 x 1.59 x 0.35 inches
44mm: 1.69 x 1.75 x 0.35 inches

Weight (approx.)

41mm: 1.09 ounces (without the band)

41mm Aluminum: 1.13 ounces
45mm Aluminum: 1.37 ounces
41mm Stainless steel: 1.49 ounces
45mm Stainless steel: 1.82 ounces

40mm: 1.02 ounces
44mm: 1.16 ounces

Case material

Aluminum

Aluminum or Stainless steel

Aluminum (Stainless steel on Galaxy Watch 6 Classic)

Display Size

41mm: 1.2 inches

41mm: 1.69 inches
45mm: 1.9 inches

40mm: 1.31 inches
44mm: 1.47 inches

Display resolution / pixel density

320 ppi

41mm: 430 x 352, 326 ppi
45mm: 484 x 396, 326 ppi

40mm: 432 x 432, 330 ppi
44mm: 480 x 480, 327 ppi

Display Type

AMOLED display with DCI-P3 color
Custom 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5

LTPO OLED
Aluminum: Ion-X glass
Stainless steel: Sapphire crystal glass

Super AMOLED
Sapphire crystal glass

Display brightness

Up to 1,000 nits

Up to 2,000 nits

Up to 2,000 nits

Chipset

Qualcomm SW5100
Cortex M33 co-processor

Apple S9 (dual-core)

Exynos W930 (dual-core, 5 nm)

Storage

32 GB eMMC flash72 GB SDRAM

64GB

16GB

Battery life (claimed)

24 hours with always-on display
306 mAh

Up to 18 hours / up to 36 hours in Low Power Mode

Up to 40 hours with always-on display (AOD) off / up to 30 hours with AOD on
40mm: 300mAh
44mm: 425mAh

Wireless charging

No

Yes, via proprietary standard

Yes, via WPC-based chargers
10W

Water resistance

IP68, 5 ATM

Up to 50 meters, IP6X dust resistance

IP68, 5 ATM

GPS

GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS

GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS

GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo

Health features

Multi-path heart rate sensor, red and infrared sensors for oxygen saturation (SpO2), ECG app, skin conductance (cEDA) for stress tracking, skin temperature sensor, sleep tracking, irregular heart rhythm notifications

Optical heart rate sensor, blood oxygen measurements, temperature sensor, ECG app, sleep tracking, irregular heart rhythm notifications

Optical heart rate sensor, blood oxygen measurements, temperature sensor, ECG app, sleep tracking, irregular heart rhythm notifications, bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor

Wi-Fi

802.11 b/g/n

802.11 b/g/n

802.11 a/b/g/n

Bluetooth

v5.0

v5.3

v5.3

NFC

Yes

Yes

Yes

OS

Wear OS 4

watchOS 10

Wear OS 4, One UI 5 Watch

Case colors

Matte Black, Polished Silver, Champagne Gold

Aluminum: Pink, Starlight, Midnight, Silver, Product Red
Stainless steel: Gold, Silver, Graphite

Graphite, Gold

Other features

Always-on display, 4G LTE, altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope, fall detection, emergency SOS, 6 months of Fitbit Premium included

Always-on display, ultra-wideband chip, fall detection, crash detection, emergency SOS, optional 4G LTE (standard with stainless steel model), altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope

Always-on display, fall detection, emergency SOS, optional 4G LTE, altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope