It goes without saying that fitness and exercise features are an integral part of the smartwatch experience. With last year’s Pixel Watch, Google presented more options in the form of Fitbit integration, where users are given a free six-month subscription to Fitbit Premium upon purchase.
But one particular ingredient was missing: automatic workout tracking. A mainstay across Fitbit’s portfolio and a standard addition on most health-focused wearables, its exclusion was disappointing for some. Now that the Google Pixel Watch 2 is offering a suite of new features, that’s set to change.
For starters, the company has ditched its previous stainless steel housing for an aluminium build. The device is lighter than its predecessor at 31 grams (without band), possibly less scratch-resistant, and comes in at 12.3 mm tall. The 41-millimetre watch face boasts an always-on AMOLED display with 320 ppi and DCI-P3 colour, as well as a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits.
Under the hood, the Pixel Watch 2 is powered by a Snapdragon Qualcomm Wear 5100 chip and a Cortex M33 co-processor. It runs on Wear OS 4.0 and is rated IP68 for water and dust resistance. Battery life has also been extended – packing 306 mAh of power, it’ll now last 24 hours with always-on display and be fully charged in 75 minutes.
The showstopper, however, is its new lineup of features. The long-overdue automatic workout mode automatically starts, pauses, and stops activities, which is a step up from the first Pixel Watch that detects basic workouts such as walks or runs, but cannot trigger them on its own. Meanwhile, body-response tracking is designed to monitor and detect stress or excitement.
Here’s how it all works: the smartwatch takes inputs from cEDA (continuous-electrodermal activity, or microscopic beads of sweat), heart-rate variability, heart rate, and skin temperature to help identify acute body response moments. Once detected, users will receive a prompt to log their current mood and suggestions for an intervention – like a guided breathing exercise or a walk – on your wrist and in the Fitbit app.
Other notable features include an all-new multi-path heart rate sensor for increased tracking accuracy and Safety Check, which allows users to schedule a timer for specific check-in sessions with their loved ones.
Like before, the Google Pixel Watch 2 comes with a six-month Fitbit Premium membership. It will also include a one-month trial of YouTube Music Premium, alongside four paired colour options: Matte Black Aluminium Case / Obsidian Active Band, Polished Silver Aluminium Case / Bay Active Band, Polished Silver Aluminium Case / Porcelain Active Band, and Champagne Gold Aluminium Case / Hazel Active Band.
The smartwatch is set to launch on 12 October in two band sizes: small, for wrists measuring 130 to 175 mm in circumference, and large, which fits wrists 165 to 210 mm around. The Google Pixel Watch 2 is priced at S$525 for the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi model, with pricing for the 4G LTE model to be announced at a later date.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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