After introducing its first smartwatch last year, Google is now preparing a “Pixel Watch 2” to be unveiled later this year as we exclusively reported on Friday. What do you want to see changed?
The original Pixel Watch was a mixed bag. It had a solid health suite built on top of Fitbit, a striking design that remains very unique, but it also had arguably poor battery life, fairly thick bezels on the display, and a very old chipset that led to inconsistent performance on the whole.
Still, it was a much better foundation for Google-made smartwatches than we expected, as brought out in our review last year.
The quote that’s kept coming back to me through the leaks and even now as I’ve spent the better part of two weeks with Google’s first smartwatch is MJ’s line from Spider-Man: No Way Home: “Expect disappointment, and you’ll never be disappointed.” I went into the testing process with the Pixel Watch with low expectations, and frankly, I’m not unhappy with this smartwatch.
Obviously, there’s a lot of room for improvement from that, and that’s exactly what the Pixel Watch 2 – or whatever it might be called – is such an exciting possibility.
So far, we don’t know anything that Google has planned for its next smartwatch, but there are some obvious areas to improve on.
Top comment by Ng Ek Ngee
Smaller bezels, two sizes (40mm and 44mm), standardised strap connectors (until now we still don't know what does pogo pin contacts do), standardised Qi Charging (enough with the inverted-magnetic-proprietary charging already) and working sensors (until now the SpO2 sensor is still not activated).
but I do agree, always expect disappointment in every product that Google produces, both hardware and software.
One of the easiest things to improve on the Pixel Watch 2 that would have a major impact on the product as a whole is its chipset. The Exynos 9110 in the current model is very outdated, especially when it comes to efficiency. Upgrading to the Exynos W920 found in the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 5 would do wonders to both performance and battery life. Of course, the Snapdragon W5+ seems like an even better contender, but it seems unlikely Google would team up with Qualcomm given its tight partnership with Samsung on Tensor. Personally, a new chip is the only upgrade I want to see – leave the rest as is.
Another area it seems a lot of folks want Google to improve on is the design, specifically with the sequel thinning out the bezels and increasing the display size. Google could also bring a second size for the Pixel Watch this time around, which was a popular request during the first generation. That seems unlikely, though, given Google’s proprietary band design.
There’s also plenty of room to improve support for health sensors, as the first-generation Pixel Watch is still lacking some important functions such as SpO2.
But what do you want to see most from a Pixel Watch 2? Vote in the poll below, and let’s discuss in the comments!
More on Pixel Watch:
- Google makes a Pixel Watch stand, sort of…
- Pixel Watch preps ‘At a Glance’ Wear OS complication powered by Assistant
- Are cheap Pixel Watch bands actually worth it? [Poll]
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