Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) review: Barely adequate screen, Fitbit more than enough

As a self-confessed fan of small watches, Google’s decision to start at 41mm in 2022 was ideal. However, toward the end of my time with the Pixel Watch 2, the thick bezels around the screen started to feel limiting and just plain old. The Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) arrived just in time to remedy that, while still really underlining its Fitbit DNA.

Screen

Google’s decision to take a circular approach with Wear OS 3 means that apps, which are mostly edge-to-edge lists, are cut off at the top and bottom. The bezels on the first two generations of Pixel Watch don’t help matters, and contribute to a binocular effect, especially in Google Messages and Gmail.

The Pixel Watch 3’s 16% reduction in bezels on the 41mm and subsequent 10% increase in display size combine for a change you’ll notice. It’s not drastic, but it’s a welcome, long-overdue, and much-needed modernization.

There are a few places I appreciate the slightly larger display, starting with the watch faces. The default Active face is my favorite for conveniently displaying the digital time and five circular slots, with the larger complication sizes in use being a necessary upgrade on every other watch face. A “Plus” configuration (versus “Minimal”) adds a ring of four Arc complications that don’t sit well on the 41mm size as the numbers are hard to discern.

Wear OS Tiles can really take advantage of the larger screen to show more information at a glance. Now that Weather shows a 3-4 hour forecast, I open the app less often, which is a huge time saver for me.

Unfortunately, Gmail and Google Tasks tiles are still limited to two items per screen. Even one more email or task would go a long way, so hopefully updates are on the way. Being able to see more text per screen in notifications and apps rounds out the tangible benefits of the larger screen.

Google brought Actua Display to the Pixel Watch 3, and the 2,000 nit peak brightness is a bit brighter here than on the phones. One thing I did notice is that the always-on display drops to 1 nit in dark rooms. However, in fairly dark situations, it sometimes isn’t bright enough, especially with tilt-to-wake disabled and when you don’t want to touch the screen. Last year’s dim setting is more comfortable in those cases.

45 vs 41mm

Aside from the display and bezel change, the 41mm Pixel Watch 3’s physical appearance is unchanged from its predecessor. I’m partial to the shiny silver aluminum case, but I really like the 45mm’s matte hazelnut finish because it’s more vibrant than the matte black.

Overall, I’m still pretty happy with the domed design, but—three generations in—I’m starting to wonder what the Pixel Watch’s final evolved state will be. The bezels that make up that perimeter are inevitable, so what if they accepted touch input to create a virtual crown? In this vision, the existing crown would disappear for an unobstructed circular look.

Drums

Starting with last year’s model, I’ve experienced less battery anxiety, or worry about getting through the day on a single charge, with my Watch than with my phone. (And with my Pixel 9 Pro, I can get through the day without charging.) With the Pixel Watch 2, I ended the day with about 30% battery without exercising.

(Incidentally, I’m more aware of my phone’s battery life because of the status bar percentage indicator. By comparison, I don’t have the battery complication on my face because the Pixel Watch 2 has consistently gotten me through the day on a charge, topping out before I go to bed each night. I’m so indifferent to battery percentage that I’m sure I check it more frequently using the Pixel Battery widget on phones rather than swiping down to Quick Settings on my wrist.)

The lack of battery anxiety continues with the 41mm Pixel Watch 3. From 100% to when I charge it before bed, the wearable lasts 17-18 hours with the always-on display (AOD) and touch-to-wake enabled but tilt-to-wake disabled.

I can get through the whole day and usually hit 35% ± 5% on days I don’t exercise and 25% ± 5% when I do (about 45 minutes of running with connected GPS and paired headphones).

In practice, I never turned on Battery Saver mode, which kicks in at 15 percent and keeps tilt-to-wake on this year. Another example of how Google has gone the extra mile this year is how the Pixel Watch 3 always stays Bluetooth-paired with your phone, even when it’s not on your wrist. Previous models would disconnect the radios after a few minutes, and Google told us this change in behavior provides a more consistent experience without any noticeable impact on battery life.

The 1Hz refresh rate isn’t noticeable, but on paper it helps battery life, while Google credits Wear OS 5 for improving efficiency. On the 41mm model, charging is 20% faster year over year. That basically means the Pixel Watch 3 always hits 100% before I’m ready to put it on again.

I prefer the pin charger over the original’s wireless one, but I wish it was a little heavier. The light disc and thin wire are often sliding off my nightstand right now.

The quest for multi-day battery life on a smartwatch is admirable, but I think people are conditioned by phones to charge their devices every day. Even with a 2-3 day battery life, I can imagine charging it every night, just in case I forgot by day 3. The big behavior shift will come with a week-long battery life, if we ever get to that point.

Software

The biggest change in Wear OS 5 is the grid-based app launcher that takes the swiping out of your day. Android 14 is otherwise a silent release for watches, and I’m still annoyed that Now Playing doesn’t have an always-on display. Like most wrist-down apps, the playback controls are blurry while a small digital clock (please make it bigger) appears in the center. It would be nice if you had one-tap access to play/pause and skip/rewind.

Fortunately, Google makes up for the situation on the proprietary apps front.

Pixel Recorder is now available on Wear OS. Compared to long-form transcription on phones, shorter voice memos are the clear use case, with a Tile letting you quickly launch one. The single microphone next to the crown is good when you hold the Pixel Watch 3 up to your mouth. Recording quality suffers a bit when you hold your wrist down.

It’s delightful to see how the phone’s simple home screen layout translates into the ability to fully play back what you’ve recorded using the watch’s speakers. From Recorder’s Now Playing screen, you can try out the new media output switcher in Wear OS 5 that shows your Bluetooth devices. Finally, you can sync audio files to your phone for transcription or choose to keep everything local.

The Google Home app continues to get more powerful, while remaining simple to use, with a useful Google TV remote that really highlights the versatility of Wear OS Tiles.

The call screen in Google’s Phone app is now joined by “Ask to press and hold” to give you more time to answer, while the addition of a “Find my phone” shortcut here is a thoughtful touch. It’s these calling features that really justify the Gemini launcher on this otherwise Google Assistant-powered device.

Elsewhere, the extra screen real estate for the Pixel Camera viewfinder is an obvious plus, with the ability to control astrophotography also a nice touch. There’s also a shortcut to open the app at the bottom of the watch face when you launch the camera on your phone. Meanwhile, offline Google Maps is a nice convenience to have, and makes full use of the 32GB of built-in storage.

45mm

Watch Unlock is now based on Ultra Wide Band (UWB). I personally had no issues with the Bluetooth version last year, but I haven’t been using it on the Pixel 9 Pro since the updated ultrasonic fingerprint sensor has significantly reduced failures.

In terms of new dials, there’s the aforementioned Active which I’m, well, actively using. The color schemes can be pretty stark this year. Field is a new analog dial that ranges from a no-fuss Simple layout to Arcs with up to eight slots. It’s a bit too thick on the 41mm and better on the 45mm. Track is the third and final addition. It’s actually an update to an existing dial that used a thick ring to display one metric. The new version can display up to two stats with a third circular slot. It’s more functional, but loses its simplicity and the ring is on the thin side.

Athletics (45 vs 41 mm)

Run, run, run

I’m just a runner who runs for 30 minutes straight and doesn’t really care about personal records. I tracked my workouts using the Exercise app and checked my stats after I finished, but that was about it.

The Pixel Watch 3 can still be used this way, but the advanced running features offer a much more assisted experience.

You start with a workout generator that is available on both your phone and watch. The wrist generator is fine, but I would recommend just using the Fitbit app version that can be accessed from the FAB corner > Create a Run. You can enable/disable warm-ups and cool-downs, with customization starting under “Add Interval.”

The Fitbit app lets you “Quickly save and start on watch,” while the regular “Save” button is in the top right corner. You can find all of your “Custom Runs,” with the option to further edit them, in the Coach tab as part of a new carousel. On Pixel Watch 3, open the Exercise > Run app and tap the layers icon next to Get Started to see them all.

These personalized runs help you create a plan, by simply structuring your workout that is already effective enough to ensure you stick to it. However, what felt like a human coach were the live verbal cues during the workout.

Something as simple as having a voice tell me when it’s time to move on to the next interval (with details on my split) or take a rest kept me in the flow compared to looking at the screen. I found these prompts so compelling that I paired one Pixel Buds Pro with the watch, while using another (from a separate pair) connected to a phone for music. (I prefer browsing YouTube Music on a larger screen to using the Wear OS app, though the workout stats screen on the watch now lets you access the Now Playing controls by swiping left.)

Then there’s the prompt that tells me when I’m behind the pace and should speed up or slow down (so as not to speed up too much too soon). These cues are dynamic and constantly updating to maintain the set pace, which can lead to prompts coming in quick succession about when I’m out of range and now I’m in range. It can be annoying, but ultimately quite motivating.

Once you’re done with your workout, there are new form analysis metrics: stride length, stride cadence, ground contact time, vertical ratio, and vertical oscillation. Viewable in the mobile app, Fitbit provides personal intervals after 10 runs to track changes per minute. There’s a gamification aspect, which isn’t inherently bad here, to getting into perfect form, but I don’t think that’s for most people.

The new stat I like is a Cardio Load that tracks your effort during both daily activity and workouts. This numerical score updates/increases throughout the day. After 14 days, Fitbit will show a personalized Target Load that shows “how hard you can push each day,” without going overboard. As the name suggests, it’s nice to have something personalized to aim for. You can set whether your fitness goal is to improve or maintain cardio fitness. It takes into account your recent Cardio Load and your Daily Readiness Score, which is now free and no longer behind Fitbit Premium. There’s a nice “Readiness and Load” tile that efficiently displays this information on your wrist.

The technology behind this advanced running feature, along with the voice-to-text conversion, is really quite simple, but the end result is a coaching experience that most people don’t have access to outside of training and competitive sports. I used to do the latter with a coach telling me when to push harder on each lap. Real-time feedback, via any voice, in these environments is extremely motivating and noticeably different from watching something read on the watch after a buzz.

You set the goal, but there’s something about having it parroted by a different voice that might make you want to complete it with a little more vigor. This all taps into how it doesn’t take much for humans to personify computers that talk to them verbally, like smart speakers.

I think Google nailed the coaching basics on the Pixel Watch 3, but what comes next, with AI-generated text spoken aloud, will really enhance the experience and make it feel even more personalized. It’s obvious Google is taking this to the next level. The text-to-speech is pretty basic and doesn’t sound nearly as good as Gemini Live, while the messages themselves are dry and generic. Something richer, with optimizations to customize how long/chatty the messages are, could make it feel like you’re having a live coach on your run.

Final considerations

For the past three weeks, I’ve had the 41mm Pixel Watch 3 on my wrist at all times. It was the unit registered to my Fitbit account (multi-device support would be awesome), although I was dual-wielding the 45mm for a few hours each day. The larger screen is really nice for content, but the smaller size has gotten big enough that the difference isn’t as drastic as the PW2. So, I think I’ll stick with the 41mm Pixel Watch 3 this year.

The 45mm variant steals the show this generation, but Google continues to iterate on the 41mm Pixel Watch 3 in meaningful ways. It’s an obvious upgrade for owners of the original Pixel Watch, while I think app-heavy users on last year’s model will appreciate the slightly larger display.

I am very bullish on the running features. Today, they offer a guided experience that many people can already get value from. If Google continues to iterate, it could be a personalized coach on your wrist.

Pixel Watch 3 is available today: