The Pixel Watch 3 isn't for me — I get that, but who is it for then?

Who is the Pixel Watch 3 meant for, exactly?

Now, at first, this might seem like a redundant thing to ask. I can practically hear some of the responses in my head:

• For Pixel fans!
• For runners, or those that love to work out in general
• For the people who really like health and sleep tracking
• For dudes and dudettes that like rocking a unique style
• For general techies, just like you and me

But that’s the thing: is it though? Especially if you’ve read my review, wherein I encountered issues — if not outright roadblocks — regarding almost all of these arguments, I’m not quite sure it is. On the one hand, maybe Google tried to create some kind of uber-watch that can fit any sort of user, but on the other… Maybe the Big G just created an identity crisis that you can slap on your wrist.

That saying about the third time being the charm

The Pixel Watch 3 is often praised for being the first in Google’s line-up of Pixel smartwatches to feel like a complete product. I’m not going to shy away from that statement, as I’m among the folks who actually made it (several times).

But something being a seemingly complete product isn’t really difficult to achieve: you make sure all the staple features are there, level up the entire build and ecosystem from the previous model, and then sprinkle all of that with some features that are only available on the penultimate edition. Do that — nail the packaging, as Google has done — and what you’ve got on your hands is a “complete product”.

But what about a “working” product? Well, that would be a product that succeeds at meeting most — if not all — expectations related to the previously outlined functions, features and tune-ups. And, honestly, I think that this is where the Pixel Watch 3 lost me.

 

The Pixel Watch 3 and sporty people

Let me tell you: I know my fair share of fitness freaks. I even know a few dedicated joggers, bikers and other types of peeps that generally like to move about. And they all have two things in common:

• They use smart-gizmos to track their progress
• They like when the numbers do this nifty thing called “being accurate”

The Pixel Watch 3 is only one of the above. In my time with it, I encountered numerous issues that would get in the way of this model getting chosen as a dedicated fitness tracker. Chief among those:

• It almost always failed to automatically pick up that I had started working out
• Almost all associated stats felt wrong, like steps felt generously inflated and the opposite with calorie count

Oh, and despite the watch having support for at least two sports modes that involve water, it didn’t seem to boast water-protection mode, protecting the screen from accidental input via waterdrops. Weird.

 

The Pixel Watch 3 as a health tracker kind of slaps, but so what?

This is the category that almost no one prioritizes over everything else, so it is kind of ironic that this is what the Pixel Watch 3 is awesome at. Without a doubt: the best smartwatch I’ve had for heart rate tracking and sleep tracking.

So, where’s my gripe? Well, honestly, Nintendo’s weird Pokémon ad-hoc sleep tracker — which you can buy for $55, by the way — does a pretty decent job at sleep tracking too. Will it let you connect it to your fitness app and get detailed data? No. But how many of you actually go back and use that data?

As someone who had real, awful and super-stressful sleep issues in the past, I can tell you: the way I fixed that was by getting as far away from sleep tracking as possible (and making sure that I rarely disrupt my sleep schedule).

The main point here is that if Nintendo — a toy maker from Japan — can nail this, you can probably find other, specialized brands that can provide you with better sleep trackers for less than what Google is asking for the Pixel Watch 3. Not to mention that in those cases, you probably wont even have to wear something on your wrist, which is a great way of not getting your smartwatch’s screen scratched.

On a related note: heart rate tracking is great, but for fitness trackers specifically, you don’t really need super-accurate readings. What your tracker needs to know is your heart zones, not your precise BPM. And for that, you can get loads of other sports bands that will cost you way less than a Pixel Watch 3.

I really don’t mean to undermine Google’s achievement here, but I feel like praising the Pixel Watch 3 for these features in particular would be, well, cheating. Health tracking has come a long way and will probably make another big leap in the next five years. Given that this is the case, there was no real reason to expect the Pixel Watch 3 to be awful at health tracking.

The Pixel Watch 3 is a fashionista’s nightmare

I work at a tech website, love to talk about software and regularly make jokes involving nerdy stuff like Magic: the Gathering and Pokémon. I won’t blame any of you for not suspecting it, but I actually care a lot about how I look. And I’m talking color-science levels of care.

Which is pretty much why I’ve come to have this insane love/hate relationship with the Pixel Watch 3 (and the Pixel Watch line in general). This thing looks fantastic. But it is a nightmare to get it to jive with almost any outfit that goes beyond simple pseudo-sports wear or bland, regular everyday clothes.

Oh, and that amount of glass is an accident waiting to happen, but I’d rather not digress.

As if this space-age design wasn’t challenging enough, Google has also committed two cardinal smartwatch sins that I simply can’t forgive:

• Proprietary watch bands
• No support for custom watchfaces

Google, I don’t know if you were aware of this, but smartwatches are watches and watches have a very particular purpose beyond telling the time, and that is: acting as an accessory to complete a certain look.

Now, I’ve gotta be honest here: the Pixel Watch’s bands are amazingly comfy and they don’t irritate my usually very sensitive skin. Props! At the same time, the built-in watch faces are very impressive, both in terms of design and usefulness.

But they are constricting. What if I want to have my smartwatch look like a conventional watch? What if I’m in the mood for something more quirky or animated? Better yet: what if I need to change my band to leather or literally anything beyond the bland colors that Google is — for reasons truly beyond me — seemingly addicted to?

Well, the Pixel Watch 3won’t let me. Hence: me paying any amount of money to acquire peak technology, which acts as a limitation more than anything is an oxymoron that I’m not willing to partake in.

 

A Pixel Watch for... Pixel fans?

Stop right there! No, you are not allowed in the comments section yet, at least not until I’ve made something very clear: I’m a huge Google fan. If anything, all of this comes out of care for the company and the brand. Better yet: I’m a Pixel fan, with a Pixel phone and I know exactly why I climbed onto this boat.

Here’s a couple of reasons that instantly come to mind:

• Peak Android, delivered early
• An incredible set of useful features, which I can’t find on any other smartphone
• Next-gen AI-fueled shenanigans (before AI became a buzzword)

Now that those have been stated, I’d like for you to witness my live attempt at comparing that status quo to the Pixel Watch 3:

• Wear OS is very buggy and more closed-off than Android has ever been
• The Pixel Watch 3 is more busy with providing expected features than anything else
• I wanted one AI thing out of the Pixel Watch 3: that was Gemini, and it’s not even on there

And I can go on. But instead, I’ll provide you with a summary: 

I wanted — nay! — expected Gemini on there. I wanted Pixel-exclusive features that would super-power the connection between my phone and my watch. I hoped for next-gen customization that would let me create the watchface of my dreams, instead of limiting me to a familiar, premade selection.

I’ve asked this one before, but here I go again: Google, is this why you purchased Pebble? I mean, I can totally see the fruits of your Fitbit acquisition, given how the Pixel Watch 3 practically comes tethered to that app. But what happened to all of that creativity and innovation? Why isn’t it being translated into the Pixel Watch, where it belongs?

Where’s the smartwatch innovation that we deserve?

Don’t get me wrong: the Pixel Watch 3 is perfectly serviceable as a smartwatch, released in 2024. But you could make the argument that most smartwatches released in the last several years are exactly serviceable if not anything else.

What most of them are not, however, is striking, innovative or engaging. Where are the foldable smartwatches, I ask? Why aren’t we utilizing dual-screen technology? Where are the striking designs, inspired by titan-watchmakers of the past?

Well, folks, these are the sorts of questions that keep me up at night.

Listen, I buy Pixel phones for their groundbreaking features, unmatched camera capabilities and limitless customization. If that is the case, then why is the smartwatch of the family going out of its way to mismatch that general direction?

Food for thoughts (that keep you up at night).