// 9TO5GOOGLE — MOBILE & WEB
Pixel Watch 5 (41mm) Initial Review: New watch alert, actually
The result of two changes made by Google means I’m using the Pixel Watch 5 in an entirely different way from the previous four generations, and it feels so futuristic.
The external design is exactly the same, and I’m perfectly happy to spend another year, if not longer, with Actua 3D. I am amused by its domed nature every time I open Quick Settings, notifications, or widgets. There’s no practical benefit — beyond accelerating swipes — but it sure does complement the watch’s round nature.
This design trait, which already feels like a hallmark of Google’s wearable aesthetic, adds a little bit of three-dimensionality to what appears on the screen. A prime example is the curved Material 3 Expressive button that appears at the bottom of widgets. This tactility is probably Google’s best melding of hardware and software.
A year later, I have no complaints about the contacts that protrude from the left edge of the Watch or the Quick Charge Dock they connect to, which I continue to applaud for its heft. The Watch batteries are only a few mAh larger, and Google did not make any changes to its 30-hour (41mm) or 40-hour (45mm) estimates. My year-old 41mm PW4 ends the day with battery life in the 50% to 55% range, while the PW5 is firmly left with about 60% over the past week.
Meanwhile, battery life on the 45mm size of Pixel Watch has never been a particular problem. Last year’s charging speed boost was far more impactful. My colleague Ben found a noticeable bump to battery life on his 45mm Watch 5. A single day uses as little as 40% of the battery even with AOD turned on, meaning you can almost certainly get through two days on a charge. With charging being just as fast, the 45mm model just provokes zero battery anxiety, as you’ll almost certainly never use more power in a day than a quick 15-minute top-off can refill.
The 2nd-generation Active Band, which switches to a new material that has fewer “forever chemicals,” might feel flimsier when it’s off your wrist. But the change is otherwise not noticeable in day-to-day wear.
If I have one note on the hardware, it’s the band-swapping mechanism. I’ve been ruined by how much easier it is to change bands on the Fitbit Air. The physical form factor is not one-to-one, but I change bands on the new tracker so much more often than on the Pixel Watch.
The Pixel Watch 5 gets a new chip with the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated. The 12% boost in CPU processing power and extra gigabyte of RAM aren’t things I have noticed in day-to-day usage. Some animations are slightly snappier, but the changes are subtle. I don’t really have any performance complaints.
The software experience on the Pixel Watch 5 is the most refined it has been in years. It starts with expanded watch face complications that show more information. The sunset/sunrise time is now accompanied by a countdown, which led me to remove the dedicated widget that I was using for that sole purpose. Meanwhile, heart rate includes your recent range and temperature adds the high/low. These updates greatly increase the likelihood that you can simply stay on the watch face.
The other big addition is color, like the red heart rate complication, that makes it much easier to distinguish information on information-dense faces. Given the small screen, it is much better than everything being themed the same.