Sleek, elegant, and quick
The Pixel Watch may not have probably the most engaging bezels, however the whole lot else about this smartwatch is unbelievable. Wear OS 3.5 is quick and fluid, and Google packed loads of energy underneath the hood.
ForAttractive designThe better of Wear OS 3Deep Fitbit integrationExcellent watch facesAgainstBig bezelBattery life could possibly be betterSwapping to a third-party band is annoying
Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition
Good for fundamentals
Fossil’s Gen 6 Wellness Edition shipped with Wear OS 3 out of the field, however the general expertise continues to be a bit jumbled. You’ll miss out on Google Assistant, and efficiency simply is not as much as snuff.
ForWorks with each iOS and AndroidSleek designSuper-fast chargingAgainstDoes not at present embody Google AssistantBattery life is not as much as parOnly 8GB of storageLacks ECG
Google was rumored to be engaged on a smartwatch for years, nevertheless it wasn’t till 2022 that the Pixel Watch was launched. Meanwhile, Fossil has been within the smartwatch sport for years, and the Gen 6 Wellness Edition was the corporate’s first wearable to ship with Wear OS 3 out of the field. But there’s extra to the story when evaluating the Google Pixel Watch vs. Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition.Google Pixel Watch vs. Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition: Design and specsWhy you possibly can belief Android Central
Our skilled reviewers spend hours testing and evaluating services so you possibly can select the most effective for you. Find out extra about how we check.(Image credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)Despite being Google’s first try at a smartwatch, the Pixel Watch is definitely some of the well-designed smartwatches in the marketplace. It’s smooth, and appears nice, supplied that you just use one among Google’s pre-loaded watch faces.This is as a result of the Pixel Watch “features” one of many greatest bezels you will discover on any smartwatch. So to fight the complaints, Google needed to assume exterior of the field a bit in order that its first wearable wasn’t simply laughed out the door.Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0 Google Pixel WatchFossil Gen 6 Wellness EditionDisplay1.2-inch AMOLED (320ppi)1.28-inch AMOLED (326ppi)MaterialStainless steelStainless steelNavigationTouchscreen, rotating crown, one buttonTouchscreen, rotating crown, two buttonsProcessorExynos 9110 SoC with Cortex M33 co-processorQualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+Storage32GB8GBBattery294 mAh; Up to 24 hours590mAh; Up to 80 hoursWireless ChargingYes (proprietary)Yes (proprietary)SensorsAccelerometer, altimeter, ambient gentle, blood oxygen, compass, ECG, gyroscope, coronary heart charge monitorAccelerometer, Altimeter, Ambient Light, Compass, Gyroscope, Off-body IR, PPG Heart Rate, SPO2ConnectivityLTE (optionally available), GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BeiDou, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, NFCBluetooth 5.0 Low Energy, Wi-FiCase sizing41mm44mmSoftwareWear OS 3.5Wear OS 3On the opposite hand, Fossil has greater than sufficient expertise on this house, and the Gen 6 Wellness Edition gives proof. Instead of a curved and rounded show, Fossil opted to go together with the identical flat display discovered on the common Gen 6 and practically all of its earlier smartwatches.The precise case dimension is value remembering on the subject of the Pixel Watch vs. Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition. The Pixel Watch, with its 1.24-inch show, sports activities a 41mm case diameter and is barely accessible in a single dimension. With the Gen 6 Wellness Edition, you solely have one dimension, with a 44mm case housing the 1.28-inch AMOLED show.(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)The Gen 6 Wellness version additionally good points a bonus on the subject of altering out the bands. You can use your whole favourite 20mm watch bands, simply swapping between them no matter whether or not you picked one up instantly from Amazon or Fossil.Meanwhile, Google tried to go together with an Apple Watch-like method, providing quite a lot of first-party bands and it appeared there can be no third-party band help. That is till it was found that you would simply take away the strap from the band connector. Then, simply use any of the most effective Pixel Watch bands, and in case you do not wish to undergo the difficulty, there are third-party adapters to pair with completely different bands.In phrases of interacting with these Wear OS 3 smartwatches, the Pixel Watch has a rotating digital crown on the facet, together with a button proper above it. Fossil’s Gen 6 Wellness Edition sports activities a rotating crown on the fitting facet flanked by buttons above and beneath.(Image credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)Coming as little shock is the {hardware} powering each of those smartwatches. With the Pixel Watch, Google depends on Samsung’s Exynos 9110 paired with a Cortex M33 co-processor together with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage.This offers you loads of room for your whole favourite apps, music, and podcasts, whereas additionally being probably the most storage that you will discover on a Wear OS-powered smartwatch. The Gen 6 Wellness Edition is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4100+ SoC, paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. While this is not meant to be extraordinarily strong, we will not assist however really feel as if Fossil is doing the naked minimal right here.Google Pixel Watch vs. Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition: Software and well being(Image credit score: Nick Sutrich / Android Central)It’s no secret that the rollout of Wear OS 3 has been irritating. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 collection had been the primary smartwatches to launch with the most recent model, adopted by the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro. On the brilliant facet, Fossil was in a position to ship the Gen 6 Wellness Edition with Wear OS 3 out of the field, nevertheless it’s not fairly the identical expertise.For one, you are not in a position to make use of Google Assistant on Fossil’s wearable, and as a substitute, you’re relegated to utilizing Amazon Alexa. It’s positively a stunning omission, however maybe it is for the most effective contemplating that Assistant has been identified to chew up some battery life on wearables.Google’s Pixel Watch additionally runs Wear OS 3.5, whereas the Gen 6 Wellness is “stuck” with Wear OS 3. The slight improve for Google’s personal {hardware} pays large dividends when it comes to fluidity and optimization when utilizing the Pixel Watch.(Image credit score: Android Central)Pivoting over to well being monitoring, evaluating these two smartwatches is a little bit of a blended bag. Google is taking full benefit of its Fitbit acquisition providing “deep Fitbit integration” with the Pixel Watch. This means your well being and health metrics are collected and saved throughout the Fitbit app.Both of those smartwatches are able to monitoring SpO2, VO2 Max, coronary heart charge, exercise, and sleep. Fossil additionally applied computerized exercise detection because it’s occurring, in comparison with the Pixel Watch which is able to attempt (typically) to determine a exercise after the actual fact.But your greatest drawback probably will not be the precise well being monitoring with the Fossil. Instead, it is the companion app which is new for Wear OS 3 and is a little more barebones than what you may anticipate. However, in case you’re okay with simply with the ability to look at your metrics for the day, it will probably be simply nice.Google Pixel Watch vs. Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition: Battery woes(Image credit score: Derrek Lee / Android Central)Moving over to the battery, each the Pixel Watch vs. Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition are rated for as much as 24 hours on a single cost. Unfortunately, you will most likely end up having a tough time reaching these “rated times” on both wearable.But Fossil continues to utilize its pin-based charger, permitting the Gen 6 Wellness Edition to go from 0-80% in about 30 minutes. Whereas Google’s wi-fi charging puck is inefficient at greatest, however will not work with different Qi wi-fi chargers. So we’re a battle of proprietary chargers the place no person wins.(Image credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)As you may suspect, in case you plan on utilizing both of those smartwatches with the Always-on Display enabled, you will be fortunate to get 12 hours on a single cost. Fossil has applied a number of battery-saving modes, however your greatest guess continues to be to depart AOD turned off, which is unquestionably a little bit of a compromise.The identical sentiment rings true for the Pixel Watch, even with Google’s Wear OS 3.5 which gives devoted optimization for its personal {hardware}. Even nonetheless, the one method to make the wearable final so long as potential was to show off AOD, which is simply disappointing.Google Pixel Watch vs. Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition: Which must you purchase?(Image credit score: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)One side of those smartwatches that we have not talked about but is the worth. The Pixel Watch (Wi-Fi-only) retails for $349, whereas the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition is available in at $299. Since their respective launches, we have seen numerous offers and gross sales which knock off a couple of bucks right here and there.With that in thoughts, we would nonetheless discover the additional $50 to spring for the Pixel Watch over what Fossil is at present providing. You’ll get a extra fluid expertise, extra storage, and a extra pleasurable software program expertise in comparison with the Gen 6 Wellness Edition.Perhaps issues will change as soon as Qualcomm’s newest wearable processor truly begins making its means into Fossil wearables. But, we’re nonetheless ready for the Snapdragon Wear 5+ to truly launch, regardless of being introduced in June 2022. Until that occurs, you are still higher off going with the Pixel Watch or the Galaxy Watch 5.
Almost good
There are positively complaints available on the subject of the Pixel Watch. But the Fitbit integration and fluidity of Wear OS 3.5 greater than make up for these complaints.
Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition
Compromise-city
It is perhaps inexpensive, however the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness would not actually provide sufficient to warrant its price ticket. But if you’d like a bigger smartwatch with Wear OS 3, and do not thoughts sacrificing pace, then it will get the job executed.