The Apple Watch Series 10 battery provides roughly 18 hours of juice per charge. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 battery is good for closer to 24 hours. So, unless you switch on either device’s low-power mode, you will need to seek out a charger daily.
In 2024, battery life, or lack thereof, is the single biggest thing holding back smartwatches. Sure, if you don’t mind rocking a pricey, chunky monster on your wrist, there’s always the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. Even still, the former will get you through just 36 hours between top-offs and the latter a more respectable 48 hours (double those figures for low-power mode).
Battery life for days
When the Google Pixel Watch 3 was first announced, it initially seemed that it too would be capped at roughly 24 hours of battery per charge, similar to the Galaxy Watch 7. Google even said as much in its launch presentation. However, much to my delight, the brand that ate Fitbit was wrong in its longevity estimates.
After extensive testing, I’ve confirmed that the new, larger 45mm Google Pixel Watch 3 model surpasses that battery life rating two-fold, providing two full days of juice before needing to hit the charger.
It’s worth noting that the smaller 41mm Google Pixel Watch 3 doesn’t see the same longevity improvement, and you can expect 24 hours of battery in normal mode and 36 in low power mode.
In the realm of non 'Ultra' full-featured smartwatches, this puts the Pixel Watch 3 XL in a league of its own. Sure, you’ll pay $70 more for it compared to the bigger (44mm) Galaxy Watch 7, but that’s a pretty reasonable cost when you consider the Pixel Watch lasts twice as long as the Galaxy Watch.
Meanwhile, the new, larger 46mm Apple Watch 10, by comparison, is $30 pricer than the 45mm Pixel Watch 3, despite the Google Watch offering nearly three times the longevity.
Sleek enough design
Android users who want the best battery life in 2024 and 2025 have two options, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra or the Pixel Watch 3 XL. One is large, chunky and costs $649, the other is reasonably sleek, easy-wearing and priced at $399.
At 60.5 grams, it’s hard to ignore the heft of the Galaxy Watch UItra, especially when wearing it to bed for sleep tracking. The 45mm Pixel Watch 3, meanwhile, weighs almost half that at 37 grams and is far less cumbersome to sleep with.
Google didn’t make a ton of external changes to the watch, aside from adding the larger size option, but a keen-eyed observer will notice that the bezel has been slimmed down and more importantly, to me at least, the screen brightness has been doubled to 2,000 nits, which is a match with the Apple Watch 10 and more than bright enough for viewing in direct sunlight.
Solid fitness and wellness tracking tools
Google acquired Fitbit back in 2021, and ever since has slowly been adding Fitbit’s best wellness tech and fitness tools into the Pixel Watch series. Unfortunately, Google has also been slowly killing off Fitbit devices… but that’s another story.
With the Pixel Watch 3 release, the brand’s flagship smartwatch now incorporates some of Fitbit’s previously paywalled wellness tools, including the useful Daily Readiness score. I also appreciate Google’s Morning Reports, with insights into sleep quality, workout recovery and estimated energy levels for the day.
However, when it comes to sleep analysis alone, I prefer Samsung’s level of detail to Google’s.
But still no loss of pulse detection…
Ultimately, Google knocked it out of the park with the larger Pixel Watch 3 — the third time really is the charm — which is why it’s my favorite smart wearable of the year, not to mention, one I’ve found myself recommending to folks again and again.
But one notable grievance about the Pixel Watch 3 remains: Loss of Pulse Detection, Google’s marquee new health safety feature, is still not available in the U.S. four months after the product’s launch.
This potentially groundbreaking tech is the type of feature that would tempt me to purchase a Pixel Watch 3 for my parents, who live on the other side of the country, for peace of mind. So I hope regulatory approval comes soon.
Still, even without the Loss of Pulse feature, the Pixel Watch 3 XL stands out to me as the most impressive smartwatch of 2024 in a sea of releases that included heavy-hitters not only from Apple and Samsung but also Garmin, Polar, Amazfit and many more.
