Review: I wore the Google Pixel Watch 5 for a week — and it’s the new king of on-wrist safety

Close-up of the Pixel Watch 5 in 45mm on a user's wrist.

When Google unveiled Loss of Pulse Detection in 2024’s Pixel Watch 3 — a feature that’s still unique to the Pixel Watch lineup — I began to suspect that the brand might be pulling ahead of the competition when it comes to on-wrist health and safety tools. The new 2026 Pixel Watch 5 further supports that.

I’ve been wearing the Pixel Watch 5 for over a week, and while it’s easily the best Google smartwatch ever, it’s also a fairly minor upgrade over its predecessor. That said, a handful of new features shine, most notably Breathing Emergency Detection, Blood Pressure Trends, and Insulin Resistance Trends.