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Source: Google
Google Pixel Watch
Easy to like
The Pixel Watch is Google’s first crack at its own smartwatch, bringing pure Wear OS through tighter integration with Pixel devices and smart home devices. It’s also the first Android smartwatch to integrate Fitbit health tracking, making it an interesting wrist-mounted all-rounder.
Pros- Premium design
- Efficient performance and integration
Disadvantages- So and so battery life
- Fitness tracking could be better
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
Rough and tough
363 dollars 450 dollars Save $87
The Galaxy 5 Pro is Samsung’s most advanced and definitely most durable smartwatch to date, but it also only comes in one 46mm size, so you might want to think twice if you have smaller wrists. It has a nice mix of fitness and health features that suits those who want more from a smartwatch.
Pros- Solid, robust build quality
- Solid battery life for its size
Disadvantages- Not ideal for smaller wrists
- The default band is clunky
A good fitness smartwatch comes with the right tools for the job, and that’s exactly what Google and Samsung are doing with their respective models. The Pixel Watch has a strong influence from Fitbit, while the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is an attempt to cater to the active crowd looking for something rugged and durable at the same time. We’ve reviewed both, and while the focus between them is largely similar, the way they execute that vision is quite different, from fit and design to feature set and functionality.
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Google Pixel Watch
- Display
- 1.6″ 384×384 AMOLED, brightness increase of up to 1000 nits, ambient light sensor, Always-on display
- processor
- Exynos 9110 SoC, Cortex M33 coprocessor
- FRAME
- 2 GB
- Storage space
- 32 GB
- Connectivity
- 4G LTE, UMTS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo
- Durability
- 5 ATMs
- Health sensors
- Optical heart rate sensor, Multi-purpose electrical sensor, Blood oxygen sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Altimeter, Compass
- Price
- $350 (BT/Wi-Fi), $400 (LTE)
- Mass
- 36g (without strap)
- Training detection
- Yes
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
363 dollars 450 dollars Save $87
- Display
- 1.36″ (450 x 450), 330PPI Always-on AMOLED display
- processor
- Exynos W920 (Dualcore, 5nm)
- FRAME
- 1.5 GB
- Storage space
- 16 GB
- Connectivity
- Bluetooth 5.2 / Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz / GPS / NFC / LTE
- Durability
- / MIL-STD-810H
- Health sensors
- Heart rate monitor, BIA, continuous SpO2
- Price
- 450 dollars
- Mass
- 46.5 g
- Training detection
- Yes
Google Pixel Watch vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro: Price and Availability
Both the Pixel Watch and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro are premium smartwatches with price tags to match, although if you’re lucky you might find the odd discount. This tends to happen more often with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, which only comes in the 45mm size, starting at $450 and sometimes dropping closer to $400. That doesn’t happen that often with the LTE variant, which starts at $500. Samsung sells them with different sports bands for the same price.
The Pixel Watch comes in one 41mm size, making it smaller than the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Not to mention the cheaper ones, starting at $350 or $400 if you want LTE connectivity. This can increase if you want to put a different strap on it, but it comes with a standard sports strap out of the box.
Design and fit
The round face puts these two on similar design philosophies. The Pixel Watch is a slim device with exposed edges and a minimalistic approach to functionality, such as a single multifunction button that blends in and a matching digital crown. It’s similar to a classic watch, except you don’t get the analog components commonly found in hybrid smartwatches.
At 12.2mm thick, it’s not the thinnest smartwatch around, but it certainly feels right next to the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Everything about the Pixel Watch feels more compact, whether it’s the 41mm size or the 1.2-inch AMOLED display. Even the strap, which is an excellent copy of the standard ones that come with Fitbit smartwatches, is lighter on the wrist. As for colors, you get Matte Black, Polished Silver and Champagne Gold.
In contrast, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro feels beastly. It’s a big boy, weighing in at 46mm and 10g heavier than the Pixel Watch, and when you slap it on your wrist, it just feels thicker, despite the numbers suggesting otherwise. This is not a watch for smaller wrists, so it might feel more natural to wear it for larger people. The bulkier body means there’s more to touch, such as two physical buttons and a protruding bezel that serves functional purposes. Had Samsung included the once-vaunted physical bezel for interface navigation, the watch would likely have been even larger. Instead, the bezel is tactile with haptic feedback that emulates physical points as you scroll through it.
Where Samsung may have gone wrong is with the new magnetic latch design for the strap. The magnet and latch are reliably robust, except that the mechanism requires too much fumbling to adjust the tightness. The band also attaches to the watch at an angle, making it difficult to place it on a standard wireless charging pad. You won’t have a problem with the watch’s default charger, but its larger charging surfaces can be difficult to navigate.
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has a more serious tone, and the colors – or lack thereof – follow suit. You can get it in either Black Titanium or Gray Titanium. Band options match those tones, though Samsung and other third parties offer more colorful alternatives if you want to give your watch a new look.
Wear OS or Wear OS software?
Wear OS isn’t a new platform, but it’s been broken for a while, and the Pixel Watch was meant to be an unofficial shot in the arm (or wrist?) to get it back to respectability. Samsung already hit the ground running when it first embraced Wear OS in the Galaxy Watch 4 line. It even stripped down the software to keep much of the look of its past Tizen-based smartwatches. So you have two watches that use familiar software, just present it in a unique way.
Both provide access to additional apps through the Google Play Store, which is a great way to increase the usability of both watches when you’re using them. From the get-go, however, you’ll find that these watches veer towards their respective brands. The Pixel Watch leans heavily toward Google app services like Wallet, Maps, Calendar, Home, YouTube Music, and Assistant, while the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro does the same with Samsung Health, Samsung Pay, and Bixby. Being a Wear OS watch means Samsung lets you use Google options instead, so you can choose Google Pay via Samsung Pay or Assistant via Bixby.
They share other similarities that further blur the lines. Both can make and receive phone calls through their integrated microphones and speakers, and it’s possible to save music for offline playback, especially from Spotify or YouTube Music when you subscribe to both. Samsung has the advantage of also opening up its built-in storage for digital music files, giving you another way to listen to tunes without holding your phone nearby.
Health and fitness features to consider
At first glance, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro outperforms the Pixel Watch in sheer durability, because that’s what they were designed to do. The rugged body has an IP68 rating, while the Pixel Watch has no IP rating, despite a 5 ATM water resistance rating that makes it safe to submerge in water for up to 10 minutes. You might conclude that the two watches have similar water resistance, but the Samsung watch has a harder sapphire crystal and the bezel protects the bezel better. You can do a few laps in the pool or ocean with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro if you use the Water Lock feature, rinse it under running water to get rid of the salt, then dry it.
Despite all that, the Pixel Watch has two significant advantages right out of the box. First, it works seamlessly with the established platform in the Fitbit app, including the premium subscription service that gives you advanced tracking and tons of guided workouts, meditation routines, and meal recipes. All of these stand out in stark contrast to the idiosyncrasies of Samsung Health. Second, it prioritizes sleep tracking and is much more comfortable to wear.
Google hasn’t equipped the Pixel Watch with the same number of sensors, but you do get an EKG (electrocardiogram) as a crucial feature. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro matches this and includes blood pressure monitoring, though only in select markets and not in the US. It also offers tracking of 90 exercises, automatically recognizing six of them for easier tracking. The Pixel Watch has fewer workouts and no auto-tracking, so you’ll have to manually trigger it for any workout.
It would be unfair to classify either watch here as a true “running watch” as there are better options for that (see Garmin), but that doesn’t mean the Pixel Watch or Galaxy Watch 5 Pro aren’t capable. Both can struggle with GPS accuracy, which can throw off distance and pace, two critical data points for those training for marathons, for example.
Battery life means keep the charger close
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro’s size makes it a win for Samsung, especially since it can hit up to two days (maybe more) for all its features. Unfortunately, battery life isn’t a strong point for either watch, and you’ll need to recharge it every few days. Much of the battery drain has to do with what you’re doing, as we experienced in our Galaxy Watch 5 Pro review, and likewise with the Pixel Watch, where Google’s rating is limited to 24 hours on a single charge.
On average, you’re looking at 24-48 hours before reaching for a charger. Neither Google nor Samsung claim to be a reliable fitness tracker. GPS is the biggest battery killer, and while you can take mitigating steps to squeeze more out of your battery, you’ll need to be mindful of charging.
which one is right for you?
You really can’t go wrong with any of the smartwatches here, so there’s no such thing as a “bad” choice. However, there is a better choice for what best suits your lifestyle and goals. In this regard, the Pixel Watch definitely has an advantage thanks to its cheaper price and more comfortable wear. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is not for casual exercisers or casual users. It takes a more serious approach to those who live an active life. Therefore, it will cost you at least $50-$150 extra to put on your wrist. It’s a tough competitor, even against the best smartwatches out there.
The Pixel Watch doesn’t have as deep features or powerful capabilities, but it’s more accessible and user-friendly for a wider range of users. It’s also the more fashionable of the two and goes pretty well with any occasion when paired with the right strap. If you’re thinking about a smartwatch that straddles the line between lifestyle and activity, Google has a formula that works.
Source: Google
Google Pixel Watch
A crowd pleaser
A good smartwatch made for everyone else
The Pixel Watch marks a solid smartwatch debut for Google, giving everyone a little bit of everything when it comes to lifestyle and health and fitness tracking.
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro isn’t for everyone, and that’s exactly how Samsung wants it to be. Unlike the Galaxy Watch 5, which has a wider appeal with two sizes and a slimmer profile, this is a smartwatch that more active users should consider. This is Samsung’s best smartwatch yet in terms of features and performance. It is especially more flexible when paired with a Samsung phone.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
An active alternative
A durable smartwatch made for the active crowd
363 dollars 450 dollars Save $87
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro takes a more linear approach by appealing to active users who are trying to achieve their own exercise goals. Wear is less about fit and more about fit.
