Google Pixel Watch 5 (41mm) Review: Solid Functions, Steep Price

The Google Pixel Watch 5 is the search engine’s latest smartwatch and successor to last year’s Watch 4 and, honestly speaking, you wouldn’t think of it as anything more than a year-on-year upgrade. Having said that, its time as my daily driver made me yearn for it long after I had to return it.

What Am I Looking At?

The Pixel Watch 5 is pretty much a year-on-year update. There is no deviation from the design of the last generation, save for what runs and powers the watch internally. Out of the box, it ships with Wear OS 7 and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chipset, running at 1GHz. Other details include 3GB of memory and 64GB of built-in storage.

The Pixel Watch 5 is offered in two sizes: 41mm and 45mm. The model I have for the purpose of this review is the former. It’s actually the first time I’ve worn a LTPO OLED watch face of this size, on account of my bigger and girthier wrists. That, and anything smaller than a 45mm tends to look like I’m wearing a toy watch.

Packaging for the Pixel Watch 5 is also the same as before. There’s the recycled enclosure, and upon opening it, you’ll find the watch module, two detachable straps of varying length, and the charging dock for the watch. I appreciate that you charge the watch by its side and it magnetically snaps onto the pogo pins in the dock; it’s a damn sight easier, ergonomically speaking, than using a puck that envelops the entire back of the watch.

Interactions with the watch can be conducted in the two standard ways: use your fingers to swipe across the face, and two buttons on the side, with the middle one traditionally serving as the dial. Oh, and the watch has an IP68 rating.

What’s Good About It?

One of the most impressive traits of the Pixel Watch 5, I must say, is the dynamic accuracy with which it is able to track my heart rate. Compared to other smartwatches I’ve reviewed in the past couple of years, this is currently the only one I’ve used that is able to provide an almost immediate reading of my current heart rate and with minimal latency, at that.

Speaking of minimalism, minimalists will probably appreciate that the Pixel Watch 5 isn’t excessively loaded with unnecessary bells and whistles, essentially housing just the two buttons.

The face design was clearly lifted from the Pebble lineup, and again, I like the seamless, borderless design, which makes swiping across the face a frictionless experience. Apps-wise, you get all the Google-centric apps, including Google Wallet and Health, both of which are the apps I found myself using the most.

Battery life is rather impressive, and the watch learns your habits and usage the longer you use it. Initially, a full charge would last just short of a full day. After a week wearing it, it began lasting longer than a full day, mainly by up to an extra four hours. That’s not as great as the three-day endurance that other flagship wearables, such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 or Apple Watch Ultra 4, can boast, but I suppose that is the trade-off for a wearable of this calibre.

What’s The Catch?

Like so many things in today’s market, the Pixel Watch 5 doesn’t come cheap. The starting price for the series is RM1,799 for this 41mm model, and the 45mm costs RM1,999. It’s not as exorbitant as Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 or Apple’s Watch Ultra 4, but in these trying times, it’s still a considerable dent in the wallet.

As with most wearables tied to an ecosystem that is part of a particular ecosystem, a handful of functions of the Pixel Watch 5 are limited to phones under the Pixel family. Want to use the remote camera function? Sorry, you’re going to need one of the phones from the Pixel 10 or 11 Series.

There is one other thing, although I feel that this is more a personal niggle than anything else, but I feel that Google could have given broader customisation options to the watch faces that are on offer.

Then there are the straps, of course. Simple and clean as the silicone they used to make it is, I think it could’ve been made that little bit more enjoyable if the brand offered a slightly longer strap as an option.

Should I Buy It?

I most certainly would recommend you consider this. I don’t say this lightly, but the Pixel Watch 5 is one of the few smartwatches that I wouldn’t mind spending money on, primarily for that accurate heart rate monitor, as well as its lightweight, minimalist design.

The only issue I have with it is that, much like how Samsung and Apple ties the accessibility of certain apps to devices within their respective ecosystem, several apps are only ever fully accessible when paired with a Pixel smartphone. If you can live with that trade-off, though, then this smartwatch has your name on it.