The Google Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7 are now official, and the two flagship Wear OS devices are fully unveiled.
Both feature Wear OS 5 and a host of fitness and health features, making them top choices for Android smartphone users.
But which is best? And which is right for you?
Let’s delve into the key differences between the two devices.
Price, Sizes, Versions
The Pixel Watch 3 introduces a new 45mm size alongside the existing 41mm version, catering to a broader audience.
- Pixel Watch 3 41mm will be $349/£349 and an LTE version will be $100/£100 on top of that.
- Pixel Watch 3 45mm will land for $399/£399 with the same premium for LTE.
The Galaxy Watch 7 offers similar 40mm and 44mm size options, with LTE available as an optional extra. Additionally, there’s the Galaxy Watch Ultra, a 49mm super-sized rugged smartwatch with outdoor features and a 2-3 day battery life. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic also remains on sale, with its rotating bezel.
- The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 40mm costs $299/£289. The LTE edition priced at $349/£339.
- The larger Galaxy Watch 7 44mm version begins at $329/£319, and is $50/£40 more expensive ($379/£369) for the cellular variant.
Design and Display
In terms of design and specs, the Galaxy Watch 7 and Pixel Watch 3 are very close, but the Pixel Watch 3 edges ahead in screen technology.
The Pixel Watch 3 enhances its AMOLED display with a brightness of 2,000 nits and larger screens that extend closer to the bezel. The Galaxy Watch 7 retains a familiar design, with slight improvements in sensors and processing, but offers a more incremental update in its aesthetic appeal. However, its 1.3-inch (40mm) and 1.5-inch (44mm), 480 x 480 pixel Super AMOLED display is 1,000 nits, so it doesn’t match the brightness of its rival.
In terms of weight, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 comes in at 28g for the 40mm version and 33.8g for the 44mm version. The Pixel Watch 3 is lighter, at 31g for the 41mm version and 37g for the 45mm version.
Both watches feature aluminum cases and 5ATM water resistance.
Features
In terms of software, the Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7 both run the latest version of Wear OS 5, so you won’t gain an advantage by opting for a Google-built product. Many of the latest Pixel Watch features are part of Wear OS and are also available on the Galaxy Watch 7.
AI is one of the big buzzwords, and the Galaxy Watch 7 boasts Galaxy AI. Integration is relatively minimal, but it allows you to send personalized auto-replies to messages and get some analysis of your health data.
The watches look and feel different, as Samsung skins Wear OS with its One UI 7 to offer a unique experience.
The Galaxy Watch 7 also gets the same processor as the larger Watch Ultra, the Exynos W1000, which Samsung claims is 3x faster than the previous generation. It introduces gesture control, so you can control elements of the watch using a double-pinch, without having to interact with the screen.
The Pixel Watch 3 integrates more deeply with the Google ecosystem, offering support for Nest Cam, Doorbell, and AI-assisted functions like call management. You can also access Google Maps offline and use Wallet for payments and public transport.
Health and Fitness Features
Most of the significant new features in both the Galaxy Watch 7 and Pixel Watch 3 involve health and fitness.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 added Galaxy AI analysis of health, with suggestions for improvement and sleep coaching. The new Energy Score is a key feature, analyzing your sleep, recovery, heart rate variability (HRV), and other metrics to determine how prepared you are for the day ahead. It also integrates sleep coaching, with a sleep chronotype based on your individual habits.
Samsung also introduced new AGE tracking, which assesses your metabolic health. Sleep tracking is a major focus, including snoring detection if you place your Galaxy smartwatch on your nightstand.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 users with a Galaxy smartphone can take advantage of ECG tracking and blood pressure monitoring, provided it’s regularly calibrated with a cuff. It also features a BIA sensor that tracks body fat and muscle mass percentages. The watch includes Fall Detection, irregular heart rhythm alerts, and temperature-based female cycle tracking, in partnership with Clue.
The Pixel Watch 3 is a health-tracking powerhouse, thanks to its integration with Fitbit. It offers advanced running metrics, readiness scores, and an expanded Fitbit ecosystem, including features like loss of pulse detection. Every morning, it provides a comprehensive Fitbit Morning Brief, summarizing last night’s sleep, current recovery, HRV, and advice on training for the day ahead.
Most of the health features remain unchanged from the Pixel Watch 2. The Pixel Watch 3 includes ECG, stress monitoring via a dedicated cEDA sensor that monitors sweat, and body temperature tracking, which is used for female cycle tracking.
Fitness Features
The Pixel Watch 3 emphasizes fitness, particularly running. Wear OS 5 includes a host of new supported running dynamics metrics, such as vertical oscillation (how much you move up and down during running), stride length, and ground contact time. This data feeds into a new running dashboard in the Fitbit app, which we’re eager to explore.
A new readiness score is featured in the Pixel Watch 3, similar to what we’ve seen across smartwatches in recent years. Like watchOS 11, there’s also Cardio Load, showing how much you’re training and whether it’s time to take a break. The new Target Load metric helps guide you on today’s training, and recommended workouts are also available as part of an expanded Fitbit Premium. Subscribers to the platform, which costs $9.99 per month, can access workouts provided by Peloton and create their own.
In addition to daily readiness, there’s also a new Fitbit Morning Brief, which offers an overview of your sleep, recovery, training plans, and any out-of-line key metrics compared to your established baselines. This seems like an expansion of what was formerly the Fitbit Health Metrics Dashboard.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 also provides improved analysis of workouts. It has overhauled the sensor array for more accurate heart rate tracking and will analyze your training load. Unlike the Pixel Watch 3, it uses dual-frequency GPS, which should be more accurate when running in built-up areas. It also allows you to build workouts and string them together to create multi-discipline sessions, such as triathlons.
Battery Life
Battery life is a sticking point for both watches.
The Pixel Watch 3, despite a larger battery in the 45mm model, still only offers a single day of usage, comparable to the Galaxy Watch 7.
Both watches struggle to extend battery life significantly beyond a day, which is disappointing. This will make it challenging for those who want to use sleep tracking, as you’ll need to charge at some point to make it through the day.
However, the Galaxy Watch 7 has a slight edge. With the always-on display off, Samsung claims you’ll get 40 hours of battery life, up from 30 hours with the AOD on.
That’s slightly better than the Pixel Watch 3, which offers 24 hours with the AOD on and 36 hours in Battery Saver Mode.
Early Verdict
We’re yet to fully test these watches, so we’re holding back on a definitive recommendation. However, with the Fitbit platform on board, we would point users who prioritize sleep, activity, and health tracking to the Pixel Watch 3. Samsung smartphone users will get much more out of the Galaxy Watch 7, unlocking blood pressure, ECG, and advanced sleep tracking metrics. Without these, the Galaxy Watch 7 does feel a bit lightweight compared to the Pixel Watch 3.
