Google has unveiled its Pixel Watch 3 and is putting a focus on fitness and health, from the watch’s new Daily Readiness, Cardio Load and Target Load tools, to the Loss of Pulse Detection capability, which Google describes as “first-of-its-kind”.
The 41mm and the new 45mm size employ Actua displays, which Google says is twice as bright as before, with a peak brightness of 2,000 nits. “Perfect for seeing your run stats mid-stride on a sunny day,” goes the spiel.
The watch automatically adjusts to as low as 1 nit in dark environments such as a cinema.
The bezels (frames) are smaller, meaning more screen action. The 45mm has 40% more screen than the Pixel Watch 2, while the 41mm offers 10% more.
Both are more power efficient with refresh rates from 60Hz down to 1Hz in always-on-display.
“With these more efficient displays, combined with Wear OS 5 and a power-efficient hybrid architecture, Pixel Watch 3 delivers dependable all-day battery life,” Google said. “It also uses machine learning to automatically detect sleep and enable Bedtime Mode, turning off notifications and the always-on display for disruption-free sleep while conserving battery.”
A new Battery Saver Mode extends battery life to up to 36 hours across both sizes.
The battery in the Pixel Watch 3 45mm is 35% bigger than before, and the 41mm size charges 20% faster.
Pixel Watch 3’s Loss of Pulse Detection feature detects loss-of-pulse events occurring when the heart suddenly stops beating. It could be due to cardiac arrest, respiratory or circulatory failure, overdose or poisoning.
“Loss of Pulse Detection can automatically place a call to emergency services and share an automated message with critical context, along with your location,” Google said.
It will be available on Pixel Watch 3 in September in various countries in Europe. Google said it would “continue working with regulatory bodies to make the feature available in more countries”.
The new Daily Readiness analyses a body’s key recovery biometrics — resting heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and recent sleep. “The result is a more comprehensive picture of how ready your body is to take on training each day,” said Google.
Cardio Load tracks your heart’s exertion and intensity during an activity and throughout the day, and keeps track of your trends over time to help you know if you’re over- or under-training, maintaining or improving your fitness.
Target Load is a personalised target for your training, received each morning. It connects it all together, taking into account your recent Cardio Load and Readiness and includes the new Fitbit Morning Brief. It shows the weather, and “lets you know if any of your metrics — like HRV, SpO2 or Skin Temperature — are out of your personal range”.
The Pixel Watch 3 41mm retails for $579 and the 45mm is $669. A test order for a 45mm watch showed a delivery date of September 10 to the Sydney CBD.
