With better battery life and unique features, Google’s second-generation Smartwatch is catching up with its competitors.
Being stressed is usually not a good thing. However, if you are reviewing a high-profile smartwatch that touts Stress tracking as one of the most outstanding new features, the Stress Experience can help you. During the time I spent testing the Pixel Watch 2, I experienced a lot emotionally. I was a bridesmaid at our business editor’s wedding, I had to think about a family committal and I was kept informed about the results of my best friend’s cancer diagnosis. Add to this the frenzy of Google’s hardware launch event and an extremely tight deadline for this exam, and my mental landscape has become the perfect test scenario for the body response sensor of the Pixel Watch 2.
This is not the only new feature that Google is bringing to its second Smartwatch. The company has also updated the heart rate sensor, added a skin temperature sensor, lightened the cover and used a more powerful processor designed to extend battery life. Although the Pixel Watch 2 does not look like a major upgrade on the outside, it promises some improvements that should significantly improve daily use.
Pixel Clock 2: Design
As much as I like the round, shiny cover of the Pixel Watch 2 and how it feels, one thing stands out. Literally. The crown on the right side of the cover protrudes and is extremely easy to trigger when you fold your hand back – I have already accidentally called the emergency SOS menu twice.
It also bothers me when working out, especially when doing push-ups or on a stationary bike. The solution to this is to set the watch so that the screen is on the inside of your wrist, but even then I accidentally pressed the button once. To be fair, I have to do the same with the Apple Watch, especially The Ultra, but the face of Google’s wearable watch seems a little more disturbing.
Fortunately, accidental shocks don’t happen often enough to completely ruin my workout, and other than that, I like the aesthetics of the Pixel Watch 2. in the past year since I reviewed the Original, I’ve become more adept at swapping tapes using Google’s push and turn mechanism.
On paper, the watch weighs five grams less than its predecessor, which had a stainless steel cover. This year’s model is made of recycled Aluminum, and I haven’t scratched or damaged it yet. Although it uses a less durable material, the new Pixel watch has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, as well as the same water resistance (pressure) of 5 ATM as the Original. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Series 9 has similar parameters with an IP6X rating (dust resistance only) and the ability to survive up to 50 meters of immersion in water. The lightest model of the Series 9 also weighs about a gram more than the Pixel Watch 2.
Like last year, Google only offers the Pixel Watch 2 in one size: 41 mm. for my relatively small wrist and my neat eyesight, this seemed appropriate to me. I had little trouble targeting the buttons on the screen, but I imagine there are probably people who wish this came in a larger size.
An important part of the updated design of the Pixel Watch 2 can be found at the bottom of the cover. It houses three new sensors: a reusable heart rate reader, a skin temperature sensor and a continuous electrodermal activity sensor (cEDA). The heart rate scanner is supposed to be more accurate because it has several diodes compared to a single LED in the center. Although I w
