Google Pixel Watch 4 Review: A Nearly Perfect Wear OS Experience

After three generations that were more expensive experiments than finished products, Google has finally delivered a watch whose shortcomings you don’t have to excuse. The Pixel Watch 4 is the first (well, maybe second after last year’s relatively successful version) model I could use as a daily watch. However, the path to perfection is still long – and some of Google’s decisions are questionable, to say the least.

I tested the 45mm Wi-Fi version for 10,990 CZK for a month. For context – you can get the Samsung Galaxy Watch8 Classic for two thousand less, and the OnePlus Watch 3 is about four thousand cheaper. I deliberately mentioned these two models because I believe customers will consider the Pixel Watch in the context of this competition.

Convex Display: A Technical Unique with Practical Problems

The first thing that strikes you is the physically convex Actua 360 display. It’s not just curved glass like the competition – the AMOLED panel itself is shaped into a dome. It’s like having a miniature snow globe on your wrist, just without the snow and with time.

Google claims the dome increases the active area by 10% and reduces bezels by 16%. In practice, this means the 45mm model has a 1.46-inch display with a resolution of 456 × 456 pixels. Text is sharp, colors are vibrant, blacks are perfectly black – in short, the AMOLED quality you expect.

The 3000 nits brightness is not a marketing lie. In direct sunlight, you see everything perfectly; the display is subjectively much brighter than the Galaxy Watch8 Classic, keeping pace with the recently tested Huawei Watch GT 6, which achieves the same values.

But the “dome” also has its downsides. The watch is optically thicker – a real 12.3 mm looks more like 15 mm. Forget about screen protectors or films – nothing sticks properly to the curved surface. Reflections are also relatively annoying; the dome catches light like a diamond.

Build and Durability: Premium Materials with Compromises

The watch body is made of recycled aluminum, and the 45mm version weighs 37 grams without the strap, which is very addictive. The competing Galaxy Watch8 Classic, in contrast, shows almost double the weight (64 grams).

The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 5, not sapphire glass like on more expensive Apple Watch or Huawei models. After a month of use, I have two micro-scratches visible at certain angles. It’s not a catastrophe, but for 11 thousand, I would expect more. Google generally isn’t very strong in scratch resistance. Pixels are the only phones I manage to scratch at least a little during testing, and I generally treat electronics with respect.

IP68 and 5ATM certification means dust and water resistance up to 50 meters. I showered with them, swam in the pool, no problem. But beware – saltwater is not recommended, which is a shame for sea swimmers.

The controls consist of a digital crown and a thin button. The crown has pleasant resistance, and the haptic feedback when scrolling is precise – Google uses a new haptic engine that is 15% stronger than the previous generation. The problem is that the crown protrudes, and you often accidentally press it when bending your wrist. Reddit is full of complaints about this issue, and it happened to me at least ten times.

Battery Life: Finally Decent

The 45mm version contains a 455mAh battery, which is 35 mAh more than the PW3. In combination with the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor, this provides a real-world battery life of 40-60 hours depending on usage intensity.

My typical day: Always-on display enabled, heart rate measured continuously, SpO2 every hour, 30-60 minutes of exercise with GPS, 50+ notifications, occasional calls via the watch. The result? By the evening of the second day, I still have 15-20% battery left. This is a huge improvement over the first generation, which barely survived 24 hours.

I have to charge my Apple Watch 10 every evening; the Huawei Watch GT 6 lasts 14 days, but at the cost of limited software. The OnePlus Watch 3 offers 4-5 days, but achieves this through a combination of two displays and Wear OS with a proprietary (and limited) OS.

The new Quick Charge Dock is controversial. The watch stands on its side like a miniature alarm clock, which is elegant and practical – you can see the time even while charging. The speed is impressive: 0-50% in 15 minutes, full charge in 75 minutes. However, if you wanted to use an older charger from the Pixel Watch 3 (or older), it wouldn’t work.

Processor and Performance: Snapdragon W5 is Finally Enough

At the heart of the watch is the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 2, manufactured with a 4nm process, complemented by a Cortex-M55 coprocessor for low-power tasks. In practice, this means the system runs smoothly, apps load quickly, and animations are fluid at 60 fps. This is the closest experience to an Apple Watch you can get on Android. Samsung’s One UI Watch overlay is also relatively fast, but Google is a level up in optimization and has nicer animations.

2 GB RAM is sufficient for multitasking – you can have navigation, music, and a workout running simultaneously without significant slowdown. 32GB storage provides enough space for offline maps, music, and apps.

A major new feature is the 16-core Neural Engine for AI tasks. This powers processing for Gemini (directly on the watch), Smart Replies, and predictive functions.

Gemini and AI Features: Interesting, but Unfinished

Raise to Talk is a great feature – on paper. You raise the watch to your mouth and start speaking. In practice, however, I was unable to get this feature to work with Czech, and even the “Hey Google” command didn’t function for me. To activate Gemini, I simply had to tap the icon, which is fortunately part of many watch faces; alternatively, you can also use the top button above the crown.

Gemini’s responses are smart and contextual, but slow. You might wait 5-10 seconds for an answer, which is frustrating for simple queries. “Set an alarm for 7 AM” – you wait 5 seconds. The old Google Assistant handled it faster, but didn’t speak Czech.

Smart Replies are also a feature that could work fantastically. When a message arrives, the watch analyzes the content and offers relevant responses. Not just “OK” or “Thanks,” but full sentences. “Shall we meet at 5?” gets responses like “Perfect, I’ll be there” or “Can we do it half an hour later?”. It uses an AI model directly in the watch, so it works offline too.

The problem is that Czech is missing from the supported languages, which I honestly don’t understand. Even the phone doesn’t have predictive features in Czech, which, from my perspective, was one of the best tricks of this year’s models, and we are deprived of it in our region. If the problem were in the general (non)support of Czech in Gemini, I would find this shortcoming easier to swallow, or at least I would be able to understand it. But Gemini does speak Czech; it can analyze Czech text without problems. So where is the issue? Hopefully, we will see it one day, because this is precisely the practical AI that can make everyday use more pleasant.

Satellite SOS: First on the Market, but with Limitations

The Pixel Watch 4 is the first smartwatch with emergency satellite messaging, which is impressive. If you’re out of mobile signal and Wi-Fi range, the watch guides you through the process of connecting to a satellite to send an SOS message.

Catch one: You need an LTE model. Catch two: It only works in the USA (for now). Catch three: After two years, the service will be paid (Google has not specified the price). So, for Czech tourists in the Alps or Tatras, it’s currently useless.

Health and Fitness: Top-tier Hardware, Problematic Software

The hardware for health monitoring is excellent. The multi-path optical sensor measures heart rate every second, and thanks to this, we have a pulse loss detection feature. The watch recognizes when the heart stops. A bit morbid, but potentially life-saving.

The SpO2 sensor measures blood oxygenation continuously or on demand. ECG works via electrodes in the crown and the bottom of the watch. The skin temperature sensor has been improved for more accurate nocturnal measurements. Everything works reliably and precisely.

Sports tracking supports over 40 activities. New features include basketball, pickleball, and finally proper swim tracking with lap counting. Dual-frequency GPS (L1+L5) promises better accuracy in the city and forest. In practice, GPS is good but not exceptional – sometimes the route “jumps” between buildings.

The problem is the Fitbit app and its Premium paywall. The basic version only shows raw data. Want a Readiness Score? Pay 250 CZK per month. Detailed sleep analysis? Pay. Advanced health metrics? Pay. Video workouts? Pay.

It’s frustrating, but Fitbit is, in my opinion, the most advanced and aesthetically pleasing fitness tracking app on Android. And you get half a year for free, so you can decide during that time whether you want to pay or do without the features.

Wear OS 6: Beautiful, Fast, but with Holes

The Material You Expressive design is a visual feast. The system automatically adopts the color scheme from your phone, making the watch look like a natural extension of your Pixel. Animations are fluid, and UI elements organically expand and contract based on context.

Tiles (widgets) have been redesigned and utilize the entire display area. Information is more readable, buttons are larger. The new font is also better optimized for circular displays.

Everything even slightly connected to the Google ecosystem works absolutely perfectly here. Google Maps with offline maps, YouTube Music with 8 GB of space for music, Google Pay contactless payments, Google Home for smart home control.

But not everything is rosy. For example, the Always-on display doesn’t work for stopwatches and timers, only for workouts. That’s absurd – when timing cooking, you have to wave your hand to wake the display. Message replies also don’t work for all apps.

Everyday Use: Small Details That Matter

After a month of use, I have a list of small details that you won’t find in reviews but will affect your daily life with the watch:

Vibrations are finally strong and pleasant enough – the new haptic motor has 15% more power and, in my opinion, is the best on the market along with Apple Watch. The wrist alarm reliably wakes you up, and overall, it makes using the watch extremely addictive.

The speaker is louder and higher quality – making calls via the watch is usable, Gemini responses are understandable. It’s not quite on par with the best competition, but it won’t bother you too much.

Quick switching between Google accounts doesn’t work – if you have a work and personal account (like me, for example), the watch logs out with each switch, and you have to pair it again. This is a bit concerning in this day and age. So, I had no choice but to use the watch with my personal account and a synchronized work Gmail.

Watch faces are average – Google offers about 30 of its own, most look generic. The Play Store has thousands of alternatives, but 90% of them are junk. Facer and WatchMaker offer quality and nice watch faces for 50 – 100 CZK.

Strap replacement is proprietary – Google uses its own system, so you cannot use standard 22mm straps.

Verdict: Finally Good, but Not for Everyone

The Pixel Watch 4 is the first generation I can recommend without reservation – if you fall into the right target group. These are watches for Pixel owners and pure Android fans who want full integration with the Google ecosystem and will utilize artificial intelligence in Czech.

Two-day battery life is finally decent. The convex display is controversial, but 3000 nits brightness is phenomenal. Wear OS 6 is the best version of the system Google has ever delivered. Health sensors are among the most accurate on the market.

But there are compromises. The Fitbit Premium paywall is greedy. The absence of sapphire glass for 11 thousand is disappointing. Gemini AI is slow and doesn’t work 100% in Czech.

Who do I recommend them to? Pixel owners who want the best integration. Fans of Google services. People who prefer pure Android. Users who don’t need more than 2 days of battery life.

Who are they not for? Athletes (Garmin or Huawei lead there). People on a limited budget (OnePlus Watch 3). iPhone owners (Apple Watch, of course). Users who want two-week battery life (Huawei Watch GT 6).

For 10,990 CZK, you get a watch that is finally not a beta version. It’s not perfect, but it’s finally good enough. And for Google, that’s a huge success.

Editor’s Rating: 84%

Do you use Pixel Watch? What are your experiences?