I Compared The Best Smartwatches From Google And Apple - And There's A Clear Winner

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

A caller Pixel Watch is hitting nan shelves correct successful clip for marathon season. Google unveiled nan Pixel Watch 4 astatine its yearly Made By Google arena successful New York earlier this week. 

The watch comes packed pinch respective upgrades that rival its predecessor, for illustration a revamped Fitbit experience, updates to Gemini, and a brighter display. Retailing astatine $350 for nan 41mm and $400 for nan 45mm, nan smartwatch is disposable for preorder now and ships October 9. 

Also: Everything announced astatine Made by Google 2025: Pixel 10 Pro, Fold, Watch 4, and more

The large mobility is: How does it fare against its iOS competition? I evaluated nan Pixel Watch 4 and Apple Watch Series 10's spec sheets, tested retired their caller features, and took into relationship my preferences reviewing smartwatches to comparison nan 2 tech giants' wearables. 

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Specifications

You should bargain nan Pixel Watch 4 if...

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

1. You want a punchier AI experience 

The Pixel Watch 4 is getting a caller upgrade pinch Gemini infused into respective parts of nan smartwatch. Gemini arrived connected earlier Pixel Watches backmost successful July, but nan caller Pixel Watch 4, pinch a spot built for AI processing, offers up much intelligent capabilities. The AI connected nan Pixel Watch is much forward-facing than Apple's attack to AI, which tends to beryllium subtler. 

Also: I tried Pixel Watch 4 - and these are my 7 favourite upgrades successful Google's caller watch

Users tin take from respective AI-powered smart replies successful Messages for quicker responses connected nan go, and you nary longer person to opportunity "Hey Google" to activate Gemini -- each that's needed is raising your watch limb to your rima to speak. 

2. You want an upgraded wellness and fittingness search experience 

If you're willing successful buying a smartwatch for fitness-tracking capabilities, Google's Fitbit revamp that arrives successful October mightiness beryllium different logic to opt for nan Pixel Watch 4. 

Fitbit Premium, a paid rank portion of nan Google health-tracking ecosystem, is evolving to not conscionable way your workouts and sleep, but besides go a wearer's individual AI wellness coach. The wellness coach takes into relationship your workout goals, sleep, and activity patterns to create a regular that useful for you. 

Users tin besides inquire nan wellness coach questions aliases make adjustments to plans based connected their conditions -- for example, if they pulled a musculus during an workout and want to find little strength alternatives for nan adjacent workout. 

Also: The 5 tech gadgets that sewage maine done marathons and obstacle courses (and really they work)

Fitbit's slumber staging algorithm gets a refresh pinch a caller algorithm focused connected capturing precise slumber long and stages during a wearer's night's rest. This is supplemented by nan sleep-tracking and tegument somesthesia sensors connected nan Pixel Watch 4 that Google says person accrued successful accuracy. 

The watch suggests desired bedtimes that relationship for your slumber long history and activity level. If you completed a grueling, high-intensity workout 1 afternoon, it mightiness propose an earlier bedtime to premier you for betterment that night. 

3. You want a replaceable battery 

For nan first time, Google is making its Pixel Watch 4's serviceable for artillery replacement. This is simply a awesome improvement that will widen nan life of these smartwatches by respective years and hopefully reside issues of e-waste. It besides could mean that, erstwhile you bargain nan Watch 4, you won't person to bargain different watch for a while. 

4. You want a standalone outer SOS 

Outdoor enthusiasts are successful for a treat. Certain Apple Watch models, for illustration nan Ultra Watch 2, person outer functions for navigation successful places without cellular connectivity, but nan Pixel Watch 4 has a unsocial outer characteristic of its own, powered by nan Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor. Unlike smartwatches that require a phone's cellular connectivity to initiate outer communication, nan Pixel Watch 4 offers standalone outer communications -- nan first of its kind. The characteristic is disposable connected nan Pixel Watch 4 LTE. 

Also: The champion outer phones: Expert tested and reviewed

That intends it doesn't request to beryllium connected to a smartphone to beryllium connected to satellites, and nan characteristic useful by connecting its processor to geostationary satellites successful nan entity for off-grid assistance. There are rumors that nan adjacent Apple Watch will get this functionality, but it is presently unavailable connected immoderate Apple Watch. 

You should bargain nan Apple Watch Series 10 if...

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

1. You want a much comfortable watch 

Apple has its sights group connected making its watches slim, light, and comfortable. I emotion my Series 10 for that very logic -- I tin deterioration it arsenic I exercise, work, and sleep, and it's unobtrusive. The Pixel Watch 4, connected nan different hand, is simply a chunky device. Last year, Apple announced that it made nan Series 10 its thinnest watch ever to beryllium easy to deterioration while sleeping, exercising, aliases connected nan go. 

If you deliberation nan discomfort level of a smartwatch will inhibit continuous wear, I'd urge nan Apple Watch Series 10 complete nan Google Pixel Watch 4. 

2. You want subtler AI functionality 

It's wide known that Apple is cautiously dipping its toes into AI features -- and taking its clip to do so. The AI features connected nan Apple Watch are adjuvant but subtle. 

Also: I'm a longtime iPhone user, but Google conscionable sold maine connected nan Pixel 10 pinch these features

A awesome illustration of this is Apple's updates to nan Smart Stack, which supply adjuvant suggestions and app activations based connected contextual information and routines. When it notices you're astatine nan gym, it mightiness initiate a spot training convention done nan Fitness app. But these are small, subtle suggestions. 

The aforesaid point applies to Workout Buddy, which mildly provides encouragement, stats, and notifications during and aft a workout. It's not offering up AI-powered training plans aliases factoring successful your regular readiness -- astatine slightest not yet. 

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