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Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
The latest Galaxy Watch from Samsung brings a better CPU to the table, twice the storage, and an improved sensor array. Most importantly, this smartwatch comes in at just $300, which makes it an affordable all-around purchase. If you’re looking for a smartwatch, this is worth a look.
Pros
- 3nm chip
- Impressive sensor array
- Great battery life
Cons
- Only a modest refresh over last generation
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Google Pixel Watch 2
$330 $350 Save $20
Google’s Pixel Watch 2 is a fantastic overall alternative to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch line, especially if battery life isn’t your biggest concern. If you’re looking for excellent health and safety features, the Pixel Watch 2 has you covered. Plus, it’s got a sleek design too.
Pros
- Capable performance
- Great health tracking features
- Slick design
Cons
- Unimpressive battery life
If you’re in the market for a great smartwatch to pair with an excellent smartphone, particularly an Android phone, you’ve definitely got options. Some of the top contenders out there are Google’s Pixel Watches and Samsung’s Galaxy Watches, but which should you opt for?
Luckily, we’re here to help with the ultimate Galaxy Watch 7 vs. Pixel Watch 2 comparison.
Price, availability, and specs
The Galaxy Watch 7 is on sale now
You can order yourself a Galaxy Watch 7 right now, and it’ll arrive in late July. Pricing begins at $350 for the Wi-Fi model and goes up to $400 for the 4G LTE model. However, at the time of writing, you can save $50 on both models. You can also trade in another smartwatch to save money.
The Pixel Watch 2 is up for sale at your retailer of choice, and pricing begins at $350 for the Wi-Fi model and goes up to $400 for the 4G LTE model. However, you can usually find one on sale for less than its retail price, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for a solid bargain.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 Google Pixel Watch 2 Battery Life 300mAh, 425mAh Up to 24 hours Operating System Wear OS 5 powered by Samsung Wear OS 4 Colors Green, Silver, Cream Matte Black, Polished Silver, Champagne Gold Display 1.3-inch (33.3 mm) 432×432 Super AMOLED,Full Color Always On Display, 1.5-inch (37.3 mm) 480×480 Super AMOLED,Full Color Always On Display 1.2-inch AMOLED display, 320ppi, 1000 nits brightness, Always-on support CPU Exynos W1000 (5 Core, 3nm) Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 chip (SW5100) RAM 2GB 2GB SDRAM Storage 32GB 32GB eMMC Connectivity LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 2.4+5GHz, NFC, GPS(L1+L5)/Glonass/Beidou/Galileo NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, LTE Dimensions 40.4 x 40.4 x 9.7 mm, 44.4 x 44.4 x 9.7 mm 41x41x12.3mm Weight 28.8g (40mm), 33.8g (44mm) 31g (without band)
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Google Pixel Watch 2 review: Second time’s the charm
The Google Pixel Watch 2 fixes the glaring flaws of the first watch and keeps what worked. The price is still perhaps too high, though
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Design and display
Similar esthetics
In terms of core design, there’s a fair bit of overlap here. Both are slim, sleek, and circular with lots of screen real estate. Neither will exactly look like a Rolex on your wrist, but they feel closer to a traditional watch than the Apple Watch does with its rectangular display.
It is worth noting, though, that you will get a rotating crown on the Pixel, while you won’t get one on the Galaxy. This is sometimes a more reliable way of interacting with your watch outside of gestures and finger taps that can occasionally be unreliable and cause frustration.
When comparing dimensions and weight, these are, once again, a match. However, the Galaxy does come in two sizes, whereas the Pixel is limited to just one size, so the larger Galaxy will naturally be a bit bigger than the Pixel that is around the same size as the smaller Galaxy.
Display-wise, you’re looking at AMOLED panels on both the Pixel and the Galaxy. However, the Pixel has a 1.2-inch screen whereas the smaller Galaxy has a 1.3-inch screen and the bigger model has a 1.5-inch screen. The Pixel can feel a bit cramped sometimes, so the extra space is nice.
In general, the design of these smartwatches is top-notch, but the extra space afforded by the larger display on the Galaxy, as well as the fact that it comes in two sizes, give it a slight edge over the smaller Pixel, which doesn’t have a bigger size for those interested.
Winner: Galaxy Watch 7
Hardware and features
New 3nm chip is tough to beat
One of the biggest upgrades coming with the Galaxy Watch 7 is its new 3nm 5-core Exynos W1000 processor. We’ll have to get our hands on the Galaxy for testing, but we’d expect some performance improvements over the Pixel, even if the Pixel runs smoothly in day-to-day usage.
The Galaxy has an impressive suite of sensors that enable all the features you’d expect from a smartwatch, as well as fresh additions with the newcomer: an enhanced BioActive Sensor, enabling a sleep apnea monitoring feature, tracking of advanced glycation end products for metabolic health monitoring, and more. That’s not to say that the Pixel lacks features, though.
Pixel’s Fitbit integration on its own may be enough to convince you to pick one up, even without some of the luxuries of the Galaxy. On both watches, you won’t have trouble monitoring heart rate, tracking sleep, telling the time, checking notifications, and just about everything you’d want out of a wearable. The Pixel also doesn’t require you to have a specific phone to unlock certain features.
However, you won’t have to sign up for Fitbit Premium on a Galaxy, you can simply check in on your metrics inside Samsung’s Health or Health Monitor apps. You will get a Fitbit Premium trial with the purchase of a Pixel, so that may not be the biggest concern. But the Pixel is already more expensive at the time of writing, so an additional cost can move the needle for some.
Altogether, with a beefy new chip, tons of features, and no required subscription, the Galaxy is our overall winner here, but especially if you like the Fitbit ecosystem, there are certainly still reasons to prefer the Pixel, if you don’t mind paying a bit of a premium for the pleasure.
Winner: Galaxy Watch 7
Battery life
Impressive performance on the Galaxy Watch
We haven’t had a chance to test out the Galaxy just yet, but there are some takeaways overall here.
In our time with the Pixel, we were handily able to get through a day without charging, but that’s not especially impressive a benchmark for a smartwatch. In our time with the last-gen Galaxy Watch, for example, we were able to get through two and a half days without charging, and the Galaxy Watch 7 has what is shaping up to be a more efficient chip, so we expect it to last even longer. While the Pixel doesn’t have terrible battery life, we’d expect the Galaxy to pull ahead.
Winner: Galaxy Watch 7
Overall winner: Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
An excellent overall smartwatch
Thanks to support for two different sizes, an affordable price point, a beefy new chip, what looks to be excellent battery life, and a good-sized display on top of a bevy of sensors and features, the Galaxy Watch 7 is our overall favorite, but you still may want to consider the Pixel.
Winner
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
The latest Galaxy Watch from Samsung brings a better CPU to the table, twice the storage, and an improved sensor array. Most importantly, this smartwatch comes in at just $300, which makes it an affordable all-around purchase. If you’re looking for a smartwatch, this is worth a look.
If you really like the Fitbit ecosystem, for one, you may want to pick up a Pixel, and not everyone is bothered by needing to charge their devices each day. Plus, the Galaxy is newer, so you may have better luck finding sales on the Pixel soon to save some cash.
Runner-up
Google Pixel Watch 2
$330 $350 Save $20
Google’s Pixel Watch 2 is a fantastic overall alternative to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch line, especially if battery life isn’t your biggest concern. If you’re looking for excellent health and safety features, though, the Pixel Watch 2 has you covered. Plus, it’s got a sleek design, too.