• The Google Pixel Watch has finally been revealed at the Made by Google event held yesterday.
• It brings together Fitbit fitness and health tracking with Google smartwatch functionality.
• Pre-orders are available from the 13th of October, but no news for when the device will come to South Africa yet.

The wait is over and Google has finally revealed its Google Pixel Watch at yesterday’s Made by Google event months after first announcing the device at its I/O event in May.

With the tagline “Help by Google, Health by Fitbit” the watch brings together Fitbit’s “best health and fitness features” and Google smartwatch functionalities all blended in a hyper pop art and minimalist design.

The device has a 3D domed glass on its face and a stainless steel body, giving it a slim look on the wrist, according to Sandeep Waraich, director of Product Management for the Google Pixel Watch in an official blog post.

Waraich continues that the device is water resistant up to 50 metres, is scratch resistant and has a battery capacity to be worn “all day and night.” Aside from touchscreen controls, the watch has tactile crown control inspired by classic timepieces.

There is also a side button above the crown that opens your most recently used apps with a single tap.

In terms of software, the Google Pixel Watch will be powered by Wear OS 3.5 and it has Google Assistant built-in. As seen in its trailer above, users will also be able to control their smart home devices through the Google Home app on the watch.

Fitbit’s fitness offerings

The company says its Google Pixel Watch has “deep integration with Fitbit to provide leading health and fitness features, including our most accurate heart rate tracking yet.”

On-device machine learning and optimisation “down to the processor level,” the Google Pixel Watch is able to give users an accurate measurement of their heart rates continuously tracking at once per second.

Through Fitbit integration, the device has 40 exercise modes, steps, built-in GPS and Active Zone Minutes. It even has an ECG app for people looking to detect signs of atrial fibrillation, keep track of their sleep, and receive metrics on their breathing rates, heart rate and more.

“More than 1,000 workouts and 400 mindfulness sessions,” are also available.

Price and availability

There will be two versions of the device launching initially, namely the Bluetooth/WiFi edition for $349 (~R6 275) and the 4G LTE edition for $399 (~R7 174), which includes a six-month subscription to Fitbit Premium and three months of YouTube Music Premium. The multicoloured and styled accessory bands will start from $49 (~R881) to $199 (~R3 578).

The Google Pixel Watch is available for pre-order from the 13th of October 2022 in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Japan, Australia and Taiwan.

No news of when pre-orders will launch in South Africa yet, or even if the device will ship here, but we’ll make sure to keep you up to date.