It just doesn’t make sense to me to update in months 1 and 2 without going back to another one in month 3, so hey, we’re back a quarter of a year later to talk briefly about life with the Pixel Watch. Yes, I’ve been wearing Google’s first smartwatch for the past 3 months if you can believe it.
For those who missed it, my review, 1 month check-in and 2 month check-in before going to this post might be worth it as it will be really short. I don’t have much to add after 3 months, since nothing has really changed. I do have a few notes though.
Much the same
After a full 3 months of life with the Google Pixel Watch, I can’t quite say that I expected major changes to it or that the experience would change much from those first few weeks, and well, there we are. The Pixel Watch today is the same as the Pixel Watch from month 1 and that’s fine.
That means the design is still great, performance is great, battery life is a full day+ (with AOD off), and I’m thoroughly invested in the Fitbit integration. This means that I have similar issues with software changes that I’d like to see, the band situation isn’t great unless you buy these cheap adapters, and I’d like to be able to leave the display on all the time. on Every day without a thought.
Overall, I still like the Pixel Watch, even if I can clearly admit that it’s not perfect. It’s currently my smartwatch of choice and likely will be for some time because there’s nothing on the horizon that I see replacing it. Samsung watches are just not for me.

A couple of updates
If there’s one area that has surprised me, it’s in updates. Google has been pushing updates to the Pixel Watch out of the box and in both December and January to address several bugs. Although I wouldn’t necessarily call them a major update, they were updated!
I think my surprise comes from the lack of updates from most Android smartwatch manufacturers. Samsung is pretty good at updating their watches, but the rest of the industry is terrible at it. My brain has clearly been poisoned by history and I probably should have expected Google to be better. I’m glad they did.
I’m waiting for the regularly scheduled update and hope it leads to feature drop goodies.
I bought this stupid new case-band and the like
The folks at Caseology have created a Pixel Watch case/band called the Nano Pop that costs $29.99 ( buy it here ). It’s a silicone case that wraps around the Pixel Watch and then doubles as a band that wraps around your wrist. It completely changes the overall feel of the Pixel Watch, making it more of a sport watch out of the box than the classic style I prefer (like a Garmin or Polar).
That being said, I totally bought it. Yes, I know how stupid it is and it hides the excellent design of the Pixel Watch, but I like to try new things. I also spend a lot of time at the gym and strap the Pixel Watch on enough that I’m worried it won’t be long before I seriously scratch its domed glass or crack it. So I’m giving this a spin! I can let you know how it goes.

Went on a trip, left the Pixel watch behind
If there’s one piece of news about the past month with the Pixel Watch that I absolutely have to share, it’s that I decided about a week ago before going on a trip. While assessing all the crap I would need to bring with me on a 4-night trip, I looked at my Pixel watch and then spoke softly to it before taking it off and putting it on my office desk. I swapped it for an Apple Watch Ultra instead.
Why? Battery life and charging. As easy as it is to turn off the Pixel Watch every morning and plug it into the charger while at home, I was worried that finding the time to let this happen while traveling wouldn’t be so easy. When we travel, we try to stuff Full time, so that means in and out of the rental, to the forest or a brewery or a kid adventure and back again.
I knew the Apple Watch Ultra would last 2-3 days on a single charge and wouldn’t be something I was concerned about. It charges pretty quickly and I realized that during the trip it would take a single charge instead of the 4 on the Pixel Watch.
So what it really boiled down to was that it was different thing I didn’t want to worry. I’m back to the Pixel Watch now with this stupid case, but thought I’d let you know about the decision in case you’re thinking about your upcoming trip for some reason. That’s the choice I made. I might do a different one next time.
To other Pixel Watch owners, thinking after 3 months?