Since October 9, Google has offered a new connected watch: the Pixel Watch 4. Marketed from 399 euros, it includes some hardware innovations, but is especially interesting at the software level, thanks to the artificial intelligence powered by Gemini.
An AI that is easily accessible and, above all, useful
Google announced the color in May, during its annual developer conference. After smartphones, your AI will be everywhere, starting with connected watches. Gemini is therefore available on the Pixel Watch 4 and not only for text exchanges. Because if the chatbot is available in previous models, the last one is the only one that has the “Talk directly to the watch” function, which allows, as its name suggests, to communicate with it in hands-free mode, either without having to press the button above the crown or the dedicated key on the screen.
Simply bring the watch to your mouth to activate Gemini (a small blue glow appears at the bottom of the screen). The arrival of the chatbot with this exclusivity is the most interesting novelty in our eyes. Because it is capable of much more than simply launching an exercise or answering a simple question. In fact, AI can connect to various applications such as Fitbit, Google, Gmail or even Maps to satisfy numerous requests.
Do you want to know your heart rate? Gemini connects to Fitibt to display it on the screen. Looking for a place nearby to have a coffee? The AI displays a list of locations, which it speaks out loud with a link to Google Maps at the bottom. Do you have an appointment, but can’t remember the time? The chatbot can, if you request it, go to your emails to remind you.
A Siri is still not up to par
For some, this may not be a big deal, especially if you’re not a big AI user (and we’re not). But these capabilities are impressive, especially compared to those of Siri on the Apple Watch. No longer a match for tools like ChatGPT, Apple’s voice assistant is still awaiting its redesign to become smarter.
We rarely use it on the Apple Watch we use every day, except to start a timer or ask it to set a reminder. This test was also an opportunity to compare Siri’s capabilities with those of Gemini. And the first thing we notice is that, unlike Google’s AI, it is always necessary to turn to Apple’s AI to ask it something.
While the Apple Watch lets you track your health, Siri can’t even tell us our heart rate. “Sorry, I can’t help you with that,” he responds, inviting us to visit Apple’s site to learn more about recording health data.
However, Apple’s voice assistant works a little better when asked to find a nearby coffee shop. It responds by displaying a series of insertions that can be selected to be redirected to Plans. In other words, Siri is much less useful than Gemini on smartwatches. But maybe that will change later.
Faster charging for better autonomy
Another change we like about the Pixel Watch 4 is the way it charges. Until now, you had to place the back of the watch on a magnetic charger, a bit like the Apple Watch. A method that, however, was not practical with Google watches, because sometimes the charger was magnetized directly in the wrong place, running the risk of the watch not charging, without the user realizing it.
A problem not found on the Pixel Watch 4, which has a small slot on the left side that automatically connects to the charging station. So that the watch is in a vertical position. It also recharges faster thanks to this new charging station: while the previous model took 1 hour 20 minutes to go from 10 to 100%, the Pixel Watch 4 does it in 45 minutes. It can even save 20% battery in less than 10 minutes.
This charging speed is associated with better autonomy. It was already good on the Pixel Watch 3, which offered more than a day and a half of use. With its successor, Google promises 40 hours of battery life on the 45mm model (which we tested). A promise that is kept: we were able to use it for 41 hours with the screen mode always on, sleep tracking, 1h30 of sports and 1h30 of walking with GPS mode activated. And we still had 10% battery left.
The Pixel Watch 4 was even able to track our sleep without issue at 23% battery. It dropped to 15% upon waking up and we were able to continue with an hour of sports during which it only lost 5% with the battery saver, which is automatically activated when the world’s charge falls below the 15% threshold.
An almost identical watch
Aside from these new features, Google’s latest connected watch doesn’t differ much from its predecessor. The company has equipped it with a new curved screen to offer a slightly larger viewing area, but this is not noticeable in use. And if the edges are still too thick, we quickly forget them with a dark sphere.
In terms of health data, the Pixel Watch 4 provides as much as the Pixel Watch 3 (daily fitness score, energy expended, heart rate, etc.). Unfortunately, a Fitbit Premium subscription (8.99 euros per month or 79.99 euros per year) is still required to access all of them. Thanks to AI, it can detect a workout you forgot to start. At least that’s what Google claims, because in fact the watch could only do it with walking and not with other sports, such as dancing or kickboxing.
Conclusion
For this new edition, Google is committed to not changing a recipe that works quite well. The company preferred to focus on autonomy and especially artificial intelligence to improve its connected watch, in particular with Gemini. A new feature that should especially appeal to regular AI users, which is not our case.
It is clear, however, that Google has successfully integrated its chatbot into a device other than smartphones, allowing users to quickly access it and use it to easily obtain information. Enough to make the Pixel Watch 4 more useful than other connected watches – we think in particular of the latest Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch – by allowing you to do more than monitor your health or even your notifications.
Source: BFM TV
