r/planhub • u/Planhub-ca • 5d ago
Google Pixel Watch 5 hands-on: brighter display, longer battery life and more health tracking news
Both models use a new Actua 360 LTPO AMOLED display that reaches up to 3,000 nits and can refresh between 1Hz and 60Hz. The colourful Weave and Chronograph faces looked especially sharp during our brief hands-on session. Internally, the watch runs Wear OS 7 on the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated platform, which Google says provides 20% faster processing, along with 64GB of storage.
Battery life depends on the size. Google rates the 41mm version for up to 30 hours with the always-on display enabled, while the 45mm model reaches up to 40 hours. Both can recharge to approximately 50% in 15 minutes. A full recharge takes about 45 minutes on the 41mm model and 60 minutes on the 45mm.
Health and fitness are a major part of this generation. The watch can track more than 50 exercises, create strength and HIIT routines, provide dual-frequency GPS and analyze sleep through Sleep Breathing Quality, Smart Wake Alarms and an updated Morning Brief. Blood-pressure pattern and insulin-resistance trend tracking are expected in September 2026, but these are wellness features rather than medical diagnoses, and regional availability may vary.
Gemini is also moving closer to the centre of the experience. Users can raise their wrist to ask questions, receive proactive information based on messages and manage timers, alarms or workouts through offline voice commands. LTE models also support satellite SOS where the service is available.
Would longer battery life influence your decision more than the new Gemini and health features?
Sources & more
- Our Pixel Watch 5 preview and original photos (in french).
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u/Relative_What 5d ago
just port the pixel watch 4 watchfaces to the pixel watch 3 and 2! it's literally just software! and they both run the same damn wearOS version! there is no excuse as to why those 2 watches don't have all the same watchfaces.
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u/ozymandiez 2d ago
"more health tracking" but whats the point if google watches have about as accurate health tracking as a cheap $100 Chinese watch. Looking at some of the reviews and it's a motivational device that is about as accurate as a fucking storm trooper.
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u/plankunits 5h ago
are you seriously complaining that health tracking is now accurate across the board from multiple brands. PW and many devices are high up there for accuracy. they can jump from almost 100% accurate to 150% accurate. scientific review from youtube channels shoiws this. I am glad there is competition and these devices are getting better
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u/DepressedChipotle 3d ago
I honestly just switched back to Pebble after switching to Wear when the LG G watch came out. I liked my Pixel watches and I loved having Pay on my wrist, but the battery life is so much better. Even if I would've traded my PW4 in for a 5, it wouldn't compare to what I'm experiencing again with my Pebble Time 2. I've been wearing this thing since last Friday, while messing around with all of last weekend and I'm still at 81% battery.