I compared the best smartwatches from Google and Apple - and there's a clear winner

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

A caller Pixel Watch is hitting the shelves close successful clip for marathon season. Google unveiled the Pixel Watch 4 astatine its yearly Made By Google lawsuit successful New York earlier this week. 

The ticker comes packed with respective upgrades that rival its predecessor, similar a revamped Fitbit experience, updates to Gemini, and a brighter display. Retailing astatine $350 for the 41mm and $400 for the 45mm, the smartwatch is disposable for preorder now and ships October 9. 

Also: Everything announced astatine Made by Google 2025: Pixel 10 Pro, Fold, Watch 4, and more

The large question is: How does it fare against its iOS competition? I evaluated the Pixel Watch 4 and Apple Watch Series 10's spec sheets, tested retired their caller features, and took into relationship my preferences reviewing smartwatches to comparison the 2 tech giants' wearables. 

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Specifications

You should bargain the Pixel Watch 4 if...

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

1. You privation a punchier AI experience 

The Pixel Watch 4 is getting a caller upgrade with Gemini infused into respective parts of the smartwatch. Gemini arrived connected earlier Pixel Watches backmost successful July, but the caller Pixel Watch 4, with a spot built for AI processing, offers up much intelligent capabilities. The AI connected the Pixel Watch is much forward-facing than Apple's attack to AI, which tends to beryllium subtler. 

Also: I tried Pixel Watch 4 - and these are my 7 favourite upgrades successful Google's caller watch

Users tin take from respective AI-powered astute replies successful Messages for quicker responses connected the go, and you nary longer person to accidental "Hey Google" to activate Gemini -- each that's needed is raising your ticker limb to your rima to speak. 

2. You privation an upgraded wellness and fittingness tracking experience 

If you're funny successful buying a smartwatch for fitness-tracking capabilities, Google's Fitbit revamp that arrives successful October mightiness beryllium different crushed to opt for the Pixel Watch 4. 

Fitbit Premium, a paid rank portion of the Google health-tracking ecosystem, is evolving to not conscionable way your workouts and sleep, but besides go a wearer's idiosyncratic AI wellness coach. The wellness manager takes into relationship your workout goals, sleep, and enactment patterns to make a regular that works for you. 

Users tin besides inquire the wellness manager questions oregon marque adjustments to plans based connected their conditions -- for example, if they pulled a musculus during an workout and privation to find little strength alternatives for the adjacent workout. 

Also: The 5 tech gadgets that got maine done marathons and obstacle courses (and however they work)

Fitbit's slumber staging algorithm gets a refresh with a caller algorithm focused connected capturing precise slumber duration and stages during a wearer's night's rest. This is supplemented by the sleep-tracking and tegument somesthesia sensors connected the Pixel Watch 4 that Google says person accrued successful accuracy. 

The ticker suggests desired bedtimes that relationship for your slumber duration past and enactment level. If you completed a grueling, high-intensity workout 1 afternoon, it mightiness suggest an earlier bedtime to premier you for betterment that night. 

3. You privation a replaceable battery 

For the archetypal time, Google is making its Pixel Watch 4's serviceable for artillery replacement. This is simply a large improvement that volition widen the beingness of these smartwatches by respective years and hopefully code issues of e-waste. It besides could mean that, erstwhile you bargain the Watch 4, you won't person to bargain different ticker for a while. 

4. You privation a standalone outer SOS 

Outdoor enthusiasts are successful for a treat. Certain Apple Watch models, similar the Ultra Watch 2, person outer functions for navigation successful places without cellular connectivity, but the Pixel Watch 4 has a unsocial outer diagnostic of its own, powered by the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor. Unlike smartwatches that necessitate a phone's cellular connectivity to initiate outer communication, the Pixel Watch 4 offers standalone outer communications -- the archetypal of its kind. The diagnostic is disposable connected the Pixel Watch 4 LTE. 

Also: The champion outer phones: Expert tested and reviewed

That means it doesn't request to beryllium connected to a smartphone to beryllium connected to satellites, and the diagnostic works by connecting its processor to geostationary satellites successful the entity for off-grid assistance. There are rumors that the adjacent Apple Watch volition get this functionality, but it is presently unavailable connected immoderate Apple Watch. 

You should bargain the Apple Watch Series 10 if...

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

1. You privation a much comfy watch 

Apple has its sights acceptable connected making its watches slim, light, and comfortable. I emotion my Series 10 for that precise crushed -- I tin deterioration it arsenic I exercise, work, and sleep, and it's unobtrusive. The Pixel Watch 4, connected the different hand, is simply a chunky device. Last year, Apple announced that it made the Series 10 its thinnest ticker ever to beryllium casual to deterioration portion sleeping, exercising, oregon connected the go. 

If you deliberation the discomfort level of a smartwatch volition inhibit continuous wear, I'd urge the Apple Watch Series 10 implicit the Google Pixel Watch 4. 

2. You privation subtler AI functionality 

It's wide known that Apple is cautiously dipping its toes into AI features -- and taking its clip to bash so. The AI features connected the Apple Watch are adjuvant but subtle. 

Also: I'm a longtime iPhone user, but Google conscionable sold maine connected the Pixel 10 with these features

A large illustration of this is Apple's updates to the Smart Stack, which supply adjuvant suggestions and app activations based connected contextual information and routines. When it notices you're astatine the gym, it mightiness initiate a spot grooming league done the Fitness app. But these are small, subtle suggestions. 

The aforesaid happening applies to Workout Buddy, which mildly provides encouragement, stats, and notifications during and aft a workout. It's not offering up AI-powered grooming plans oregon factoring successful your regular readiness -- astatine slightest not yet. 

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