TechSmartwatchesI won’t swap my Fitbit for a Pixel Watch for this reasonThe Pixel Watch might have longer battery life than the Apple Watch, but it’s still nothing compared to FitbitsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
TechSmartwatchesI won’t swap my Fitbit for a Pixel Watch for this reasonThe Pixel Watch might have longer battery life than the Apple Watch, but it’s still nothing compared to FitbitsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The Pixel Watch might have longer battery life than the Apple Watch, but it’s still nothing compared to Fitbits
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/Google)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/Google)
As someone who tried almost every one of thebest Fitbitsin recent years, I was practically glued to the screen whenGoogleannounced the new Pixel Watch. The new watch was built using Fitbit tech and know-how, but from what I could tell from the rumours circulating the internet prior to the launch, the Pixel Watch was supposed to be a more premium smartwatch than the Fitbits. And while that’s the case, there is one area where the Pixel Watch sadly can’t take on even lesser Fitbits: battery life.
I blameApplefor planting the idea in people’s heads that an 18-hour battery life for a smartwatch can be considered ‘day-long’ – last time I checked, a day was 24 hours. The long-awaited Pixel Watch has an actual day-long battery life, which one might argue is enough, but I’d say the Pixel Watch’s battery life is far from long enough to track sleep and fitness properly.
Fitbits might not be thebest smartwatches, but they are some of thebest fitness trackersaround, and I also rate them assleep trackers– Fitbit’s sleep tracking features and algorithm are helpful and accurate. I tested this whenI wore a Fitbit to sleep for a month; the results indeed surprised me! And since the Pixel Watch was built using Fitbit technology and know-how, I expect it to be as good at tracking slumber as Fitbits.
The issue is, if you have to charge the Pixel Watch once a day, you won’t use it for sleeping because you’ll charge it during the night. Sure, the watch has a quick charge function (it takes about 30 minutes to charge it from 0% to 50%), but no one charges their watches twice a day so that they can use it for sleeping. Unless you have anApple Watch, in which case youhave tocharge it multiple times so it will not die on your wrist when you sleep.
(Image credit: Google)
(Image credit: Google)
I appreciate that fast charge enables people to quickly top up the battery of their wearables throughout the day, but not many of us are using this feature deliberately, so we can wear our smartwatches for sleeping. My fiancee, who isn’t a runner but loves walking and being out and about, uses thePolar Pacer Pronow, especially because of the week-long battery life. (It’s worth mentioning that she used to wear thePolar Ignite 2and got used to the UI, hence why she gravitates towardPolar watches.)
On the other hand, Fitbits can be used for tracking sleep, not just because they’re good at it, but because their batteries last for days, sometimes even a week, so you can wear them all day long, day after day, without needing to charge them. And that’s exactly what you need to track health and fitness; continuous health data flowing to the processor of the watch, so it can spot trends and anomalies easier.
(Image credit: Fitbit)
(Image credit: Fitbit)
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I’m not sure what went wrong with the Pixel Watch’s battery life, especially considering that the Sense 2 has a large AMOLED display and a thin, lightweight body; surely, the Pixel Watch should be able to last for longer than 24 hours? As much as I like the concept and the look of the Pixel Watch, I’ll stick with Fitbits for the time being; I’m yet to test the Inspire 3 and the Versa 4 anyway…
Today’s best Fitbit fitness tracker and smartwatch dealsFitbit Sense 2$197.95ViewSee all pricesFitbit Sense$166.50ViewSee all pricesFitbit Versa 4$158.62ViewSee all pricesFitbit Versa 3$169.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Charge 5$129.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Charge 4$112.42ViewSee all pricesFitbit Inspire 3$85.90ViewSee all pricesFitbit Inspire 2$109.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Luxe$145.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Ace 3$129ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Fitbit fitness tracker and smartwatch dealsFitbit Sense 2$197.95ViewSee all pricesFitbit Sense$166.50ViewSee all pricesFitbit Versa 4$158.62ViewSee all pricesFitbit Versa 3$169.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Charge 5$129.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Charge 4$112.42ViewSee all pricesFitbit Inspire 3$85.90ViewSee all pricesFitbit Inspire 2$109.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Luxe$145.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Ace 3$129ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Fitbit fitness tracker and smartwatch dealsFitbit Sense 2$197.95ViewSee all pricesFitbit Sense$166.50ViewSee all pricesFitbit Versa 4$158.62ViewSee all pricesFitbit Versa 3$169.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Charge 5$129.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Charge 4$112.42ViewSee all pricesFitbit Inspire 3$85.90ViewSee all pricesFitbit Inspire 2$109.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Luxe$145.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Ace 3$129ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Fitbit fitness tracker and smartwatch deals
Fitbit Sense 2$197.95ViewSee all pricesFitbit Sense$166.50ViewSee all pricesFitbit Versa 4$158.62ViewSee all pricesFitbit Versa 3$169.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Charge 5$129.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Charge 4$112.42ViewSee all pricesFitbit Inspire 3$85.90ViewSee all pricesFitbit Inspire 2$109.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Luxe$145.99ViewSee all pricesFitbit Ace 3$129ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Sense 2$197.95ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Sense 2$197.95ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Sense 2
Fitbit Sense 2
$197.95View
$197.95
$197.95
See all prices
Fitbit Sense$166.50ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Sense$166.50ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Sense
Fitbit Sense
$166.50View
$166.50
$166.50
See all prices
Fitbit Versa 4$158.62ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Versa 4$158.62ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Versa 4
Fitbit Versa 4
$158.62View
$158.62
$158.62
See all prices
Fitbit Versa 3$169.99ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Versa 3$169.99ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Versa 3
Fitbit Versa 3
$169.99View
$169.99
$169.99
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Fitbit Charge 5$129.99ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Charge 5$129.99ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Charge 5
Fitbit Charge 5
$129.99View
$129.99
$129.99
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Fitbit Charge 4$112.42ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Charge 4$112.42ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Charge 4
Fitbit Charge 4
$112.42View
$112.42
$112.42
See all prices
Fitbit Inspire 3$85.90ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Inspire 3$85.90ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Inspire 3
Fitbit Inspire 3
$85.90View
$85.90
$85.90
See all prices
Fitbit Inspire 2$109.99ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Inspire 2$109.99ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Inspire 2
Fitbit Inspire 2
$109.99View
$109.99
$109.99
See all prices
Fitbit Luxe$145.99ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Luxe$145.99ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Luxe
Fitbit Luxe
$145.99View
$145.99
$145.99
See all prices
Fitbit Ace 3$129ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Ace 3$129ViewSee all prices
Fitbit Ace 3
Fitbit Ace 3
$129View
$129
$129
See all prices
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