How to Set Up and Use the Google Pixel Watch

The Google Pixel Watch is Google's own smartwatch, running Wear OS with Fitbit's health and fitness engine built directly into it. It pairs with any Android phone running Android 9 or later, making it a natural companion for people who already use Google's services like Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Pay.

To set up, turn the watch on by holding the side crown button. The watch will display a setup screen. On your Android phone, open the Google Play Store and install the "Pixel Watch" app if it is not already there. You will also need the Fitbit app installed, since health data is managed through Fitbit's platform.

During setup, the Pixel Watch app walks you through pairing via Bluetooth and signing into your Google account. If you do not already have a Fitbit account, you will create one as part of this process — the two accounts link together automatically.

Once paired, your watch mirrors notifications from your phone — texts, emails, calendar reminders, and app alerts appear on your wrist so you can glance at them without pulling out your phone. You can respond to messages using pre-written quick replies or voice dictation.

Health features include continuous heart rate monitoring, step counting, sleep tracking with sleep stages, and SpO2 (blood oxygen) readings overnight. The Pixel Watch 2 and later models also include ECG capability and fall detection, which can automatically call emergency services if you take a hard fall and do not respond.

Google Wallet lets you pay at contactless payment terminals directly from your wrist. Add your debit or credit card in the Google Wallet app on your phone, and the watch can make payments independently — even if your phone is not nearby.

Battery life is about 24 hours with normal use, or roughly 36 hours with battery saver mode enabled. Charge with the included magnetic wireless charger — a full charge takes about 80 minutes.

The Wear OS app ecosystem is smaller than Apple Watch's, but the essential Google apps — Maps for navigation, Assistant for voice commands, Calendar, and Meet — are all available and work well.