Worth noting they are offering a promo, at least in some markets, that you get the pixel watch 2 for free if you preorder the pixel 8 pro, or $200 off if you preorder the pixel 8.
Google Pixel Watch 2
51–60 of 114 posts
Re: Google Pixel Watch 2
#52Per footnote 11, the "monthly sleep analysis" requires the FitBit premium subscription. I am very hesitant to support a smartwatch that locks features behind a subscription, even though I don't particularly care about the sleep analysis. I don't really see who this is for anyways. If you want a fitness tracker, you are better off with something from Garmin or FitBit. If you want the best smartwatch experience, nothin…
I'm not keen on Apple's products. Getting their watch to go with my Pixel phone seems kinda ... no.
So, this product is for the part of the world that doesn't use iPhones, I suppose.
I'm kinda keen. Awaiting a MKBHD video, as per.
.edit: Guessing that feature's locked because it's part of FitBit, which was purchased by Google but probably still functions a bit separately.
Re: Google Pixel Watch 2
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the screen quality is very different. Newer Garmins have screens that are more comparable, but if you run them in always-on mode, battery life is a few days IME. I don't leave my screen on, and the battery lasts 5-6 days. I agree that 24 hours is lousy, and I won't buy and Apple/Google watch for this reason.
Can you define newer? Which watch do you have? I have a Fenix 6s and with Always On mode it lasts about a week. However, if I record activities, I'll need to charge it that night. At one point, battery life got really bad but a factory reset fixed it. And the thing still gets updates years after its release! I once broke my Garmin bike computer screen and they sent me a new bike computer free of charge. Honestly, I'm…
I have a Forerunner 265, which I think was refreshed earlier this year to have the new AMOLED display. It looks nice, but it doesn’t last more than about 3 days in always-on mode.
I don’t understand how the Amazfit watches get 2+ weeks, with such nice-looking screens. I would have gotten one but don’t feel comfortable due to data/privacy issues, and the menus were clearly not written English-first. But the battery life was amazing!
Re: Google Pixel Watch 2
#54How can people tolerate a watch that's half an inch thick? That's like twice the thickness of my phone.
How can people tolerate charging a watch each night? I can't get behind this idea of having a basket of electronics you need to babysit all the time so they don't run out of battery. Especially when we already have really battery efficient tech, like hybrid watches with e-ink display.
I’m pretty good about going to bed every night and manage to get through the ritual of putting on pajamas at the same time as I put my watch on its charger.
It’s never been an issue.
Re: Google Pixel Watch 2
#55400 bucks for a device they refuse to repair if you break it, and refuse to make spare parts. Not a very wise purchase.
The device’s utility is what gives it value. I appreciate that repairability is a desirable aspect, but it’s not the tipping point for most people. Repairabilty is a “what if” feature.
Re: Google Pixel Watch 2
#56It's ironic or a bit disingenuous that a device putting constant notifications on your wrist is advertised for stress relief. Not unique to PW2, quite common in tech, but regardless...
I can’t speak specifically to the Pixel products, but my Apple Watch has significantly reduced notification angst for me. I limit my watch notifications to the most important ones, allow more on the phone but the mute switch is always on, so I’ll check it when I feel like it. And because I don’t need to drag my phone out of my pocket when important notifications arrive, I can respond or ignore them with much less lit…
Well, you can mitigate some of the negative effects of notifications by reducing them everywhere - on your phone, on your PC, on your watch. But a watch is a new way for them to reach you. It goes in the opposite direction to reduction.
I'm probably showing my age here, but there was a time that's hard to remember now when there were no notifications, no devices constantly vying for our attention. You would know what you deemed important when you wanted to know it. No notification angst to reduce, no distractions to fight, no productivity to claw back, no sleep disruption to schedule DND around, no cognitive overload of all the systems on your machine, let alone a computer we carry around all the time, trying to tell you their state. That was for engineers operating complex systems, for 8 hours a day - very rarely more.
Perhaps we are accepting things like "you can snooze notifications now" because we've adjusted to the new, quite crappy, normal. Imagine an advert for a car that says "you can turn off sudden unintended accelerations on your preferred hours" in a market where cars would never SUA. That's the normal we had for notifications - none of the stress or anxiety.
Re: Google Pixel Watch 2
#57400 bucks for a device they refuse to repair if you break it, and refuse to make spare parts. Not a very wise purchase.
And requires a subscription to fully use the HW. What a shit product.
Re: Google Pixel Watch 2
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
My Fossil Hybrid HR has (real) motorised hands sitting on top of an e-paper display. 2 weeks of battery pretty easily. Just a shame that the syncing software halves the battery of your phone, requires privacy-invasion talking-back-to-the-server bullshit, and is ugly and useless to boot. But still required for watch functionality. Christ I wish more smartwatches were hybrid & e-paper displays. I just seems the most ob…
I have the same one, though branded as a Skagen Jorn Hybrid HR. I'm pretty sure it's the exact same watch. I can get 3-4 weeks out of it. One nice thing about their privacy-invading app is that it works perfectly fine if networking permissions are disabled for it, at least on Android. It also works with Gadgetbridge, except for sleep tracking. I really want to find the time to add a sleep tracking algorithm to Gadget…
I've flashed every phone I've ever owned with custom firmware but the gadgetbridge route confused the heck out of me for some reason. I ended up just using a previous version of the software for a while until I changed phones, and never bothered downgrading or flashing after that.
Re: Google Pixel Watch 2
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
How can people tolerate charging a watch each night? I can't get behind this idea of having a basket of electronics you need to babysit all the time so they don't run out of battery. Especially when we already have really battery efficient tech, like hybrid watches with e-ink display.
I'm more on the level of wondering why people want a mini smartphone on their wrist. Isn't one in your pocket enough? I do like having a heart-rate tracker, but having had a couple of fitbits the novelty eventually wears off and the reality that knowing the numbers isn't important sets in.
For me having the watch allows me to use my phone a lot less. I now often have to dig for my phone somewhere in my home since I haven’t used it in many hours. I get the important notifications I need and because the watch is limited I don’t feel the urge to open it every 2min to check what’s on social media.
Re: Google Pixel Watch 2
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can’t speak specifically to the Pixel products, but my Apple Watch has significantly reduced notification angst for me. I limit my watch notifications to the most important ones, allow more on the phone but the mute switch is always on, so I’ll check it when I feel like it. And because I don’t need to drag my phone out of my pocket when important notifications arrive, I can respond or ignore them with much less lit…
Well, you can mitigate some of the negative effects of notifications by reducing them everywhere - on your phone, on your PC, on your watch. But a watch is a new way for them to reach you. It goes in the opposite direction to reduction. I'm probably showing my age here, but there was a time that's hard to remember now when there were no notifications, no devices constantly vying for our attention. You would know what…
I also remember what it was like to not be able to reach loved ones in emergencies, to periodically find a pay phone to check a voicemail system while waiting for an important call, to have no idea that a tornado was coming.
I’m happier with the choice to monitor in real-time what’s happening in my life, or not monitor, vs what we used to have: no choice at all.