Go Big or go Home is the topic of the third review of the film

The Google Pixel Watch: Where to go? Where are we going? What do we need to know about fall detection, Loss of Pulse, and other apps?

When the Pixel Watch first debuted, it was supposed to be a plus that Fitbit drove the entire health and fitness experience. The merger was going to cause a lot of confusion. The Pixel Watch was the “smarter” flagship, while the Fitbit Versa 4 and Sense 2 were fitness-first devices. What we really got were three arbitrarily nerfed watches that left people confused and cheesed. For better or worse, Fitbit’s been thoroughly Googlefied since then — and it’s made for a smoother experience. That, in turn, now allows the Pixel Watch 3 to stretch in some new directions.

A core part of smartwatches today is their health and fitness tracking capabilities, and after several weeks of wearing the Pixel Watch 3, the results have been spot on compared to the Apple Watch Series 9. Heart-rate measurements have been nearly identical, even during workouts, my sleep data is quite similar, and the Pixel Watch has reliable auto-workout detection.

These features are in the kit and they should be treated that way. Runners should look at Coros or the gps device for more guidance.

Lastly, I’d love to weigh in about Loss of Pulse, which calls emergency services on your behalf if the watch can’t detect your pulse. I can’t. Given the stakes involved, that’s a feature that requires regulatory clearance, and Google has yet to obtain it in the US. This is a feature that has yet to be adopted by other people. It builds on the foundation set by fall detection and is also pushing a new direction. There’s something to that.

Keep in mind that you will be required to log in to Fitbit with your Google account to use the Pixel Watch 3. As a requirement from global regulators, Google must keep your health data separate from its ads data. Should you choose to integrate any apps with your Fitbit account, like Strava, you will also have to agree to that app’s terms of service and privacy policies. The same goes if you opt into Google’s Health Connect API to better integrate with third-party services.

If you want to use theAssistant you need to agree to their collecting app info and contact information from your devices. Other features like Google Wallet, Google Home, Gmail, Google Calendar, and YouTube Music will also come with their own separate agreements. You can choose to enable optional privileges related to location services, financial services, and Bluetooth.

If you choose to activate LTE, you will also have to agree to your carrier’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policies. If you choose to use Safety Signal, you will have to agree to the optional agreements.

First Year Google Pixel Watch 3: Third Time’s the Charm – A Review of Smartwatch Wearos-Woreable Devices

I love the 45mm watch. The lack of a larger size was a major criticism of the first and second watches. This fixes the problem. As a bonus, this isn’t a behemoth 45mm watch. It wears small clothes. I have a difficult time telling the 41mm and 45mm apart, even though I am a card carrying member of the Tiny Wrist Club. After two weeks of testing, I find I actually prefer the 45mm. Not only can I see more on the screen, but its 35 percent larger battery means I can go longer between charging.

That matters because battery life has been a thorn in the Pixel Watch’s side. This is the first year I’ve felt fully comfortable with the stated 24-hour battery life. A lot of that is because Google’s tripled down on battery life. Wear OS 5 and the new Actua displays are more power-efficient, and an improved battery-saver mode kicks in when you hit 15 percent. We have finally got an automatic nighttime mode so you don’t have to worry about the battery draining while you sleep. You used to have to manually do it, or in the case of a Pixel phone, sync it. It works now.

The difference from the first to the second watch is a dramatic one, while none of them add up to actual multiday battery life. I used the same charging routine for both watches — a 20- to 30-minute fast charge while I shower. With the 41mm, that was enough to get me through the day, but occasionally, I’d be surprised with a low-battery warning before bed. With the 45mm, I’ve never had that happen. When I check my wrist, I always am comfortable around 50–80 percent. In a rundown test, I got a maximum of about 32 hours.

Source: Google Pixel Watch 3 review: third time’s the charm

Fitbit Dashboard: Custom workouts and cardio load recommendations for runners and casual runners with new goals (including an Amazonian case study), and an example of how AI-generated workouts can help

Since day one, Fitbit has focused on a streamlined andholistic approach to fitness tracking. The idea of getting your steps in was how it was founded. Training is a different beast, and yet nearly all of these new features are geared towards that, even though they still cater to beginners and more casual athletes.

For example, the new running dashboard is designed to be more digestible than Garmin’s data dump while giving you a bit more context than Samsung or Apple. The AI-generated running workouts are a good example, too. The other day, I got recommended a roughly four-mile tempo workout… on a day I was scheduled to do one anyway. There was a card explaining why it was recommended — I’d been doing a lot of moderate steady-state runs and needed to zhuzh it up. I like taking a more active role in my training because I already know what I am doing. But for someone starting out or who has decision fatigue, that’s a neat option. Another move in the right direction is that your Daily Readiness Score and Cardio Load are not paywalled.

For me, the two primary fitness updates are Cardio Load and custom workouts. Cardio Load is basically Garmin’s Training Load by another name. It shows your seven-day cardiovascular intensity compared to the previous weeks. After a 14-day period, you will have a target number to aim for. For example, I set my goal as improving my cardio fitness. Every day, I get a target that takes into account what I’ve been doing that week. Old hats confident in their programs might turn up their nose, but this is helpful context for folks just starting out.

If you want to be serious about training, you need custom workouts. I am happy to see them here but there are some quirks. The warmups and the colds can only be programmed by time. You can work around it, but it’s annoying. It is a bit vague for my tastes. If you’re straying from your goal, or if you’re moving to a new interval, the watch will alert you. I set my pace for a four mile run, and that’s all I need the Pixel watch to tell me when I’m outside of it. Turn off voice alerts is what I recommend. I hope the problems are fixed quickly by software updates.

I use the Pixel watch to control my home, it’s the most useful thing. It is easier to open the door for guests, turn off the office light, and adjust the thermostat than it is to open it. You can view the feed from the wrist, which is a huge change for me. My office is located on the third floor. My delivery guy doesn’t know that patience is a virtue. The ability to say hey from the wrist has saved me a lot of grief this review season.

This feels very big to me. Apple’s seamless ecosystem experience is a big reason why people stick with the iPhone. This had some of that magic — and that’s major considering how much bigger Google Home is compared to Samsung’s SmartThings. It is only a start, but the fact that it is going to make people happy is even more significant than just overthrowing the choke hold on the market.

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. We started counting how many times you have to agree to use devices when we look at them, since these are agreements people don’t read and can’t negotiate.