We’re less than a month out until the Pixel Watch 4 is set to be unveiled at the Made by Google 2025 event. Fortunately for you, we’ve already seen several Watch 4 leaks that give us an idea of what to expect — both positive and (potentially) negative. With Google discounting the Watch 3 to clear out stock, I’m here to help you decide if you should hold off or not.
When I reviewed the Pixel Watch 3, I had a very positive experience, but that only raised my expectations for the Watch 4. The same applied when I interviewed the Qualcomm VP of wearables about the brand’s potential new Wear OS chipset. I thought this might be the generation that transformed Wear OS.
Instead, the rumored and leaked Pixel Watch 4 vs. Pixel Watch 3 differences we’ve seen have been more of a mixed bag. A brighter display with smaller borders sounds great, while low blood oxygen alerts will be an interesting foil to Samsung’s sleep apnea detection. But we might not get the massive processor change I’d hoped for, and the changed design may have as many cons as pros.
The Pixel Watch 4’s most subtle and significant upgrade
The Pixel Watch 4 will allegedly use the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1, the 2022 chip first introduced in the Pixel Watch 2. That means it would keep the same four Cortex-A53 cores as before, while the latest Galaxy Watches use one Cortex-A78 and four Cortex-A55 cores.
If this leak is correct, that’s one obvious reason to choose the Pixel Watch 3, or stick with a Watch 2: It’ll have the same performance level. The Watch 3 is already capable of running Gemini on Wear OS, and Wear OS 6 ran smoothly when I tested it.
I’m not sure if Google chose not to upgrade the processor because it didn’t think it needed the extra power or because its RISC-V plans with Qualcomm fell through, but it’s still disappointing if true.
A later leak confirmed Google’s plan, but also suggested the Watch 4 will swap out the 2016 Cortex-M33 co-processor with the 2020 Cortex-M55, making it capable of delivering “5x the AI workload at a fraction of the power.”
Ask yourself if you plan to use Gemini often enough for this boost to matter, or if you can settle for a couple of extra seconds of delay for every query. If you mainly use the AI on your phone already, then the Wear OS version may be more of a limited novelty.
Gemini aside, I hope the M55 makes other background tasks more battery-efficient, similar to how the OnePlus Watch 3 lasts for days by running health and notifications through its upgraded BES2800 co-processor.
This leak suggests the Pixel Watch 4 41mm and 45mm will last 30 and 40 hours with AOD active, respectively, which significantly beats the Watch 3’s 24-hour-with-AOD estimate. It’s still nowhere close to OnePlus’s option, but it’s now ready to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 for longevity.
Is the battery boost worth waiting for? Definitely for power users. But 30–40 hours still falls into that awkward window where you still need daily charging, because it’ll die in the middle of day two — likely while you’re at work.
Maybe with AOD turned off, the larger Watch 4 can be stretched to two full days; I’ll have to test that in my review. But the point is, if you plan to charge your watch every night, the Watch 3 will easily last the full day, and cost you less. The Watch 4 just gives you wiggle room as the capacity fades over time.
Will a beefier Pixel Watch 4 design work for you?
Unlike the controversial changes to the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic, the Pixel Watch 4 design should stick to the same style as always. But leaked Pixel Watch 4 renders suggest that it may be 2mm thicker than the Watch 3.
That may not sound like much, but 14mm is in the realm of thick fitness watches, and I don’t think the whole bezelless aesthetic will work if it’s bulging up from your wrist too far, like a black lump. So I hope this leak turns out to be inaccurate.
Maybe the Pixel Watch 4 needed to be thicker? Aside from extra battery capacity, one leak suggests it will be fully repairable, unlike the older models that couldn’t be disassembled to fix damaged components.
That same leak suggests the Pixel Watch 4 could have satellite SOS capabilities if you don’t have your phone on you. Fitting a functional antenna in there for emergencies might have thickened things up.
And one last leak this month showed the Pixel Watch 4’s new side-mounted charging stand in place of the current bottom charging pin system. The Watch 3’s charging system works, but it’s a bit finicky to get it attached; it’ll be interesting to see if this version is an upgrade, whether in terms of speed or convenience.
We don’t have official confirmation on any of this yet, but it’s clear Google did its best to make the Pixel Watch 4 better… but may have had trouble squeezing everything into a rounded-edge frame that wasn’t too thick.
Should you wait for the Pixel Watch 4?
At this point, I think it makes sense to wait, even if you suspect the Pixel Watch 4 might not deliver everything you wanted. But not everyone should.
Google has the Pixel Watch 3 at $80 off, just off its all-time low from Prime Day ($250), and you can cut a little extra off that on the Google Store with a trade-in deal. But the current rumor is that the Pixel Watch 4 will stick to its normal price.
So you can easily quantify the decision now. Assuming these leaks are accurate, do you think it’s worth $100 more to get an extra 5–10ish hours of battery life, a slightly larger and brighter display, a more convenient charger dock, faster Gemini commands, a couple of safety features, and one extra year of updates?
The Watch 3 is one of the best Android watches today, and the Watch 4 allegedly will have the same app speeds, storage, and health sensors; it’ll also get Wear OS 6 in a couple of months. So there’s no harm in grabbing one for cheap if you’re not impressed with what the newer model has in store.