It ’s been 14 geezerhood since Fitbit launched to market and kickstarted a journey that would run to over 120 million users . That journey hit young height four old age ago when Google get the company for $ 2.1 billion , but it took almost three year for the Fitbit magic to broadcast to Google ’s ironware lineup .
The result is thePixel Watch 3 , launched alongside thePixel 9 serieslast twelvemonth . It ’s one of my favorite wellness devices from last twelvemonth and it deserves its position on thebest smartwatchlist as it has the best substance charge per unit monitoring of any smartwatch made by a phone maker .
There ’s a set that Google get right with its ironware , but having also used smartwatches from Apple and Samsung , one part of the Pixel Watch 3 experience needs improvement . Ironically , it ’s the Fitbit app . You have to use the Fitbit app to access code data from the Pixel Watch 3 , but while its contest has a seamless and streamlined experience , Google ’s is more disconnected .
I like a hatful of the data that the Pixel keep an eye on 3 collects , and Google ’s Cardio Load and Target Load features are fantastic , but the app experience could be improved in these five simple ways .
Provide advanced sleep reports for free
There ’s one simple way that would endear the Pixel Watch and Fitbit brands to any client : give approach to full sleep information , including preparation , for free . you’re able to get at some quietus data for complimentary , but the AI - driven metric unit require Fitbit Premium ; although you get a six - calendar month free trial with a Pixel Watch 3 , you still need to compensate $ 10 per month or $ 80 per yr .
When you have Fitbit Premium , the rest reports are detailed but lack some of the more granular details you ’ll find on a gimmick like theOura Ring . Google uses a lot of bloodless space to make data point more manageable and understandable , and this makes the overall layout well than the competition . Unfortunately , while you ’ll get some of the slumber data without Fitbit Premium , metrics like readiness are behind a paywall .
The issue for Google is not that quietus reports are n’t worth pay for but rather that its competition offers the same features for free . While tweaking the rest report to ensure it ’s all included for free , I think Google can also pull off the Fitbit Premium suggestion .
Rethink the Fitbit Premium subscription
Fitbit Premium , on its own , is a good overall intersection , but the eternal rest report are a challenge when you look at Apple and Samsung . Both render sleep reports as part of the experience included with their computer hardware , and Google needs to ensure it offer Premium for at least a class or includes features like the full sleep report for free .
Consider theSamsung Galaxy Watch 7and Samsung Health . The Galaxy Watch 7 is less expensive — currently price at $ 240 compared to $ 300 for the Pixel Watch 3 — and includes a full sleep account . Then there ’s Apple ; corrupt anApple Watch Series 10 , and you ’ll get sleep reports for barren as well as the full entourage of Apple Health data .
Beyond eternal sleep report , Fitbit Premium offers a lot of coaching , whether for training , meditation , or running . The Pixel Watch 3 introduced a server of forward-looking run metrics and a tie - in with your Peloton bike , all single to Fitbit Premium . These are key features that make Fitbit Premium worth paying for , but I am uncertain whether it ’s enough to make Fitbit Premium+ deserving paying for .
Simplify and enhance access to raw data
As you might have guess , I like Google ’s recent wearables a portion . The Pixel Watch 3 offers outstanding shelling life that vex the competition , excellent health tracking , and a comprehensive cortege of datum , but the key issue that prevents me from using it every daylight is the Fitbit app . Alongside the former sleep write up and Fitbit Premium proposition , it ’s also how Google put out data in the app .
Consider theOura Ring 4 , Galaxy Watch 7 , or Apple Watch Series 10 . All ply similar entropy to the Pixel Watch 3 — and the first one is also political program agnostic — but they also make it far easier to look up historical datum . Samsung and Apple permit you scroll back month at a time to access exercise or energy data , while Oura has the good layout of all and makes it sluttish to look up any data you want .
I recover the Fitbit app far more confusing than the competition . Google has enable many customization options , but these come with sealed limitations . I care most about my heart charge per unit , but it ’s not potential to pin just my heart rate to the top of the home screen door . Instead , I necessitate to pin the health section , which also include weight , torso temperature , and health metric function .
access sore data has improved since I picked up the Pixel Watch 3 earlier this twelvemonth , and while it takes several hydrant to get at raw heart charge per unit data , I can check the transcription at 5 - min intervals . However , diachronic data point feels far less accessible .
Integrate Fitbit and Google further
Like so many things when unlike Google products talk to each other , the Fitbit account experience is bad . In special , you must utilise a personal Gmail accounting instead of a Google Workspace chronicle . If you have everything link up to your Workspace story , you ’ll have to wed Fitbit to your personal account alternatively .
It ’s a limit that ’s frustrative , specially if you previously had a Fitbit account that was using a Workspace e-mail . This was my scenario , and Google did n’t make the transition that seamless . accord , you likely wo n’t still have a Fitbit chronicle , but this is only relevant if you ’ve used Fitbit in the past and are concerned in using a Pixel Watch with your legacy account . Fitbit is n’t the first Google service to limit access code to personal chronicle only , and I believe Google needs to rethink its approach and hold on handle Workspace user any other than from a personal substance abuser .
One other affair I ’m escape is the Fitbit fascia , which allowed you to access your Fitbit data online before Google give up it last year . Considering that you could get at your Peloton datum online — and Google is promoting the tie - in between Fitbit Premium and Peloton — it does feel like a miss chance here .
Improve syncing and device switching
This disjoint experience is also seeming when trying to sync a Pixel Watch 3 after it ’s been offline for a few days . I ’ve left my charger behind by accident several times , and it ’s much harder to notice a Pixel determine 3 charger on the go than an Apple Watch charger .
When I reconnect my Pixel Watch 3 to my Pixel 9 Pro , there ’s a noticeable lag in syncing data . Often , I ’ll need to go into the Watch app to seek and force the sync , but this does n’t always exercise . Also , the Fitbit app will say it ’s syncing , but the Watch app wo n’t , and vice versa . There are gremlin in the way that Fitbit and Google divine service work together , and the result is a disjointed experience .
This is compounded when you try and move your wearable to a newfangled gimmick : you have to readjust it , go through several steps that are n’t nonrational ( that I had to search for ) , and eventually , it work . relatively , the rival makes it far easier to move your gadget to a new speech sound . Interestingly , no phone maker lets you move phones without resetting the wearable , so there ’s also an chance here for Google to do something other than .
Google makes salient hardware , but it demand to see that the Fitbit experience fork over an equally outstanding exploiter experience . I ca n’t wait to see what the Pixel Watch 4 offers this class — and how the Fitbit experience evolves alongside it .
