I have a confession to make: I’m not the biggest wearer of smartwatches. In an era where screens are aplenty and notifications are an ever-present reality, my desire to wear a computer on my wrist isn’t at its highest in 2026.

That being said, there are certainly merits to having a smartwatch in your tech arsenal, namely with regard to tracking health and wellness metrics. Plus, if a watch is sufficiently well-designed, then it serves as not only a timepiece, but also as a fashion statement of sorts.

This brings me to the Pixel Watch 5, Google’s latest-and-greatest Wear OS smartwatch. Available in both 41mm and 45mm sizes, and in both W-Fi and LTE cellular flavors, the device starts at $400 in the US. I’ve been using the 41mm Wi-Fi Watch 5 for some time now, and I have lots of thoughts on it.

The Pixel Watch 5 is beautifully crafted

I can’t get enough of its domed display

Externally speaking, the Pixel Watch 5 looks nearly identical to its generational predecessor. The timepiece itself is circular with an Actua 360 domed display panel, clad in 3D Gorilla Glass 5 for added scratch resistance. I absolutely love the look of the watch, including its display bezel that melts right into the background when looking at it in person.

I’m of the opinion that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Sure, existing Pixel Watch owners might not have much new physically to sink their teeth into, but as a first-time Pixel Watch owner, I have virtually no complaints. The IP68 water and dust resistance means that it can go for a dunk at up to 50 meters underwater, and the new colorways are all subtle yet attractive.

My Pixel Watch 5 unit is the obsidian version, which features a darker and more mature color tone. Of particular note is the new Olive variant, which features a new Satin Pyrite casing material that’s smooth to the touch. The included band is rubberized and has a robust feeling, with a satisfying clasp design that stays snugly in place.

The Pixel Watch 5 is more repairable than ever

Longevity without sacrificing on build quality

Back with its fourth-generation Pixel Watch, Google switched away from a glued-shut chassis build in favor of a design that uses a screw-and-seal architecture. Thankfully, the Pixel Watch 5 inherits this more thoughtful internal design, meaning that it’s much easier to repair without fussing around with adhesives and such.

This repairability is worth highlighting in an era where many smartwatches continue to be designed with disposability in mind. Google has managed to improve repairability without sacrificing on build quality, which is something I find commendable. Indeed, my unit features tight tolerances and a hearty construction, but with some much-appreciated added peace of mind in tow.

The Pixel Watch 5 ‘simply works’

The end-user experience is smooth and streamlined

What I love about the Pixel Watch 5 is that the experience of setting it up and using it is seamless and trouble-free. Much like with Pixel smartphones, there’s no clutter, no competing services, and no bloat to speak of here. Everything ‘just works,’ as it were, which is about as high a praise as I can give a smartwatch.

Sleep tracking and fitness features all work well and automatically, Gemini is reasonably fast and responsive to interact with (albeit still not the most useful in all instances), and the display lights up with precision each time I lift my wrist. Charging too is effortless, thanks to the included pogo-style magnetic charging base that connects to any and all USB-C power adapters. I do wish the base itself connected via USB-C, however, for added cord flexibility.

The Pixel Watch 5 is packed with features

A potent tech package from top to bottom

Despite its small size, the Pixel Watch 5 is jam-packed with high-tech components. The wearable comes standard with the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor, 64GB of eMMC flash storage, and either a 332 mAh (41mm) or a 465 mAh (45mm) battery pack. Bluetooth 6.1, NFC, and UWB are all present and accounted for, as are an optical heart rate sensor, a skin temperature sensor, ECG and SPO2 sensors, an accelerometer, a barometer, and more.

Battery life is quoted at up to 30 hours for the 41mm version and up to 40 hours for the 45 mm edition, the former of which is roughly what I’ve matched in real-world testing. This is fairly solid endurance on the whole, especially when taking into account the bright 3,000 nits of peak brightness the display is capable of, as well as the 320 pixels per inch display resolution. Doubtlessly, the 1 nit and 1 Hz always-on display (AOD) is doing some heavy lifting here.

This device was provided to Pocket-lint by Google.