Sorry, Apple and Samsung — I test smartwatches for a living, and the Google Pixel Watch 5 specs beat the Series 11 and Galaxy Watch 9 in these five key areas
From repairability to insulin resistance
by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/matt-evans · TechRadarFeatures By Matt Evans Published 12 August 2026
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The Google Pixel Watch 5 has landed, alongside a slew of compatible phones including the Google Pixel 11 and its Pro, Pro XL and even Pro Fold variations. While the phones look great, It’s the watch that’s drawn my attention, and there’s a lot to like here.
Arriving in two sizes (41mm and 45mm) just like in previous years, with Canyon, Obsidian and Fog colored bands, as well as a special NBA-star Stephen Curry-themed edition, the Google Pixel Watch 5 is priced starting from $399.99 / £369 / around AU$565 (TBC) for the 41mm model, and $429.99 / £399.99 / around AU$600 (TBC) for the 45mm model, with LTE-capable models costing extra.
What do you get for your money? Well, the Pixel Watch 5 has received several quality-of-life improvements over last year's model. These include Google’s ever-improving wrist-based Gemini integrations, Google Health's new AI fitness coach, GPS that can reportedly go head-to-head with the likes of the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, and a new suite of handy background health features called Health Guardian, which is available on Pixel Watch 3 and up.
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While I haven’t gone hands-on with the watch just yet, judging by its specs sheet the Pixel Watch 5 is every inch a competitor to the Apple Watch Series 11 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9.
It’s slightly difficult to compare watches from different ecosystems, but while it’s unlikely the quality of a smartwatch is going to be a tipping point for someone changing phones, and possibly tablets or computers to better work within a particular walled garden, these features could be a contributing factor to a decision to switch from Google to Apple or Samsung, or vice versa.
Let’s look at each flagship watch’s specs side-by-side below (I've used the larger models for clarity: the 45mm Pixel Watch 5, the 46mm Apple Watch Series 11 and the 44mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 9), then I’ll go through all the unique stuff Google’s just announced.
Specs comparison table
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Watch | Google Pixel Watch 5 (45mm) | Apple Watch Series 11 (46mm | Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 (44mm) |
| Price | From $429.99 / £399 / around AU$600 | From $429 / £399 / AU$699 | $409.99 / £379.00 / AU$699.0 |
| Dimensions | 45mm x 45mm x 12.3mm | 46mm x 39mm x 9.7mm | 46.0 mm × 43.7 mm × 8.6 mm |
| Weight | 37g (no strap) | 38g (no strap) | 34g (no strap) |
| Case/bezel | 100% recycled aluminum | Aluminum or titanium (100% recycled) | Armor aluminum |
| Display | Actua 360 display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | LTP03 OLED | SuperAMOLED, Sapphire crystal |
| GPS | Dual Frequency GPS: GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou, QZSS | L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo, and BeiDou | L1+L5 GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou |
| Battery life | Up to 40 hours | 24 hours | Up to 40 hours |
| Connection | Bluetooth 6.0, wifi, LTE available | Bluetooth 5.3, wifi, LTE available | Bluetooth 6.0, wifi, LTE available |
| Water resistance | 5ATM, IP68 | WR50 and IP7X | 5ATM, IP68 |
As we can see above, one of the key things that we can take away from this year’s top crop of smartwatches is that they’re all starting to look and feel the same, at least on paper. Similar prices, specs, battery life and feature sets: there’s very little separation here in terms of nuts-and-bolts quality. However, there are a few aspects — some featured in the table above, some not — that help the Pixel Watch 5 stand out from the pack.
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